The Annual Conference on Legal Issues in Social Entrepreneurship and Impact Investing – in the US and Beyond, co-organized by the Grunin Center and the Impact Investing Legal Working Group, takes place at NYU Law. Attended by students, lawyers and other stakeholders from across the globe, this leading conference explores salient legal, ethical, and social themes affecting the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
2024 Conference
The in-person 2024 Conference focused on the following themes:
- Navigating Incentives in Impact Investing
- Revolutionizing How Nonprofits Engage - Philanthropy, Private Capital and More
- Charting the Course: Navigating the Future of Impact Investing
- Preserving our Future: Environmental Resilience, Climate, and Nature Conservation
2023 Conference
The in-person 2023 Conference focused on the following themes:
- Distributive Power and Wealth: Is the Impact Space Ready and Willing to Democratize Capital?
- Impact Investing in Times of Crisis: Governance, Collaboration, Restructurings, Data, and Resilience
- Dynamic Impact Capital: Evolving Rules, Players, Structures, and Products
- A Tale of Diverging Regulatory Environments: Navigating Local and Global Regulations and Developing the Skills to Respond
- People's Choice topics were explored over a variety of Table Talk discussions reflecting conference participants’ suggestions.
2022 Conference
The remote 2022 Conference focused on the following themes:
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Blending Finance to Advance Climate Adaptation and Resilience
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Elevating Beneficiaries: Inclusive Design in Impact Instruments
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Legal Implications of Minority Wealth Equity Strategies
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Prepare for Impact: Training Lawyers for ESG, Impact Investing, and Social Enterprise Practices
2021 Conference
The remote 2021 Conference focused on the following themes:
- Investing in Climate Action
- Creating Responsible Exits and Restructurings
- Growing The Skills and Expanding the Mindsets of Our Legal Community
- Putting a Lens on Impact Investments
- Certifying and Regulating Impact
- Building Resilient Communities
2020 Conference
The 2020 IILWG/Grunin Center Annual Conference did not take place. We sadly came to this decision out of concern for the health and safety of the more than 400 participants who come from all over the world to New York City to attend this conference at NYU School of Law.
2019 Conference
The 2019 Conference focused on the following themes:
- Creating and Documenting “New” Impact Investment Products
- Embedding SDGs and ESG into Deals and Enterprises
- Blending Capital for Scale
- Engaging in Place-Based Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship
- Governing for Good – Taking a Longer-Term View
- People’s Choice (variety of topics reflecting Conference participants’ suggestions)
2018 Conference
The 2018 Conference focused on the following themes:
- Policy and regulation of impact investing and social entrepreneurship
- Blending and scaling capital
- Building investment-ready social enterprises
- Embedding impact into deal structures
- Mainstreaming impact
- People’s choice (variety of topics reflecting conference participants’ suggestions)
2017 Conference
The 2017 Conference focused on the following themes:
- Growing the global community of lawyers working in the field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing
- Planning for market uncertainty when investing in social enterprises or managing social enterprises
- Aggregating capital for impact investing
- Creating and documenting new impact investment products