CHICAGO (Oct. 13, 2021)—The Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) today announced awards to support 14 research projects that will analyze the uses of catalytic capital around the world and help build the evidence base to fuel additional risk-tolerant, flexible and patient investments that address critical global challenges.
Established in 2019, C3 is an investment, learning, and market development initiative created and led by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Omidyar Network. Together, these partners jointly fund the C3 Grantmaking program, which is housed at and administered the New Venture Fund (NVF). C3 aims to increase the flow and impact of catalytic capital to make social and environmental progress that would not otherwise be possible.
The C3 Grantmaking program will award up to $10 million over three years for research, networking, peer learning and other field-building activities, with a specific focus on foundations, development finance institutions, family offices and ultra high net worth individuals.
“We are very excited about the momentum and potential of these projects. The C3 Grantmaking program aims to build a strong evidence base about the value of catalytic capital and equip investors with the data, knowledge and insight needed to drive deep and sustainable impact,” said Emily Duma, C3 Grantmaking Program Officer at NVF. “It is part of the C3 initiative’s larger strategy to help push the impact investment field to reach its full potential for creating inclusive growth, fighting climate change, improving health, achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and ultimately building a more just, equitable and resilient world.”
The 14 awardees include universities, nonprofits and collaborations spanning seven countries. Collectively, they will use the funding to study catalytic capital across diverse geographies and sectors—assessing capital gaps for entrepreneurs in Africa, housing finance bottlenecks in Eastern Europe, economic inequality and barriers to accessing capital in Indigenous communities and communities of color in the United States, financing challenges for innovations in science and engineering that promise positive global impact, and more.
A total of 87 groups based in 17 countries applied for funding in response to the C3 Grantmaking program’s public call for proposals last fall. Awards for the following 14 research and market development projects will total $2.2 million:
Learn more about these projects and their proposed outcomes here.
Read reflections from our C3 Project Advisory Board on the broader applicant pool and the impact these awards will have on the field here.
This portfolio of awards complements an earlier round of grantmaking this year that included $1.2 million to support four impact investing networks in their analysis of catalytic capital data and expand their capacity to disseminate research, models and best practices.
In addition to its support for the joint C3 Grantmaking program at NVF, the MacArthur Foundation has committed a total of $110 million to a portfolio of 11 impact investments that demonstrate the powerful role of catalytic capital in advancing inclusion, innovation and sustainability around the world.
For more:
Project Advisory Board Blog Post
Catalytic Capital Consortium Strategic Partners
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people, effective institutions, and influential networks building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. MacArthur is placing a few big bets that truly significant progress is possible on some of the world’s most pressing social challenges, including advancing global climate solutions, decreasing nuclear risk, promoting local justice reform in the U.S., and reducing corruption in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria. In addition to the MacArthur Fellows Program and the global 100&Change competition, the Foundation continues its historic commitments to the role of journalism in a responsive democracy as well as the vitality of our headquarters city, Chicago. MacArthur is also working to build the field of impact investing and increase the supply of catalytic capital to address social and environmental challenges around the world.
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. Rockefeller works to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Their focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food. For more information, sign up for their newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow them on Twitter @RockefellerFdn.
Established by philanthropists Pam and Pierre Omidyar, Omidyar Network is a social change venture that has committed more than $1 billion to innovative for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations since 2004. Omidyar Network works to reimagine critical systems and the ideas that govern them, and to build more inclusive and equitable societies in which individuals have the social, economic, and democratic power to thrive.