Compass Series

Navigating Impact Lenses

Navigating Impact Lenses

When certain social themes are cross-cutting and understood to influence the impact outcomes of almost all investments, across multiple sectors, they rise to the level of providing a “lens”. This is particularly the case when certain power dynamics and investment biases are obscured. Sample lenses in impact investing include the gender lens, racial equity lens, refugee lens, and now the child lens being introduced by UNICEF.

These lenses serve a number of useful purposes. They help to improve an investor’s prospects of creating real impact by making unseen injustices visible, they provide frameworks for more easily integrating critical social and environmental dimensions into the investment process, and they raise the bar on important core practices in impact investing, like measurement, target-setting, and stakeholder engagement.

In this important Tideline Compass Series discussion, we invite leading practitioners to discuss what it means to implement a particular lens, and how to navigate the practicalities, benefits, and difficulties of actioning multiple lenses.

A recap that summarizes some of the key takeaways from the panel can be found here.

Featured Speakers:

Erika Seth Davies
CEO
Rhia Ventures

Tim Docking
CEO
Refugee Investment Network

Caitlin Rosser
Director of Impact Management
Calvert Impact

Joy Anderson
President and Co-Founder
Criterion Institute

Cristina Shapiro
President of the Impact Fund for Children and the Bridge Fund
UNICEF USA

Ben Thornley
Managing Partner
Tideline
(Moderator)

Jade Huynh
Associate
Tideline
(Moderator)

Compass Series Recap – “Navigating Impact Lenses”

Compass Series Recap – “Navigating Impact Lenses”

This recap of Tideline’s recent Compass Series event was written by Jade Huynh. Watch the full recording here. This Compass Series discussion is dedicated to the late Suzanne Biegel, a pioneer of gender-lens investing who passed away on September 20, 2023 after a...

Compass Series Recap – “State of the Impact Investment Market”

Compass Series Recap – “State of the Impact Investment Market”

This recap of Tideline’s recent Compass Series event was written by Yael Cohen. Watch the full recording here.   At a time of both growth and momentum in impact investing as well as uncertain economic conditions, participants in Tideline's third annual State of...

The Optimism of Collective Action for Impact

The Optimism of Collective Action for Impact

By Dawn Chan, Eliza Foo, and Ben Thornley*Earlier this month, on the sidelines of Ecosperity 2023 in Singapore, we had the great privilege of convening a group of over 100 practitioners dedicated to social and environmental impact, including entrepreneurs, investors,...

Compass Series – “DEI 2.0 and why this time is different”

Compass Series – “DEI 2.0 and why this time is different”

This recap of Tideline's Compass Series event on "Putting Diversity Promises Into Action" was written by Carol Lee and Jane Bieneman. Watch the full recording here.   Despite decades of efforts to increase diversity and representation across the financial...

Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance

Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance

March 9, 2020 | Tideline and The Rockefeller Foundation partnered up to lead an engaging discussion on why impact verification is key to scaling the market with integrity in a virtual event entitled Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance. Watch...

An Innovative Model for Financing Affordable Eye Care Delivers

An Innovative Model for Financing Affordable Eye Care Delivers

July 10, 2018 | Blindness is among the most preventable afflictions on Earth. While an estimated 253 million people worldwide are visually impaired and 36 million are completely blind – 80% of blindness is either curable or preventable. [1] The vast majority of the...

Creating an Impact Fund? Here Are Our Four Ground Rules

Creating an Impact Fund? Here Are Our Four Ground Rules

March 13, 2018 | Based on Tideline’s experience advising impact clients, as well as our work in traditional financial markets, we have found there’s a common set of best practices for creating a new investment fund or other vehicle, be it single bottom line or impact:...

December 2017 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

December 2017 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

December 20, 2017 Dear Friends, As 2017 draws to a close, we wanted to thank you for your partnership and share some reflections as seen through Tideline’s recent work with leading investors, asset managers, and market builders in impact investing. We were thrilled...

June 2016 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

June 2016 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

June 9, 2016 | This is the first in a series of briefings from the partners at Tideline, Christina Leijonhufvud, Ben Thornley and Kim Wright-Violich, sharing insights from our work with a diverse group of clients at the forefront of impact investing. In this edition,...

Compass Series Recap – “Navigating Impact Lenses”

Compass Series Recap – “Navigating Impact Lenses”

This recap of Tideline’s recent Compass Series event was written by Jade Huynh. Watch the full recording here. This Compass Series discussion is dedicated to the late Suzanne Biegel, a pioneer of gender-lens investing who passed away on September 20, 2023 after a...

Compass Series Recap – “State of the Impact Investment Market”

Compass Series Recap – “State of the Impact Investment Market”

This recap of Tideline’s recent Compass Series event was written by Yael Cohen. Watch the full recording here.   At a time of both growth and momentum in impact investing as well as uncertain economic conditions, participants in Tideline's third annual State of...

The Optimism of Collective Action for Impact

The Optimism of Collective Action for Impact

By Dawn Chan, Eliza Foo, and Ben Thornley*Earlier this month, on the sidelines of Ecosperity 2023 in Singapore, we had the great privilege of convening a group of over 100 practitioners dedicated to social and environmental impact, including entrepreneurs, investors,...

Compass Series – “DEI 2.0 and why this time is different”

Compass Series – “DEI 2.0 and why this time is different”

This recap of Tideline's Compass Series event on "Putting Diversity Promises Into Action" was written by Carol Lee and Jane Bieneman. Watch the full recording here.   Despite decades of efforts to increase diversity and representation across the financial...

Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance

Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance

March 9, 2020 | Tideline and The Rockefeller Foundation partnered up to lead an engaging discussion on why impact verification is key to scaling the market with integrity in a virtual event entitled Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance. Watch...

An Innovative Model for Financing Affordable Eye Care Delivers

An Innovative Model for Financing Affordable Eye Care Delivers

July 10, 2018 | Blindness is among the most preventable afflictions on Earth. While an estimated 253 million people worldwide are visually impaired and 36 million are completely blind – 80% of blindness is either curable or preventable. [1] The vast majority of the...

Creating an Impact Fund? Here Are Our Four Ground Rules

Creating an Impact Fund? Here Are Our Four Ground Rules

March 13, 2018 | Based on Tideline’s experience advising impact clients, as well as our work in traditional financial markets, we have found there’s a common set of best practices for creating a new investment fund or other vehicle, be it single bottom line or impact:...

December 2017 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

December 2017 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

December 20, 2017 Dear Friends, As 2017 draws to a close, we wanted to thank you for your partnership and share some reflections as seen through Tideline’s recent work with leading investors, asset managers, and market builders in impact investing. We were thrilled...

June 2016 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

June 2016 | Tideline Partners’ Briefing

June 9, 2016 | This is the first in a series of briefings from the partners at Tideline, Christina Leijonhufvud, Ben Thornley and Kim Wright-Violich, sharing insights from our work with a diverse group of clients at the forefront of impact investing. In this edition,...

Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance

Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance

March 9, 2020 | Tideline and The Rockefeller Foundation partnered up to lead an engaging discussion on why impact verification is key to scaling the market with integrity in a virtual event entitled Impact Investing’s Next Chapter: Integrity Through Assurance. Watch...

Tideline Speaks at SOCAP19

Tideline Speaks at SOCAP19

October 22 – 25, 2019 | At SOCAP19, Ben Thornley moderated a session entitled “The Time for Action and Accountability in Impact”. Panelists Diane Carol Damskey (International Finance Corporation), Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen (UNDP), Sasha Dichter (60 Decibels), Leticia...