Summer 2016 Travels and Connections

With the help of IAN Chapter Chair Jodi Morris and her good friends, Steve and Teri Carcano, RENEW co-hosted one of our favorite events to date. The evening’s enlightening and lively discussion revealed many interesting and unexpected linkages, and shed some light on the motivations that brought people together that evening (read about the happy hour in our blog: #What’sYourStory?). RENEW also enjoyed meeting and speaking with local family offices, philanthropic advisors and other potential partners, including the team over at Los Angeles City Incubator (LACI).

The team had a stellar visit to the windy city at the end of July - meeting old friends, developing new connections, and even some team planning time. The partners had great conversations on impact investing with several groups, including Brian Kasal and Laura Swanson of FourStar Wealth Advisors, Alesha Black and Louise Iverson of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and Tasha Seitz of Impact Engine.

Matt and Laura had a great time in beautiful Ottawa, meeting with government stakeholders and new local partners alike. The team continued conversations with James Kinkaid of Kincaid Wealth Management of RBC Dominion Securities. Matt and Laura first met James during the spring roadshow in April at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting (read about RENEW's experience in our blog: A Buffett-Like Approach to Investing in Africa.) They also enjoyed time with our new friends at the Canadian Council on Africa, among others.

Partner Laura Davis had a wonderful opportunity to share about RENEW and the Impact Angel Network with Women Investing for Impact (WIFI) in early August. Our gracious hosts convened mid-summer and had a great turnout, which led to some smart questions and dynamic conversation. A special thank you to Kathy Fazel and Fiona MacFarlane for pulling together such a great breakfast event!

RENEW met with several individuals, families and advisors during their time in Boston. Matt and Laura also had the opportunity to present an information session for a Boston-area wealth management firm on the growing fields of angel and impact investing. A big thank you to Paul Lonergan and his firm Congress Wealth Management for hosting!

It was a whirlwind, but all in all a wonderful trip filled with valuable dialogue with IAN members, potential investors and too many stakeholders and partners to count!