Invest for Impact and Financial Return, with a Community Behind You 

Investors Circle has been connecting investors with mission-driven companies since 1992 — more than $275 million into over 350 early-stage ventures, creating more than 10,000 jobs. There is no single way in, but in fact several ways for investors in the IC angel investor community to invest into opportunities, seeking both financial returns and impact. Some investors invest directly into startups alongside other angel investors inside and outside the IC community. Some back professionally managed funds, such as venture capital funds or opportunities on crowdfunding platforms. Some have donor capital available to invest from Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) or other philanthropic capital resources. Some are still learning before they invest, or pausing before investing further.

We are continually seeking and adding new ways to invest, including occasionally having special purpose vehicles (SPVs) available to invest through. Here are the four most utilized ways to participate as an investor through IC's network today. They differ in what they require of you, what you can expect back, and how much time they may take before any financial return should even be expected. Many of the IC investing community use more than one of these methods.

How to See Our Deal Flow

Three ways to see what IC's community is looking at right now:

•  Monthly national virtual meeting — selected companies present, followed by member discussion.

•  Dealum — our application and screening platform, where companies apply and members review.

•  Regional and partner events, including our chapter gatherings and co-hosted convenings.

See upcoming events  →  investors-circle.org/events

People Planet Purpose Fund 

Put your charitable capital to work — $500 minimum donation, no accreditation required

There is over $325 billion dollars sitting in donor-advised funds across the country. The money has already been committed to charity. The deduction has already been taken. And while donors decide where to grant it, most of it sits in generic market holdings, doing nothing in particular.

For over three decades, IC community members have moved capital into companies solving real problems. Now there is a way to do it with those same charitable dollars — and you do not need to be a DAF advisor (the original DAF donor into any DAF-invested opportunity) or an accredited investor to participate as an “investor” now at IC.

What it is: The People Planet Purpose Fund (PPP Fund) is IC's new multi-donor fund, hosted on CataCap's 501(c)(3) platform. You contribute as little as $500, and your gift is 100% tax-deductible immediately. CataCap makes and holds each investment as the entity of record.

Here is the part that changes the math. As investees (the companies invested into) return capital, proceeds flow back pro-rata to your CataCap account — available to redeploy into the next opportunity, or to grant onward. The same charitable dollar can support one venture, then another, then another. It is a complement to your giving, not a substitute for it.

Who decides: Every funding decision belongs to the IC community. Diligence groups drawn from the IC community review each candidate, often building on work from our Community Partners. The Fund Investment Committee votes first as the gatekeeper for the Fund donors. Then every Fund donor gets one equal vote per proposal — whether they gave $500 or $50,000 — and a two-thirds supermajority approves. That last part is deliberate. We wanted a fund where the person who gave the minimum has the same say as the person who gave the most.

What we back: We invest across the PPP Fund’s six impact themes: climate and clean energy, health and wellbeing, circular economy and sustainability, ocean and water, racial and economic justice, and education. Because we are philanthropic capital rather than only a return-seeking fund, we can offer terms most investors cannot. Longer horizons. Revenue-based structures. Straight grants where that is what the work actually requires. We build terms around what an investee needs, with impact — not returns alone — as the measure.

Where we are: The Fund is launching with $100,000 in matching commitments from the PPP Fund Investment Committee team members already in place, plus a $5,000 CataCap fee pay-forward for the next $100,000 donated by some of you or others. Our year-one goal is $250,000, which we target meeting in relatively short order with your help. The launch Fund Investment Committee is Babbie Jacobs, Bobbie Lamont and Don Megrath, with two additional members targeted to join by the end of 2026.

How is IC’s work supported by the Fund: Today, nothing is deducted from your contribution and IC receives no part of it. Once CataCap can support it, donors will be offered an optional donation to IC at the time of giving, and a targeted 10% share of returns above the return of your original contribution will go to IC as a donation — which operates economically like a carried interest. Neither is in effect yet, and we will notify donors before either takes effect.

Highlights:

•  $500 minimum contribution — no accreditation required

•  100% tax-deductible immediately

•  One equal vote per donor, per proposal

•  Returns recycle into your next impact investment

•  Open-ended and evergreen — capital deployed on a rolling basis

•  No management fee

Contribute & Learn more at CataCap.org: www.catacap.org/investments/peopleplanetpurposefund

Questions → email the PPP Fund Investment Committee at: info@investors-circle.org

IC Community Direct — Invest Alongside Other Angel Investors 

For accredited investors who want to choose their own companies and write their own checks.

IC does not pool this capital or take a position in it. What we do is utilize our broad network of syndication partners and community to source the opportunities, convene the conversation, and put you in the room with the founders and with other investors — inside and outside the IC community — looking at the same deal. 

How it works

•  Companies apply through our IC Dealum platform — typically raising $500K to $5MM in equity or alternative structures including debt and revenue-based financing.

•  IC members and Community Partners screen applicants. Written summaries are often shared with the IC member community, and you can join the review, sit in on calls, or simply read the material.

•  Selected companies present at our monthly national virtual meetings and at regional events.

•  If you decide to invest, you invest directly into the company on the company's terms. IC does not take a fee on your investment, does not receive transaction-based compensation, and is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser.  You take the risk and, when available, glean the financial return and enjoy the impact rewards.

How we approach due diligence — stated plainly

We want to be straightforward about where we are. Today IC relies substantially on diligence reports produced by our Community Partners and other co-investors, supplemented by our own lighter-touch review. We are building a more extensive diligence process as part of the People Planet Purpose Fund, and we expect to extend that process to Community Direct opportunities over the course of late 2026 and 2027.

What the community gives you today is access, company, and perspective — deal flow you would not likely otherwise completely see, and other investors looking at the same opportunity whose questions are worth hearing. Every investor is responsible for their own diligence and their own decisions.

Explore opportunities  and if you are an IC Member, log in to our Dealum Portal

Attend a monthly IC meeting or other IC events or meetings, see our website events page.

Impact Investing Through Crowdfunding 

The lowest-barrier way to start, and open to everyone — no accreditation required or it’s not Crowdfunding.

Regulation Crowdfunding lets private companies raise from the general public, which means you can invest small amounts directly into mission-driven ventures, often for $100 or less. It is a genuine on-ramp: you see real deal terms, make a real decision, and follow a real company.

IC points our community to The SuperCrowd, one of IC’s community partners and a public benefit corporation focused on making regulated investment crowdfunding work for impact ventures. They run regular programming, publish active impact offerings, and convene the SuperCrowd community of investors and founders.

Learn more  →  new.thesupercrowd.com

Early-stage investing carries real risk of total loss, and crowdfunded securities are typically illiquid for years. Invest only what you can afford to lose, and consider spreading smaller amounts across several companies rather than concentrating in one.

For-Profit Funds Led by IC Community Partners

For investors who would rather have professionals do the sourcing, diligence, portfolio construction and spread concentration risk across several portfolio investments.

Several fund managers in the great IC community invest in the kind of companies IC has always backed. These are independent firms — IC does not manage them, does not receive compensation for referrals, and does not endorse any particular fund. We name them because their leaders are part of our community and have been for a long time.

SustainVC — one example

Manager of the Patient Capital Collaborative family of funds, which originally grew directly out of the IC community. SustainVC backs early-stage impact companies and is led by longtime IC members, including IC lifetime member Tom Balderston.

SustainVC is one example. Several other fund managers are Community Partners of IC, and we will highlight them here as we continue to build out this page in the coming days.

New to this? Start here. 

You do not have to be ready to write a check to be part of this community. IC runs Foundations of Angel Investing, a two-part course covering impact identity, the investment toolkit, evaluation frameworks, term sheets, valuations and diligence — offered in partnership with IFEL and She Invests!.

Learn more  →  investors-circle.org/programs

Students and faculty: our Student Impact Investing Initiative places university students alongside IC angels on real opportunities. See investors-circle.org/programs.

Disclaimer

Investors Circle is a nonprofit membership community network that connects investors with investment opportunities and other impactful work. Nothing on this page is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security, or investment, legal or tax advice. Investors Circle is not a broker-dealer or a registered investment adviser, does not receive transaction-based compensation, and does not recommend or endorse any particular investment or fund. 

Each investor is responsible for their own due diligence and investment decisions. Early-stage investing involves substantial risk, including total loss of capital, and investments are typically illiquid for many years. Contributions to the People Planet Purpose Fund are charitable donations to CataCap, a 501(c)(3), and are not purchases of securities; IC receives no part of a contribution today, and a 10% share of returns above a donor's original contribution will go to IC as a donation only once CataCap is able to implement it. Consult your own advisers before investing.