First of two parts
ImpactPHL is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing Greater Philadelphia’s impact investing ecosystem by aligning financial resources with community priorities to foster an inclusive, sustainable and resilient regional economy.
Its flagship event, the annual Total Impact Summit taking place May 14 and 15, will attract about 450 leaders to spotlight innovative impact investing strategies and local investment opportunities that drive meaningful economic change.
Cory Donovan, ImpactPHL’s co-founder and senior vice president of engagement, is a key force behind the organization’s mission to help individuals and organizations align their investments with their values, moving beyond traditional philanthropy, integrating financial returns and social impact for Philadelphia’s future.
Ahead of the Total Impact Summit, for which Equities.com is a media partner, Donovan spoke with me about the conference and the power of impact investing. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Paula DeLaurentis: Tell us the story of ImpactPHL. Is it Impact Philly?
Cory Donovan: It’s actually “Impact P-H-L”. PHL is the airport code, and we use it to mean the whole region, not just the city. That’s important, because when we talk about Philadelphia, we mean the broader region.
The origin story really starts with a paradox: Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the country, but also one of the wealthiest regions. These have been here for decades, and we weren’t making progress. So, we asked, “how do we do things differently to actually move the needle?”
Philadelphia has a legacy in impact. We are home to the Reinvestment Fund, one of the first CDFIs, and B Lab, which started the B Corp movement. Even the Quakers were early impact investors.
But most people here still think in “two pockets”, making money with one hand, doing good with the other. Our goal is to normalize “one pocket thinking,” meaning using your financial resources for good, not just your charitable dollars. We want to align the region’s financial power with inclusive, sustainable, resilient economic growth, so nonprofits aren’t always left to clean up after the economy.
We don’t have mega-philanthropy here to write huge checks, so we needed a new approach. In our first two years, we had hundreds, maybe thousands, of conversations with people in the financial sector and with wealth holders. We realized most people only think about the 2%-3% they donate, or the 5% foundations grant. They’re oblivious to what the other 97% of their capital is doing.
Nobody was engaging about where and how their money is invested. That became a core function of ImpactPHL, proactively getting people to think about their investments and align them with their values and with local impact.
Aligning investment with values is a win. But to add a local lens to get more regional wealth invested in local social enterprises, intentional real estate and funds like CDFIs and venture funds, that’s where there’s real impact.
PD: Tell me a little about your professional journey and what led you to ImpactPHL
CD: Before launching ImpactPHL, which turns nine this summer, my whole career was in the tech ecosystem. I started on the corporate side, then ran the Roanoke Blacksburg Tech Council in Virginia, helping startups and entrepreneurs. I moved to Philadelphia in 2012 and ran a tech incubator and accelerator.
That experience was invaluable for launching ImpactPHL. It gave me an entrepreneurial mindset, always asking, “what problems need solving, and how do we solve them?” I also brought lean startup and agile methodologies like “don’t solve problems people don’t realize they have, figure out where the real problems and solutions are, and build iteratively.”
Those first two years with ImpactPHL were about having conversations to find what was missing and what we could do, without building something that wasn’t solving a real problem
PD: How would you describe the Impact PHL mission and the unique approach you bring to impact investing?
CD: Our mission is to grow the region’s impact investing economy by aligning financial resources with what benefits Philadelphia most. Again, despite being one of the poorest big cities in the country, we’re also part of one of the wealthiest regions, so there’s real potential to create change if we direct our “financial horsepower” locally.
Mainstream financial markets often overlook local opportunities. Startups or real estate projects here aren’t going to show up on platforms like Goldman Sachs or JP Morgan, but people want to invest in their own communities. They just don’t always realize it’s possible until we show them how.
We focus on engaging investors, identifying local investable opportunities, and building the infrastructure or “plumbing” to connect them. As Clara Miller from the Heron Foundation said at our summit two years ago, every community needs to build this local investment infrastructure themselves, because it doesn’t exist yet. That’s exactly what we’re working on at ImpactPHL
PD: I love what you’re doing in Philadelphia. We’ve talked before about connecting the dots with similar local efforts in other communities. I know that’s not ImpactPHL’s mission, and it shouldn’t be, since you’re doing such a great job focusing on Philly. But maybe Equities.com could help amplify the message and create a positive-sum game by linking these initiatives more broadly.
CD: That’s a great point. Having run a tech council in Blacksburg, Virginia, I’ve seen that every local ecosystem is different and unique but shares similar goals: growing their startup and entrepreneurial communities.
Philly has PACT, the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technology, which is much bigger and better funded than what I worked with in Blacksburg, and that’s what makes local energy and relationships so vital.
I’m starting to see more conversations nationwide, with local groups and even big philanthropies realizing they can’t solve these challenges alone. One large foundation told me, “We’re one of the biggest in the state, but we don’t have enough resources to fix these problems.” They’re recognizing the need to align local wealth with solutions, because if wealth is fueling the problems faster than philanthropy can fix them, we’re moving backward.
People are realizing they can’t do this alone, that they need to catalyze a movement. That’s really what ImpactPHL is. We act as connective tissue, and while we can’t be everything to everyone, we can be the “muscle” where no one else is, identifying local investment opportunities and engaging wealth. Where there’s already momentum, we’re the “steroid,” helping existing efforts go further.
PD: What are your biggest challenges?
CD: Honestly, funding this “squishy” work of ecosystem building and outreach can be tough. It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what we do, especially in the early days when measurable outcomes are few and far between.
Now, though, I can point to real feedback, people telling us, “Hey, we’re doing things differently because of our conversations with you.” But a lot of that impact happens quietly. Many investors prefer to stay behind the scenes about what they’re learning or changing, so it’s not always easy to showcase those stories.
We’re in a better position now than we used to be, with more tangible results to share with funders, but ecosystem building will always be a bit intangible by nature. That’s just part of the challenge.
PD: Great, now let’s talk about the event; can you share what inspired this year’s Total Impact Summit and what attendees can look forward to?
CD: Each year, the inspiration for the Total Impact Summit is to make it easy for Philadelphia’s wealth community to learn from experts and see best practices from around the country, while keeping the content relevant for anyone interested in impact investing. About half our attendees are local, and the rest come from across the country.
Our focus is always on action, and every session aims to answer, “What can I do from where I am?” This year, with so much happening nationally, there’s even more interest in community-driven solutions. We know the big fixes aren’t coming from D.C.; real change happens locally, as Jeremy Nowak and Bruce Katz wrote in The New Localism.
So, while we cover a wide range of impact topics like people, planet, and place, we always make sure “place” is part of the conversation. We also work hard to connect attendees, helping them find the right people and ideas to move things forward in their own communities. That’s what makes this event special.
PD: How does the Total Impact Summit fit into ImpactPHL’s broader strategy for community engagement and ecosystem building?
CD: The summit is central to our strategy. While the content isn’t limited to Philadelphia or place-based investing, we host it here to make it easy for local wealth holders like foundations, family offices and high-net-worth individuals to connect with national best practices and each other.
There’s something powerful about bringing people together in the same room to hear directly from leaders who are driving real impact. Every year, I see attendees leave inspired and ready to make change, even if the journey from awareness to action takes time.
We put a lot of effort into curating diverse voices and actionable content, so people walk away with concrete ideas and connections. The feedback we get is that attendees don’t just come to network, they come for the sessions because they’re genuinely informative.
That’s how we help move the needle, both locally and nationally. By equipping people with the knowledge, relationships, and motivation to drive impact in their own communities.
PD: Coming out of the conference, what are your hopes for Philadelphia’s impact investing community?
CD: My main hope is that everyone leaves having learned something new and made meaningful connections. Community is what makes this work so rewarding.
But most importantly, I want people to take action-not just talk about what could be done, but actually implement ideas in their own roles. We’re focused on making the conference as actionable as possible, and we’ll share a toolkit afterward so attendees, and even those who registered and couldn’t make it, can put best practices to use.
I hope this energy carries into next year, especially with Philly’s 250th anniversary coming up, so we can reflect on where we’ve been and where we want to go as a community.
PD: For investors or professionals interested in ImpactPHL or the upcoming conference, what’s your advice? How should they get started?
CD: Check out our website https://www.impactphl.org or email me at cory@impactphl.org. I’d love to connect. You can sign up for our newsletter, join us at the Total Impact Summit May 14–15, or attend other events throughout the year, both virtual and in-person.
Since 2016, I’ve focused on community engagement, so I’m here to help you find where you fit, whether you’re an investor, partner, or from another ecosystem. Let’s talk, learn from each other, and build this community together.
Coming Friday: Part 2 of my interview with Cory Donovan
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