This summer (May-August), we hosted our third emerging fund manager cohort program with 13 participants representing eight place-based funds in six cities. A majority of this cohort proudly identify as people of color, and half identify as women. Over the last three years, BII has trained 50 emerging fund managers representing 24 organizations. A dozen funds are already raising and/or deploying capital in their communities!

The purpose of BII’s Emerging Fund Manager Cohort is to offer education and training to diverse, emerging fund managers who are interested in designing and launching integrated capital funds dedicated to closing the racial wealth divide. BII’s curriculum teaches integrated capital, stakeholder development, investment criteria, governance structures, fund design and modeling, impact measurement and management, and raising capital. 

Minority and women-owned firms make up less than 10% of the asset management industry and control just under 1% of the $70 trillion in US assets under management. This cohort program addresses this issue by offering a robust fund manager curriculum that increases the number of BIPOC and BIPOC women-led funds, and in turn, increases financing support for entrepreneurs of color. BII’s goal is to create a budding community of practice for solidarity finance practitioners. 

This cohort model makes a significant contribution toward our mission at BII – to transform the impact investing field so that economic and racial justice become integral to any impact investment strategy. Our unique training provides a fresh perspective on trust-based investing, educates participants on the delicate balance between risk and return, and democratizes ownership and decision-making in communities of color. 

Join us in celebrating the participants of the Emerging Fund Manager Cohort as they pave the way for a more just and inclusive economic future. Together, we’re not just investing in funds – we’re investing in transformative change.

Cohort Participants:

• Abbey Anderson, Cross Impact Capital,  Boston, MA
• Christyn Freemon, KWEST @The K, Chicago, IL
• George Guerrero and Cisco Garcia, Just Futures, National
• Himalaya Rao and Marquita Jaramillo, BFM Fund, Portland, Oregon
• Kofi Callender and Andrew Brennan, BECMA Community Investments, Boston, MA
• Nadine Ngouabe Dlodlo, Women’s Home Preservation, Baltimore, MD
• TJ (Tiffany) Mikell, Fifteen Cents Ventures (15cV), Chicago, IL
• Wayne Miranda and Nathalia Prieto, Toronto, ON