Case Study
Nature provides ~ 30% of the mitigation needed to meet Paris Agreement targets. Conservation International Ventures needed to demonstrate how philanthropic capital could catalyze private investment in nature — and help close the $700B annual funding gap — in a language that would resonate with sophisticated donors and investors.
Co-developed the 2023 Impact Report touting the returns of investing $15M in 43 nature-positive startups. The report reframed nature-positive investment as a measurable financial strategy — translating conservation data into a compelling "Impact ROI" narrative that bridged the gap between the mission and market.
Additionally, impact and donor reports as well as pitch decks for individual and institutional investors, featured industry firsts by Conservation International's Nature Finance Group. These included the world's first bilateral debt-for-nature swap – between US and Bolivia – a new finance mechanism that has since been used 22 times in 14 countries and raised $380M for conservation. Others included: launching the first-ever forest bond for $152M in Kenya with the IFC, and verified the world's first blue carbon crediting project in Cispata, Colombia.
The report validated CI Ventures as the NGO leader in conservation finance and proved the power of catalytic capital: investees have gone on to raise over $68M in follow-on capital, proving that philanthropic investment in nature-positive startups can unlock significant private-sector funding at scale. Impact, donor and pitch reports for The Nature Finance Group helped unlock millions in additional funding for nature-positive and conservation projects.