This case study, from CSP and Roots of Impact, argues that clear goals are foundational. But even small differences in what you're aiming for can lead to very different decisions, and without coherence across those decisions, value gets left on the table.
Drawing on a four-step process "identify, plan, implement, and learn", the paper walks through how to move from goal setting to goal-fit capital design. It introduces five Impact-by-Design use cases, from unlocking innovation in early-stage ventures to combining blended finance with impact incentives, each illustrated with a real-world example: an AI-powered recycling venture backed by catalytic capital, a play-based learning program that scaled from pilot to national policy in Ghana, a climate infrastructure fund built to recycle philanthropic returns, and more.
More capital, or more growth, doesn't automatically mean more impact. Impact has to be built into the design of the capital itself, its structure, its terms, its time horizon, not assumed as a byproduct of scale.
For families, foundations, and fund managers, the paper offers a practical way to ask a sharper question than "how much should I give or invest?" Namely: what kind of capital, structured how, will actually get me to the outcome I care about?
Download the full case study to explore the framework, the four dimensions of goal-setting, and the five capital-design strategies in detail.
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