In the News

Portland-based software training provider Alchemy Code Lab has secured a $5.8 million investment from impact investing nonprofit Social Finance as part of a Career Impact Bond. The Career Impact Bond aims to provide training for people who face barriers to education or employment to improve their career outcomes, and allows students to enroll in training with no upfront costs.

Student-friendly income share agreement increases access to software development training and jobs...

Excerpted from Portland Business Journal...

Boston—Today, a distinguished panel shared results of an innovative Pay for Success program to build skills and wages in the Commonwealth. A new study from evaluator Economic Mobility documented significant wage gains and job retention from the project’s English for Advancement (EfA) program, which engaged more than 1,000 residents in Boston, Lynn, Lowell, and Lawrence. The evaluation, which includes an ongoing randomized control trial, showed that EfA demonstrates a substantial impact on earnings in the second year after project enrollment, averaging $3,505 over the first two years. Participants who were unemployed at enrollment realized earning gains of more than $7,100 compared to members of the control group during the second year after enrollment. The project is the first Pay for Success project in the nation to focus on workforce development....

Ann Patton, writing for Pioneer Post, covers Social Finance’s appearance at SOCAP and goes into a panel at the event featuring our partners from the General Assembly Career Impact Bond, including Blue Meridian Partners’ Kelly Campbell, Tom Ogletree of General Assembly, and Career Impact Bond graduate Angil Tate....

Guild Education Senior Vice president Allison Dulin Salisbury, writing for Forbes, says the Career Impact Bond “expands access to quality, industry-recognized career training programs and support services.”...

Career impact bonds finance vocational training with the kind of income-share agreements offered by an increasing number of universities as an alternative to crushing student debt (see, “income-share funds expand college finance options for low-income students”). Boston-based Social Finance has invested in two training programs: General Assembly’s accelerated tech education program and Acuitus’ IT education program, which targets veterans. Next up: diesel mechanics....

Today, national nonprofit Social Finance announced the UP Fund, with anchor investments from Blue Meridian Partners, Schmidt Futures, Blue Haven Initiative, The Shapiro Foundation, and Donor Advised Fund accounts at Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable to finance worker upskilling and help students get jobs in growing sectors like information technology (IT), health care, and green jobs.

Director of Special Projects Mike Silvestri went on Faith Driven Investor’s podcast to talk about about Social Impact Bonds....

In her interview with Frederick, Tracy talks about why it’s so hard to fund prevention and how the Career Impact Bond could facilitate equitable COVID-19 recovery, and provides key leadership takeaways from the pandemic.