Catalyzing Climate Solutions Through Connection and Learning

Highlights from the 2024 Impact Capitalism Summit

To hear the latest on the impact marketplace from thought leaders and visionaries. 

To learn and connect through networking opportunities and curated content.

To establish enduring relationships in a relaxed and trusting environment. 

For these reasons and more, the Impact Capitalism Summit hosted by Big Path Capital attracts and engages leaders across the impact sector each year. The 11th annual gathering in Nantucket, Massachusetts, drew fund managers, investors, business leaders, and other stakeholders in the impact sector for learning and connection — with each other and the natural environment. 

With the theme “Weaving Interconnected Capital Solutions into the Climate Tapestry,” the Summit featured sessions and activities that encouraged investors to recognize the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and governance factors with financial performance. 

Big Path Capital Founder and CEO Michael Whelchel said the event has a unique dynamic that brings together fund managers, business leaders, and investors for meaningful opportunities. “The Summit convenes the leaders of the impact ecosystem to engage, to learn from one another, and to further the space,” he said. “There are very few spaces where top leaders from these different fields of the industry come together.”

During informal conversations and presenter sessions, Summit attendees connect on shared goals and forge new partnerships, said Big Path Vice President Nick Dell. “The Summit also serves as a catalyst for our fund and company clients to meet and interact with mission-aligned investors that can result in meaningful capital-raising outcomes.”

One example: The Impact in Action session that helps forge connections between investors, funds, and companies to mobilize capital toward impact solutions. “Investors meet with leading fund managers and companies to better understand how these investment opportunities are creating social, environmental, and financial returns,” Whelchel said.

Sessions like these expose attendees to an array of strategies in a short period of time, Dell said, which allows them to continue conversations throughout the rest of the conference and beyond. 

Panels that include a cross-section of fund managers, companies, and investors are curated to provide a comprehensive view of innovative and sustainable investing strategies, Whelchel said. A Climate Policy panel, for example, included a fund manager, a private credit fund, a venture capital fund, and a corporate attorney. “The panel was one the best — it was spontaneous, fast-paced, and witty,” said Whelchel. “The conversation raised our expectations and how much can be learned when you get the chemistry right on a panel.”

Through the years, the Summit has evolved with the impact community — an aspect reflected in the 2024 event’s opening keynote by Mike Tiedemann, CEO of AlTi Tiedemann Global. “He spoke at the Summit six years ago, so to get his reflections on how far the impact space has come was a great perspective,” Whelchel said. 

With a mix of attendees and sessions on timely topics, the Summit provides a distinct opportunity for impact leaders, said J.D. Dell, Big Path’s Managing Director and Partner. “This year’s Summit once again displayed the non-quantifiable ‘secret sauce’ behind the event, seamlessly blending content, culture, community and collaboration among speakers, panelists, sponsors, clients and investors in a way that brought forth and confronted some of the most pressing issues and topics facing our communities, country and world in a constructive, non-confrontational manner,” he said. “The vibe, sparks, and nuggets from the Summit are truly unique and hard to describe—you’ll just have to attend next year’s Summit to experience them!”

Hear from past Impact Capitalism Summit attendees on what makes the event special:

 

Learn more about the annual Impact Capitalism Summit here.