San Diego CA— City SAIL graduate, Skinny Gene Project, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing Type 2 Diabetes by educating and empowering at-risk families, recently secured their first impact investment loan from Mission Driven Finance. The firm, which is an investment company dedicated to providing socially-minded businesses with transformative investment opportunities, announced its investment in the form of a $100,000 impact loan that is aimed at helping the organization secure compliant data systems as well as increase their workforce’s capacity and provide employee benefits.
Both Mission Driven Finance and Skinny Gene Project credit Mission Edge and their City SAIL program for preparing the organization to service this $100,000 impact loan. Marlayna Bollinger, Executive Director of Skinny Gene Project, says “Mission Edge was incredibly beneficial in our growth this summer. The City Sail program helped me reframe my whole understanding of our business and propel us forward.”
This past summer was the first cohort of Mission Edge’s City SAIL (Social Enterprise Accelerator and Impact Lab), a program funded by the City of San Diego to empower mission-driven organizations within San Diego city limits to develop sustainable business models based on earned revenue and promote economic and workforce development. The program is a spin-off of Mission Edge’s SAIL program, which has successfully graduated over 30 organizations and helped them raise over $450,000 since 2017.
A product of the SAIL program and Mission Edge’s dedication to continued mentorship following the program, is the ability for organizations to confidently communicate their impact and prove their preparedness for investment. Ken Davenport, Mission Edge’s CEO, explains “SAIL is designed to help nonprofits and social enterprises ask and answer key questions about their business model and the impact they will have in the community. It encourages them to define and communicate the value they are providing in a way that is both sustainable and investment ready. The Skinny Gene Project is a great example of this.”
The next cohort of Mission Edge’s SAIL Program is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2020 and applications will open in January. For more information on the program or any of Mission Edge’s finance, HR, and consulting services visit missionedge.org or email info@missionedge.org.