We’re all carrying a piece of a much bigger vision. On any given day, our team is toggling between investor education, fund diligence, and movement-building—trying to stay faithful to Catholic Social Teaching while actually moving money where it matters.
Here are three resources that sharpened my thinking this week:
1) The field in context: RPA’s Impact Investing Handbook
If you need one primer that balances history, definitions, and practice, this is it. It lays out the core attributes of impact (intent, contribution, measurement) and shows why private-market impact remains relatively small compared to ESG screens and shareholder tactics—helpful perspective when setting expectations with boards and committees.
Download: RPA-Impact-Investing-Handbook-1.pdf
The handbook’s timeline is also a good reminder that we stand in a longer story—from early faith-based investing and CRA to today’s data-rich, portfolio-wide approaches.
2) The financing toolbox between equity, debt, and grants
Thanks to a conversation with a family office steeped in Aunnie Patton Power’s work, we revisited instruments like mezzanine debt, revenue-based financing, guarantees, and recoverable grants—the “in-between” tools that can unlock real-economy businesses. We’re attaching a visual we use in workshops to spark design conversations about capital stacks and fit.
3) A live example: World Education Services’ catalytic policy
WES’s framework—Opportunity, Wealth, and Power—shows how one mission-driven organization connects strategy to portfolio, from employee ownership and homeownership to participatory investing and leadership development. It’s a practical reference point for teams drafting an Impact IPS and aligning justice, leadership, and grantmaking with investments. (Include the WES graphic in the post.)
Why this matters right now (for us and our partners)
Several peers are working on supporting emerging managers in Fund I → Fund II transitions and need working capital to hire and build. We’re seeing new platforms like Catalyze.community step into that gap—especially for funds lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that aren’t venture candidates and don’t fit bank underwriting. That dovetails with the “missing middle” conversations we’ve been having with leaders like Buen Vivir Capital Institute and ThirdWay Capital in Africa and Latin America.
If your institution is wrestling with what belongs in phase two of your impact strategy, these prompts may help:
- Where do we need catalytic capital (guarantees, RBF, mezzanine) to unlock impact that traditional capital won’t touch?
- What thematic priorities (e.g., employee ownership, community real estate, participatory investing) rise naturally from our mission—and how do we reflect them in our IPS?
- How will we evidence contribution alongside intent and measurement? (Private markets make this easier to show.)
- What’s our plan to bring along the thoughtful skeptic on our committee?
And because we’re a community, not just a concept: join us November 11–13, 2025 in Washington, DC for the CST & Investing Summit—three days designed to connect asset owners, advisors, and fund managers taking action.
We’re experimenting, learning, and trying to walk humbly—trusting God’s larger plan while we do our part.
If you have a resource that expanded your imagination, please share it; that generosity is what makes this movement work.