Social Finance Impact First Fund Invests in Apis & Heritage Legacy Fund II to Help Scale a New Model of Employee Ownership

$3 million investment in Apis & Heritage Legacy Fund II will help create wealth-building opportunities for low-and moderate-income workers by supporting employee buyouts in essential industries 

(Boston, MA)—Today, Social Finance, the national nonprofit and registered investment adviser, announced a $3 million investment in Apis & Heritage Legacy Fund II through the Social Finance Impact First Fund, a one-stop solution for investing in funds that prioritize social and environmental impact. Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) is a private credit and impact investing platform dedicated to building wealth for low- and moderate-income workers through employee ownership. 

Over the past several decades, US worker wage growth, when adjusted for inflation, has stagnated. The top 1% of US households owns over 30% of total national wealth, while the bottom 50% owns about just 2.5% of wealth, and nearly half of all Americans age 55-65 report having no retirement savings. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers own 40% of U.S. small businesses, yet fewer than one-third have a succession plan for when they retire.  

Apis & Heritage offers a solution to retiring business owners: selling their businesses to their employees. Through its Employee-Led Buyout (ELBO) model, Apis & Heritage converts lower-middle market companies from private ownership to employee ownership via the employee stock ownership (ESOP) model. In building broad-based wealth for workers, these buyouts promote economic mobility and financial stability.  

“Apis & Heritage’s employee ownership model builds wealth for frontline workers, preserves jobs, and strengthens communities, making it a compelling addition to the Impact First Fund portfolio,” said Kirstin Hill, President & COO of Social Finance. “This is the first employee ownership model we’ve added to the portfolio, and we’re excited to invest in Apis & Heritage as part of our mission to scale innovative approaches that advance economic equity for workers.” 

Since its founding in 2021, Apis & Heritage has deployed over $40 million across six portfolio companies, creating over 1,500 worker-owners as of Q3 2025 through its initial fund, the Apis & Heritage Legacy Fund I. And as of the 2024 annual impact report, 80% of these workers are workers of color and 89% are low-income. The success of this first-time fund has validated the investment model and informed the approach to the Apis & Heritage Legacy Fund II, which will continue to target companies in “real economy” sectors that rely on essential workers, such as manufacturing, construction, commercial cleaning, and landscaping. 

 “We’re thrilled to partner with Social Finance through the Impact First Fund,” said Tobi Adewodu, Head of Investor Relations, Apis & Heritage Capital Partners. “This investment allows us to continue scaling employee ownership and accelerate our mission to close the wealth gap for low- and moderate-income workers. None of this would be possible without mission-aligned limited partners like Social Finance who share our vision.”  

Launched in July 2023, the Impact First Fund provides a holistic, diversified portfolio of catalytic investments for individuals and institutions looking for a straightforward and efficient way to pursue impact-first investment opportunities that support meaningful and measurable change for people and the planet. The Impact First Fund has now completed seven investments across a variety of issue areas, including early child care, regenerative agriculture, clean energy, and economic mobility, demonstrating the Fund’s ability to identify and support a diverse array of impact opportunities. 

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About Social Finance  

Social Finance is a national nonprofit and registered investment adviser (SF Advisors, LLC). We work with the public, private, and social sectors to create partnerships and investments that measurably improve lives. Since our founding in 2011, we have mobilized more than $500 million in new investments designed to help people and communities realize improved outcomes in workforce and economic mobility, health, and housing. Learn more at socialfinance.org.   

About Apis & Heritage  

Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) is a private credit and impact investing platform dedicated to building wealth for low- and moderate-income workers through employee ownership. Using its Employee-Led Buyout (ELBO) model, A&H partners with business owners to transition lower-middle market companies to employee ownership via Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). Since its founding in 2021, A&H has deployed over $40 million in capital across more than six portfolio companies, from rural Oregon to Baltimore, MD, creating dignity and a path to wealth for over 1,500 blue-collar workers.