Philadelphia is a place that knows how to play a role in bold moments of transformation. Amid shifting cultural and capital landscapes, policy shifts, increasing climate urgency, and more, 450 people from across the United States gathered at Convene in Philadelphia on May 14–15 to learn about aligning investments with values and to connect with others who are doing so.

As ImpactPHL’s CEO, Kafi Lindsay, kicked off Total Impact Summit ’25, she explained that this conference is an imaginal moment in chrysalis.

“We all know the story that a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, but what’s less known is how that transformation actually occurs. So inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar’s body dissolves from that dissolution, and imaginal cells are what they’re called. Imaginal cells emerge, carrying the blueprint, not for crawling, but for flying. At first, they’re attacked by the old immune system, but they persist. They find one another. They begin to resonate, form clusters, and together, they reassemble what remains into something entirely new…. This Summit is one moment in this chrysalis, and each of us has a role to play in what comes next. And already, we’re seeing new systems take shape.”

As attendees of Total Impact Summit ’25 collectively came together to understand how to deploy more capital and increase impact outcomes across people, planet, and place, it became clear that the urgency and complexity of challenges were the backdrop against which the discussions and actions unfolded. Today’s challenges: tightening of credit, systemic inequities, and the pressing need for new models were not just topics of conversation but urgent calls to action.

“We need capital to move at the pace of urgency that the problems demand.We are here at Total Impact, learning about so many different issues across the country, so many different solutions, and time and time again…” ~ Allegra Stein, New Majority Capital

The Chrysalis: Dissolution and Dormancy

Over the last several years, ESG, mission-aligned, impact, and place-based investing have been growing practices. However, this alignment around community needs faces current regulatory risks, increasing noise and distractions around terms that are putting up artificial barriers to entry, and a lack of long-term impact goals. Extractive practices have caused harm to people, planet, and place-based communities, so we should reframe the term “concessionary capital” to “reparative capital” because that is what will be needed to repair the systems to be inclusive and sustainable.

Day 1 of TIS25 dove into the ‘Why’ and the ‘What’ — taking a birds-eye view of our evolving landscape, then digging into the best practices and case studies guiding this work. Sessions such as “State of the Field” and “Moonshots: Big Visions Worth Fighting For” challenged and inspired attendees to move beyond “impact measurement” to “indicators of progress” and to rethink the rules of the game.

Day 2 focused on the “How” with discussions such as “Climate Impact Architecture: Building Investment Models That Center Justice” and “Investing in Creativity + Culture” equipping attendees with the opportunity to connect with each other on tactical, actionable opportunities to reach their next milestone or deploy capital.

Together, attendees experienced 33 sessions that provide a blueprint for dissolving extractive practices and moving dormant strategies to imagine how they can effectively invest in people, places, and the planet.

“Anna Blanding from ConnCORP [spoke] about a development that they had in New Haven, Connecticut, where they’re thinking about multifaceted solutions to place-based investing. I always tended to think, oh, what can we do locally, whether it’s investing in a business or some kind of project, deal by deal, but she really presented a multi-faceted, thoughtful project and solution to a bigger issue in that place that is really going to change the game.” ~ Jason Ray, Zenith Wealth Partners

Imaginal Cells: Blueprints for the Future of People, Planet, and Place

Modern impact investing has the same transformative spirit as the imaginal cells that transform a caterpillar into a butterfly. Just as imaginal cells in nature serve as building blocks for metamorphosis, this framework envisions investment as a catalyst for systemic change — advancing human potential, regenerating communities, and restoring the environment.

The following recap of TIS25 outlines connections to ongoing transformations within impact investing by offering actionable blueprints beyond traditional financial returns. They focus on shared humanity and equity as the foundation for economic systems and emphasize investing in people, communities, and the planet — through ownership, placed-based and inclusive strategies, and systems change that align both social and financial performance. These approaches serve as both a call to action and a practical guide. They invite all stakeholders to understand and embrace a new vision for impact investing — one rooted in our shared humanity and aims to catalyze transformation at every level: people, places, and planet.

Investing in Human Potential and Equity

“…this idea of shared humanity is one that we’re not discussing nearly enough. It is beyond political party, it is beyond political affiliations, it is at the core of who we are as a species, predating any forms of organizing, economics, philosophies around that.” ~ Michael O’Bryan, Humanature

Blueprints to Make the Economy Work for Everyone:

• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) conversion funds enable business owners to sell to employees, preserving jobs that otherwise might be at risk due to business closure and building wealth in local communities. Apis & Heritage and Allivate Capital manage funds that finance ESOP conversions.
• Cancer Impact Investment Framework (CIIF): BrightEdge, the impact investment arm of the American Cancer Society, uses CIIF to measure and maximize the social impact of investments in early-stage cancer therapies.
• Human Capital Factor: Research from Irrational Capital shows that prioritizing intrinsic motivators — like employee appreciation and psychological safety — outperforms standard financial metrics, making the case for people-first investing.
• Use practical resources like BEA’s Architecture for Action toolkit to guide policy and investment decisions in your community and TIIP’s SAIL platform for system-level investing to close racial wealth gaps.
• Tools such as Universal Basic Assets (UBA) and MIT Living Wage Calculator can identify the basic resources that everyone needs for financial security and access to basic necessities.
• Morgan Stanley’s NextGen Dynastic Cohort program aims to empower wealth inheritors as leaders in impact investing.

Regenerating Communities and Local Economies

“Your community is defined by the people you serve. To build community, there are three key lessons: begin with values, embrace the complexity of the journey, and find your community of grapplers and commit to building together.” ~ Simran Sidhu, Spring Point Partners

Blueprints to Align Value and Support Communities:

• Community-Driven Real Estate: Jeff Mendelson’s work in Kansas City demonstrates how capital can be deployed through local leadership and control. His structural equity fund channels significant investments into community-driven real estate, with projects like a $52M redevelopment led by a local Black woman developer, integrating net-zero design and essential services.
• Guarantee-Backed Loan Funds: The MacArthur Foundation’s Arts & Culture Loan Fund, a guarantee model for small arts organizations in Chicago, has been iterated based on borrower feedback and is now a replicable blueprint for other markets and sectors (arts, health, education, human services).
• Recoverable Grants: The Amalgamated Foundation pools donor-advised funds for recoverable grants, enabling projects like the Baldwin House affordable housing co-op and mutual aid hub in Washington, D.C.
• Make Impact Investments from Your Donor Advised Fund (DAF): When you make an impact investment from your DAF, the results of those investments are returned to your DAF, creating a cycle of sustained, recycled funds both now and in the future.
• Pooled Guarantees & Partnerships: Community Investment Guarantee Pool and Groundbreak Coalition enable foundations to backstop local lending, increasing leverage and resilience collectively.
• Community Ownership & Wealth Creation: Ujima Fund in Boston and crowdfunding platforms enable residents to have ownership stakes in local businesses and local real estate, addressing wealth gaps and building wealth in community.
• Reframe the Idea of Power, Ownership, and Economic Equality with Andrew Perry’s Black Power Scorecard or What’s Possible: Investing NOW for Prosperous, Sustainable Neighborhoods from the NY Federal Reserve, Kensington Corridor Trust’s Model Toolkit for inclusive and equitable economic revitalization, or the Participatory Investing Toolkit from Common Future that leverages funds for place-based investing strategies.
• The Impact Risk Profitability (IRP) Framework, developed by the Low Income Investment Fund, focuses on going beyond unit counts to measure impact, including outcomes, borrower characteristics, and investor contributions.