In this era, data scientists are able to identify and target more accurate measures of shared community prosperity and growth. The granularity and rigor with which social issues are now investigated make the challenge of achieving long-term, sustainable, systemic change more attainable. Through the lens of Opportunity Zones, this session will explore a myriad of data, social impact tools, and resources which have been deployed to better support community needs, assess potential benefits of OZ related projects, and identify community facing projects.
 

The average county is now growing at roughly a quarter of the national rate as compared to thirty years ago. When economists state the U.S. GDP increased by 3.1% in Q1 and 2% in Q2 of 2019, much of this growth is being driven by a shrinking group of increasingly affluent urban and metropolitan areas. For these reasons and more, rural communities face acute challenges in achieving Opportunity Zone deal flow. Through case studies drawn from the Forbes OZ 20, this session will explore the development of the ‘Rural OZ Playbook’, a new resource which seeks to support deal making in rural communities. This session will act as a consultation exercise on the proposed pillars of the playbook and help inform its development in 2020. Moderated by Patrick Mullen and Grant Baskerville, featuring grand prize winners of the Forbes OZ 20.
 

There was a time when impact investing primarily involved small investments being funneled into early stage impact start-ups privately or traditional ESG portfolios publicly. Now, larger contributions are flowing into impact investments through pathways varying from leveraged buyouts to municipal bonds. Some say that the mission of this movement is to have no distinction between impact investing and “investing." Overall, recent trends suggest that larger traditional investment firms are not only focusing on impact investing, but also integrating impact across their platforms. This panel will explore trends in large dollar impact investments, what these trends mean for the investment sector, and how leaders for social good can continue to make impact investing a standard part of investing.

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