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Main Conference: CO Impact Days
March 12-14, 2019

The Curtis Hotel 1405 Curtis Street

Denver, CO

Affiliated Events:

National Opportunity Zone Summit 2019 - March 11, 2019

The Curtis Hotel 1405 Curtis Street Denver, CO

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Cancellation Policy

All cancellations must be made in writing and must be received no later than ten (10) days before an event. A $150 administrative fee will be deducted from all refunds per attendee. We regret that we cannot refund cancellations made within 10 business days of the conference or to registrants who do not attend the conference. Confirmed registrants who fail to attend and do not cancel will be charged the entire registration fee.

Thriving Local Economies and the Changing Nature of Work

CO Impact Days is 3 day conference where individuals and organizations gain the confidence, tools, and connections they need to align their money with their mission and values.

CO Impact Days is where leaders of the Impact Investing movement are born. The event culminates with an in-person Social Venture Marketplace (also open to the public) - essentially a farmers market for investors filled with valuable social ventures (projects, nonprofits, for profits, and funds) that are seeking investments!

Learn. Connect. Invest.

Success Stories

THE DENVER FOUNDATION, A COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, MAKES AN IMPACT INVESTMENT INTO PRODIGY VENTURESWhile community foundations have had the ability to make direct investments into social ventures (e.g. projects, nonprofits, for profits, and funds) that … — THE DENVER FOUNDATION, A COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, MAKES AN IMPACT INVESTMENT INTO PRODIGY VENTURES
While community foundations have had the ability to make direct investments into social ventures (e.g. projects, nonprofits, for profits, and funds) that support the mission of the foundation since 1969 (with both their unrestricted endowment dollars and their hundreds of donor advised fund dollars), Colorado’s 18 community foundations are still just starting to use this tool. In the last few years, Rose Community Foundation, Community First Foundation, Telluride Foundation, and The Denver Foundation are four of Colorado’s community foundations that have been making direct impact investments. Last year, The Denver Foundation invested in Prodigy Coffeehouse. Prodigy Coffeehouse is not your average neighborhood café. It’s located in a Northeast Denver neighborhood often neglected by similar businesses and where the unemployment rate is high. As important, Prodigy is a nonprofit venture whose baristas come from the neighborhood’s vulnerable youth population to learn job skills while earning a wage.
Since opening its doors in July 2016, 47 low-income, disadvantaged youth age 18-24 have gone through its pre-apprenticeship program, and Prodigy has trained and hired 15 young people as full-service baristas. Today, not only can you purchase a perfectly poured latte, but the apprentice baristas can host your after-hour events for up to 100 people as well.
One more difference? If you take a look at Prodigy’s funding model, you find a unique mix of traditional grants and impact investments in the form of loans with the expectation of financial return.
It took founders Steph and Hillary Frances about a year and a half to raise enough funding to open Prodigy Coffee. As youth development experts, not experienced business owners, they started with foundation grants. That’s when The Denver Foundation opened a new door through impact investing.
The Denver Foundation’s Impact Investment Fund uses low-interest loans and investments, rather than grants, to advance the Foundation’s mission. Other recent investments by the Fund include: 1) the Rocky Mountain Microfinance Institute, a nonprofit that provides learning, lending, and coaching to grow Community Entrepreneurs, and 2) Community Enterprise Development Services (CEDS), which helps immigrant and refugee families in Aurora start and grow businesses.
Impressed with the Prodigy team and concept, the Foundation offered the startup a funding package that combined an initial $20K grant through its Economic Opportunity Community Grant Program, which was re-upped in 2017 for $25k based on the coffee shop’s strong financial and social performance; and a $25K loan at 3 percent interest for 5 years, with interest only for the first two years.
In addition, members of The Denver Foundation’s Impact Investment Committee provided guidance in creating a business model that would work. Without The Denver Foundation’s creative approach to mixing grant and investment funding, Prodigy would not have opened when it did, depriving its youth apprentices of training and income and the community around its location at 40th and Colorado of a top-notch coffee shop.
A year later, named “Best New Coffee Shop” by Westword, Prodigy and its team of apprentice baristas are thriving in a world where only about one-fifth of service businesses survive their first year. In fact, in its first six months, Prodigy earned enough revenue to cover almost 75% of its operating costs.
Visit Prodigy Coffee at http://www.prodigyventures.org for a lovely cup of coffee, to support Denver’s youth, or to put on your next event. And learn more about The Denver Foundation’s Impact Investing Fund at http://www.denverfoundation.org/Community/Impact-Investing.

NICOLE BAGLEY, A DONOR, TRUSTEE, AND INVESTOR, MAKES HER FIRST IMPACT INVESTING INTO TECHNOLOGY COMPANY SILVERNEST

Nicole Bagley is an entrepreneur and the trustee of three family foundations. Her first impact investment followed her participation in CO Impact Days and Initiative where she learned about potential investment opportunities and how to make direct impact investments into social ventures. “What’s different about the Impact Finance Center and CO Impact Days and Initiative,” says Nicole, “is that instead of managing money, they are a non profit academic center supported by donors and foundations. IFC works to help others participate in impact investments without the conflict of interests of trying to sell you a service or product.”

Her first direct investment was into Silvernest - a woman founded and led, Colorado-based social venture serving the growing aging population. Silvernest successfully leveraged impact investing to scale its business.

Silvernest offers a unique, affordable solution designed to help address the growing housing needs and concerns for the aging generation. Successful roommate matches help yield income for the homeowner, affordability for the housemate, and economic efficiency for both parties as well as companionship and connectivity which contribute to longevity. Silvernest addresses this need by seamlessly matching and connecting individuals who want to share a home via its safe and secure online platform and unique compatibility matching service.

Co-founders Wendi Burkhardt and Chuck and Debra McKenney bootstrapped the launch of Silvernest in 2015, with a combined personal investment of $200,000. They then sought additional seed capital to further validate the proof of concept in the Denver Metro Area and to refine the user experience and marketing tactics to ensure the ability to seamlessly scale into their next eight target markets.

When Silvernest attended CO Impact Days in March 2016, the team was working to secure $200,000 to close out an initial financing round of $300,000. The first $100,000 had already been secured employing a Convertible Note. As a result of participating in CO impact Days 2016, with additional assistance from the Impact Finance Center, Silvernest attracted six impact investors who invested a total $155,000 of a total raise of $1.3 million since then.

This funding empowered Silvernest to serve communities across Colorado, as well as the major metro areas of Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, Tampa, and Phoenix. The next phase of expansion will include San Francisco, Seattle, East Lansing, Boston, and Santa Clara Valley.

The venture is now generating enough revenue from its homeowner memberships and background screenings that the goal of offsetting expenses for customer acquisition and direct costs is within reach. But it still requires new sources of funding for product enhancements as well as brand, market and service expansion.

This year, at CO impact Days, both Nicole and the Silvernest team will be back – again seeking investments and investment dollars, but also as veterans of impact investing. They will lead discussions on their experiences through the uniquely aligned connections they made through CO Impact Days.

Learn more about Silvernest at www.silvernest.com.