Your Fundraise Will Take Longer Than You Think (And Other Uncomfortable Truths From 150+ Bridge Loans) Part 1 of 3: A Letter to Impact Entrepreneurs

Stay tuned for more from Open Road as we continue to share informed perspectives on the issues shaping impact investing and catalytic finance.

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Drawing on Open Road’s experience supporting loans totaling $90 million and helping keep $925 million of committed funding on track, this piece is designed to help leaders better understand the assumptions, pressures, and process breakdowns that can create avoidable risk during a raise.

In "A Letter to Impact Entrepreneurs," our Director of Investments Tom Schumacher shares a candid perspective on one of the hardest realities in impact finance: fundraising almost always takes longer, and becomes more complex, than organizations expect.

Your Fundraise Will Take Longer Than You Think (And Other Uncomfortable Truths From 150+ Bridge Loans) Part 1 of 3: A Letter to Impact Entrepreneurs

We are proud to launch a new series grounded in lessons from 150+ bridge loans to mission-driven organizations worldwide.

Mission Investors Exchange 2026 National Conference hosted on Whova April 27 – 29, 2026, Atlanta, GA

We look forward to gathering with leaders in #impactinvesting and #philanthropy in Atlanta, April 27-29. Learn more: bit.ly/MissionX2026

Fantastic Q&A with Liesel Pritzker Simmons on the state of impact investing, the unique role family offices can play at this time, deploying capital for the long term and the crucial role of public policy. @bluehaveninit.bsky.social @impactalpha.com #impinv impactalpha.com/blue-havens-...

Open Road Impact Fund: 5 Year Impact Report Open Road Impact Fund: 2020–2025. Open Road was founded in 2012 with an ambitious goal: to help the social sector weather the unexpected risks that threaten to derail impact.

You can read more about the enterprises we have helped stay on track including Early Bird, Kasha Global Inc., and Be Girl.

Link to report ⤵️

Since 2020, ORIF has invested $7.4M in companies intentionally focused on serving women and girls, keeping $56M of impact on track. As a proportion of all deals, this made up 15% of the cumulative portfolio.

We want to highlight one of our ‘deep dive’ sections of the report, women and girls. Over the last five years, ORIF’s investment into enterprises benefiting women and girls catalyzed widespread benefits and improved female livelihoods globally.

Through reinvestment of capital ORIF accelerated the growth of its borrowers as well as the social and environmental outcomes generated. Our approach creates a compounding effect, amplifying both financial and impact returns.

Open Road Impact Fund: 5 Year Impact Report Open Road Impact Fund: 2020–2025. Open Road was founded in 2012 with an ambitious goal: to help the social sector weather the unexpected risks that threaten to derail impact.

We are proud to release Open Road’s five-year Open Road Impact Fund (ORIF) Impact report. The report details how since 2020, ORIF has disbursed $54 million over 94 loans, keeping $549 million of committed funding on track.

We’re excited to announce today that Open Road Impact has secured over $35M in impact capital through the first half of 2025. Open Road Impact, a newly created non-profit, is the successor to the Open Road Impact Fund (ORIF), a fixed-term investment fund, which will wind down as planned in 2025.

We’ve officially rebranded from Open Road Alliance to Open Road Impact. This shift allows us to stay true to our mission, keep impact at the center of everything we do, and scale our catalytic investment approach even further.

#impactinvesting #nonprofit

We’re excited to announce today that Open Road Impact has secured over $35M in impact capital through the first half of 2025. Open Road Impact, a newly created non-profit, is the successor to the Open Road Impact Fund (ORIF), a fixed-term investment fund, which will wind down as planned in 2025.

Open Road is hiring a full-time Analyst to support our Investment and Portfolio teams. Open Road "unsticks" critical impact capital for companies experiencing systemic funding delays that threaten to derail their work or time to impact.

#jobs #hiring

We're Hiring: Open Road Seeking Analyst - Open Road Impact We are looking for an Analyst to provide comprehensive support across our Investment and Portfolio teams.

🚨 We’re Hiring: Analyst at Open Road! 🌍
Are you passionate about impact investing and ready to put your analytical skills to work for social good?

"Beyond staff cuts and rethinking business models, there was a sense of grief brought by implementers who have dedicated their lives to building scalable interventions to tackle the world’s most pressing problems."

Rebuilding global aid was the (mostly) talk of the town at Skoll World Forum An image evoked at the Skoll World Forum this year was kintsugi. Literally meaning to “join with gold,” kintsugi is the Japanese art ...

Our CEO shares insights on the #SkollWorldForum in a piece for @impactalpha.com.

"With the shuttering of USAID, many of the social entrepreneurs that attend Skoll brought difficult stories of impact lost," writes Caroline Bressan.

A half-dozen new impact debt strategies on the Liist By one estimate, there are more than a thousand private credit funds raising money this quarter. First-time and impact fund managers offering up ...

A half-dozen new impact debt strategies on the Liist.

Rebuilding global aid was the (mostly) talk of the town at Skoll World Forum An image evoked at the Skoll World Forum this year was kintsugi. Literally meaning to “join with gold,” kintsugi is the Japanese art ...

"With the shuttering of USAID, many of the social entrepreneurs that attend #SkollWF brought difficult stories of impact lost," wrote @carobressan.bsky.social of @openroadimpact.bsky.social.

But there may be a silver lining.

@altusaid.altgov.info

impactalpha.com/at-skoll-for...

Open Road raises $14 million to bridge funding gaps for high-impact USAID projects. Story via @impactalpha.com.

“I keep asking myself, how do you eat an elephant? And it’s one bite at a time,” says Caroline Bressan of Open Road.

Announcing the release of the ImpactAssets 50 2025 – the definitive guide to impact investment fund managers globally. This year’s #IA50 features 165 experienced and emerging impact investment fund managers, the highest number to date: buff.ly/VlaQrdt

Press release (buff.ly/w3HnnyG)

ImpactAssets 50 - Impact Fund Manager Showcase The ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) is the most recognized free database of impact investment fund managers committed to generating positive impact. Learn More!

Here are just a few of the other funds on the list: Alante Capital, Chasing Rainbows, JFFVentures, Mercy Corps Ventures, Regeneration.VC, Zeal Capital Partners, and more.

Read the full list ➡️ bit.ly/IA502025 #IA50 #IA50EIM

ImpactAssets 50 - Impact Fund Manager Showcase The ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50) is the most recognized free database of impact investment fund managers committed to generating positive impact. Learn More!

We're excited to share that we've been selected to the ImpactAssets 50 2025 as an Emerging Impact Manager! It's an honor to be recognized alongside a diverse group of impact investment fund managers creating meaningful impact. Congrats to all the other incredible funds making an impact this year!

The European Union is poised to scale back its ambitious climate finance regulations, too The EU is streamlining its corporate climate regulations. Does that mean it's backing off?

The EU is streamlining its corporate climate regulations, reports Climate Proof's @louiewoodall.bsky.social.

“We have a very clear signal from the European business sector that there is too much complexity,” says @ec.europa.eu President @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu.

impactalpha.com/the-european...

Impact Investing to Bridge Funding Shortfalls: Laurie Michaels’ Model Through Open Road Alliance, Michaels and her team offer financial lifelines to impact organizations facing funding delays. It’s a strategy with lots of salience right now.

Again and again, what we’ve heard from organizations that do have mostly foreign aid funding, the killer really is uncertainty… The idea of having to lay people off on a USAID-funded project that then have to get hired 60 days later or 90 days later,” Bressan said. “How does that work?"

O15 Capital Partners raises $370 million to invest in under-resourced companies and communities Atlanta-based investment firm O15 Capital Partners reached a final close for its first Emerging America Credit Opportunities Fund, which provides debt to small ...

O15 Capital Partners raises $370 million to invest in under-resourced companies and communities.

“By looking where other market participants are not, we are able to source compelling, proprietary deal flow while creating stronger local economies and more equitable communities,” said Colin Meadows.

Impact Investing to Bridge Funding Shortfalls: Laurie Michaels’ Model Through Open Road Alliance, Michaels and her team offer financial lifelines to impact organizations facing funding delays. It’s a strategy with lots of salience right now.

💰 Can impact investing fill philanthropy’s funding gaps?

Laurie Michaels’ model blends finance & social impact to create sustainable funding solutions.
Inside Philanthropy takes a closer look.

📖 Read more: tinyurl.com/eafzs68f

#Philanthropy #ImpactInvesting #FundingInnovation #SustainableGiving

Impact leaders’ 2025 predictions: what will matter most this year From the ‘Coca-Cola risk’ to AI, leading social entrepreneurs, impact investors and network builders from across the world tell us what they're keeping an eye on in 2025. Make sure to read their analy...

@franseegull.bsky.social shared predictions for the 2025 impact economy in @pioneerspost.bsky.social, including that impact investors need to focus on real-world impacts like clean air & thriving communities. Read more from Fran & other leaders here: www.pioneerspost.com/news-views/2... #impinv

“While we cannot hope to cover all of the projects at risk, we are looking to organize additional funding that can either bridge to new funding or other anticipated revenues.”

#impactinvesting