Field-Shaping Infrastructure

Promotes Participatory Investment as a framework to center communities in place-based investment by ensuring meaningful community input, decision-making power, and ownership, supported by research and public advocacy.

Produces reports, briefings, and case studies analyzing values-led decision-making in business, including research on over 600 examples of values-led companies and publications such as "Hiding in Plain Sight" to guide business leaders navigating personal and professional values tensions.

Creates open-source legal templates, case studies, and guides to support the formation and governance of values-led businesses and alternative enterprise models, enabling mission-aligned capital strategies and organizational structures.

Offers workshops, presentations, webinars, and collaborative content development to support investors, capital providers, and movement leaders in implementing transformative financing and capital strategies.

Produces and disseminates reports and data-driven briefings on alternative ownership enterprises and employee ownership, including investment opportunities, fund performance, and governance models, with publications from 2023 and 2024 and maintenance of an ongoing database of relevant investment funds.

Conducts research and provides strategic support to foundations and financial institutions on inclusive finance, including community engagement in capital deployment and community-led development initiatives in the U.S. and Africa.

Launched the Climate Solutions Investing Framework in June 2025 to guide capital allocation toward climate solutions, supported by a working group and ongoing research. Also developed a climate-specific evaluation framework with criteria for assessing strategies and investments.

Produces annual research reports, including the "State of the Market" and Impact Investor Survey, to analyze trends, performance, allocations, and growth in the global impact investing market. The research estimates the market at $1.571 trillion in assets under management as of 2024, with a 21% compound annual growth rate since 2019, based on data from 429 organizations across 54 countries.

Operates a global membership network of approximately 450 investors and stakeholders across six continents, and convenes specialized working groups such as the Climate Solutions Practitioners Working Group (28 asset owners) and the Japan Working Group to foster collaboration, learning, and coordinated action in impact investing.

Developed and launched the Impact Target Setter and Impact Quantifier software tools to help investors set impact targets, evaluate outcomes, and make data-driven decisions across diverse investments.

Stewards IRIS+ as a standardized system of metrics for measuring social, environmental, and financial performance in impact investing, and supports the Common Approach to Impact Measurement with data models. Also maintains the Five Dimensions of Impact framework through Impact Frontiers.

Hosts the GIIN Impact Forum and other convenings such as the West Coast Impact Forum and Climate Solutions Investing Roundtable during NYC Climate Week to facilitate education, networking, and dialogue among global impact investing leaders.

Produces and publishes case studies and targeted research on sectors including forestry, gender in healthcare, and corporate impact investing to highlight opportunities and challenges and support evidence-based capital allocation.

Supports the Impact Disclosure Taskforce, which provides guidance to investees on embedding Theory of Change framing in impact data management and reporting, promoting greater transparency and accountability in impact investing.

Launched a 2024 collaboration with the Investor Leadership Network to develop a shared vision and action plan for accelerating private market investments in sustainability solutions, including co-developing research and governance frameworks.

Delivers educational programs featuring peer and expert-led sessions to promote best practices in sustainability investing and has built a community of over 1,500 member investors and a broader network of more than 5,000 engaged sustainability investors.

Produces research reports, market analyses, and strategic frameworks on climate finance, nature-based solutions, fusion energy commercialization, and emerging climate technologies. Research outputs include the "Understanding the Climate Finance Gap: 2025 Update" report and co-developed papers with global networks, providing actionable insights for investors.

Facilitates and aggregates member investments into sustainability-focused companies and funds, supporting over $60 billion in private market investments and $530.6 million in philanthropic giving as of 2023. The organization channels capital into low-carbon, resource-efficient, and environmental solutions globally.