The Benefits of Being Local
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Unmatched goodwill that can be leveraged for business development
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All revenues stay in the community to enhance economic vibrancy
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The creation of valuable intersections between every segment and sector of a community
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Benefits for every stakeholder in a community
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Enhanced resiliency and sustainability
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If we don't "do local" there will be "no local"
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A local rising tide lifts all boats
Place Based
Impact economics is all about "placed-based"impact. All too often companies like ours fly into a city or community where they have no presence, and extract the financial and intellectual capital they receive. Those companies do not understand the historic (or current) socioeconomic construct, religions, histories, local problems, etc., etc., etc., and as such, simply cannot provide the same kind of impact that "In Place" consultants can.
A core tenet of Impact Economics is increasing economic vibrancy within every segment of a community or city, and hence, we believe that the people doing the work need to live in, and be a part of, the cities and communities where the work is being done. This is why we certify people In Place, allowing them to start or expand their own businesses within their communities, resulting in 95% of the revenues they generate and the increases in economic vibrancy they create remaining in the local economic ecosystem. .
Giving back happens naturally within the Impact Economics model as it is built into its DNA. Below are some of the ways that the model naturally helps all stakeholders within any community that it is implemented, and each initiative is designed to be easily replicated by Impact Economics Certified Consultants in the communities where they live and work.
We are headquartered in Charleston, SC and we use our city as our incubator to test new innovations before we launch them to the Impact Economics Certified Consultant network.
Education
9-years ago, In Place Impact designed, helped fund, and still helps teach the award-winning, 6 credit ImpactX (Impact Entrepreneurship Class) at the College of Charleston.
This semester-long class uses consequential learning techniques to challenge students to build for-profit innovations purposed to help the greater Charleston region uphold one or more of the UN SDGs.
In Place Impact team members donate 20 hours per week to helping teach and mentor the remarkable students who are selected to take the class. The syllabus, class structure, and full training for professors in other schools are available through the Impact Economics Certification program.
More recently, we have been instrumental in adding accredited classes on Impact Investing and building out the ProtoX Makers Space.
Inclusive Innovation
In Place Impact designed, fully funds, and teaches Charleston's only free Community Impact Entrepreneurship Class. (A $13,000 value for each participant).
Held 3 times each year in 12-week cohorts, any resident of greater Charleston can attend the 90-minute classes held on Wednesday nights at CofC.
Over 700 people have taken the class, over 70% are women, over 60% are minority, and over 50% live in our most marginalized community segments. This is inclusive impact entrepreneurship at the root level.
In Place Impact team members donate 4 hours per week to help teach and mentor the class participants. The syllabus, class structure, and full training on how to teach the class are available through the Impact Economics Certification program.
Free Impact Incubator
In Place Impact designed and runs Charleston's only free Impact Incubator.
Graduates of the student and community classes can bring their SDG focused Impact Innovations into the Incubator to help get them to market, find funding from local impact investors, and to start scaling them.
In Place Impact has arranged for pro-bono hour donations from every kind of professional services firm.
In Place Impact team members donate 600 hours per year to the Incubator and the companies in it. How to set up, run, and manage the incubator is available through the Impact Economics Certification program.
Vibrant Hub of Impact
In Place Impact designed Charleston's annual Impact Day event and donated it to the College of Charleston. All proceeds are used to build a formal Center of Impact Studies at the school and to expand the free community Impact Entrepreneurship classes and free Impact Incubator,
The event brings together Charleston's Impact Innovators with its Impact Investors to learn from global recognized leaders. Even during the pandemic, the vibrant hub we have created was responsible for launching and locally funding 7 Impact focused start-ups.
In Place Impact team members donate 50-hours per year to the event. The agenda, event structure, and full training in producing, marketing, and selling sponsorships for the event are available through the Impact Economics Certification program.
City of Charleston
We are the only company in Charleston licensed to embed Impact Economics in our community. We have worked with many institution sin Charleston, including the Mayors Office and the City, using our City Impact Index to help Charleston hasten its dire to become economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable for ALL of its residents.
We donated our time and resources to putting Charleston through the City Impact Index.
No One is Excluded
In 2022, a number of high profile Charleston residents stated the Alliance for Community Collaboration (ACC), a not-for-profit purposed to end the hardships that result in gun violence within segments of the greater Charleston community.
At the request of the ACC, In Place Impact now teaches its free Impact Entrepreneurship Community class to residents of the Al Cannon Detention Center in North Charleston, and at the Citadel for SC Veterans. Classes are run Wednesdays in the prison and Tuesdays at the Citadel, and are becoming an exemplar and template for the program to be rolled out across the nation.