Impact Entrepreneur | By Jenny Kassan| Published August 25, 2025
How rooted ecosystems turn capital into lasting social and economic change
The impact investing movement has grown exponentially over the last few decades. When done well, impact investment provides capital to address the world’s most pressing challenges. One promising approach is to include place-based ecosystems in your portfolio.
What is a place-based ecosystem?
A place-based ecosystem is a geographically defined network of people, buildings, infrastructure, capital, organizations, and ventures that brings together the diverse elements needed to create a thriving, healthy, just, sustainable, and prosperous local economy.
What might these elements be?
Based on my 30 years of experience in community economic development and financial inclusion, I’ve found that the following pillars, when brought together in one geographic area, can have a meaningful positive impact on community wealth and well-being…
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About: Jenny Kassan has nearly 30 years of experience as an attorney and advisor for small businesses. She is the author of Raise Capital on Your Own Terms: How to Fund Your Business without Selling Your Soul (Berrett-Koehler, 2017), president of the Crowdfunding Professional Association, and a longtime member and friend of Investors Circle.
