IC MI3 Impact Investing Boot Camp 2026

Conference framing and logistics

Foundational concepts and actors

This session defines impact investing in contrast to traditional investing and ESG integration, emphasizing intentionality, additionality, and measurement of impact. It maps the ecosystem of actors, including funds, institutional endowments, accelerators, venture capital, angel investors and angel networks (like Investors’ Circle!).

Session Leader: Jesse Gerstin - VP Center for Resiliency and Clean Energy, Inclusive; Faculty, MBA in Sustainability, Bard College, member Investors Circle

Strategy types and opportunity set

This session surveys the spectrum of impact investing strategies, from early-stage private deals to thematic funds and public-market strategies (often coupled with shareholder activism). It introduces examples of social enterprises, funds, and platforms that students may encounter or partner with, including opportunities for small-dollar impact investment through crowdfunding (one of the tools sessions!).

Session Leader: Kellen Dorio - Senior Manager, IRIS+/Impact Measurement & Management at The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)

This session explores how to define, validate, and measure social and environmental outcomes. Participants consider theories of change, output and outcome metrics, and alignment between impact performance and financial success of an enterprise.

In breakout groups, participants receive a concise description of a potential impact investment and work together to articulate the underlying theory of change. If sufficient time, groups can sketch the causal chain from activities to outputs, outcomes, and long-term impact, and surface questions about how impact could realistically be measured.

Student representatives from four colleges and universities present their impact investing programs, highlighting governance, sourcing, diligence, decision-making, and learning structures. Investment Thesis Research presenters describe the process of evaluation, investigative learnings, findings and dissemination. The session invites comparison between programs that manage their own capital, advise external funds, drive endowment allocations, or operate primarily as experiential learning labs. Presenting Programs: Vanderbilt  University, Cornell University, University of Vermont, Oberlin College

Reflection on Friday and orientation for Saturday for Day 2

Four elected student programs present an impact investment opportunity on which they have conducted due diligence. Presentations focus on firm/fund (problem addressed, theory of change, business model, investment structure), due diligence process itself (organization, sourcing, challenges, favorite questions, advice), and investment decision (who participated, how did the discussion unfold, balance of impact/fin return, challenges/advice), providing concrete illustrations of student-led investing in action. 

Participating Programs: Haverford College, University of North Carolina, Colorado College

Students will work in breakout rooms to review information on a potential investment and draft Due Diligence (DD) questions

Mentors from Investors Circle meet with groups to coach and provide feedback on draft questions

In parallel breakout sessions, participants choose workshops to deepen specific skills or use of tools related to impact investing. Workshop option are:
Session 8a: Village Capital’s abaca app for diagnosing social enterprise funding needs and structuring deals and terms to address those needs (rather than the funder’s needs). 
Session 8b: ImpactableX impact measurement and management tool.
Session 8c: Honeycomb Credit investment crowdfunding platform.

Session 8d: Impact Capital Managers (ICM) Institute - The ICM Institute is the field-building, research, and education arm of Impact Capital Managers (ICM), a selective network of private capital fund managers investing for superior returns and meaningful impact spanning venture capital, private equity, credit, real assets, infrastructure, and real assets. The Institute is the proud organizer of the Mosaic Fellowship, a competitive program placing top-performing graduate students at ICM member funds each summer, and a co-producer of the Turner MIINT program alongside the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative at the Wharton School (Wharton Impact). In partnership with leading impact investors in the industry, the Institute also publishes research and actionable insights, including Impact Allocator Perspectives 2025: Opportunities and Risks in Evolving Private Markets, New Frontiers in Value Creation, and Strengthening Outcomes: Impact and Financial Value at Exit. Alongside Achieve Partners, ICM Institute co-produces the Better Money, Better World podcast.

Synthesizing lessons and next steps

Closing reflections and follow-up resources