Raise Green Explained — Invest in Climate Solutions

An abbreviated and simplified version of the “Project Finance Impact Investing with Raise Green” paper by a group of Harvard students.  

Four central truths make Raise Green a vehicle of progress. 

1. We need to take climate action, and fast.

2. But truly environmentally impactful projects are underfunded because they might not yield immediate returns and tend to be considered high risk. 

3. Your alternate investment options are “green companies” that are generally not transparent about their actual environmental impact. 

4. Private Equity investment just became available to those that don’t have a net worth above a million dollars starting in 2016. And this can be a huge source of potential funding for truly impactful projects that also yield returns. Yet, even in today’s interconnected world, available doesn’t necessarily mean accessible.

Raise Green is pioneering a marketplace that has the potential to turn these truths of the status quo into tales of the past. 

Raise Green offers your average person looking to make a difference a simple and clear way to invest directly into community-driven sustainability projects. 

Simultaneously, Raise Green offers knowledge needed to overcome legal barriers and a platform to raise capital to any grassroots changemaker looking to take action and get their own environmentally impactful project off the ground. 

Regulation Crowdfunding meets Project Finance 

In the past, only accredited investors – individuals with net worths above $1 million – could invest in Private Equity. 

But all that changed in 2016, when recent Regulation Crowdfunding legislation expanded the private equity market to the common person.  

Now, you don’t need a million dollars to be able to invest in a start-up or a local solar project. 

While donation-based crowdfunding on sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter have been accessible to the general public for a while, this legislation is groundbreaking in that it allows almost anyone to invest in return for a share of ownership  in a private company (i.e. it opens up equity crowdfunding to the general public).   

Equity crowdfunding is how the Raise Green marketplace raises funds for projects. But Raise Green is unique in that investors get paid back with interest on a payment schedule as opposed to just receiving equity, drastically increasing the predictability of their investment.  

Predictability for investors is important because Raise Green is a project finance marketplace that focuses on high additionality firms. 

Project Finance refers to a financial model where companies and people are able to create projects that don’t risk their assets in the event of bankruptcy. It’s crucial for the expansion of the sustainable energy industry because it fundamentally changes the risk calculus of parent companies and project sponsors. They no longer have to worry that a single project will tank the entire company or risk their entire bank account, which means they are more likely to pursue projects.  

High additionality firms are firms that are unlikely to be able to find the investment they need on their own. Essentially, Raise Green supports the underdogs. In the context of climate solutions, additionality means that these are projects that lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions that wouldn’t happen without deliberate action. This also means that each dollar invested in a project on the Raise Green marketplace has the potential to make more of a difference than if invested elsewhere. 

Simple, Transparent, and Direct Climate Investment

Unlike other regulation crowdfunding platforms, Raise Green focuses solely on environmentally impactful projects. 

Raise Green is also a diamond in the rough among impact investing platforms. Its project finance model means that 100% of your investment goes directly into an environmentally impactful project, as opposed to on other platforms where a good portion of your investment could go into operational costs rather than direct impact (e.g. paying executives). 

Before you invest in any listing, you can find out exactly where and what your investment is going towards, as well as the specific environmental impact of that listing. In contrast, alternate “green” investment options like ESG ETFs (environmental, social and governance focused exchange-traded funds that act as a middleman between an investor and a group of companies listed on the public stock market) provide minimal transparency and have complex investment procedures.  Oftentimes, your money is going to multiple companies, which makes it really hard to gauge actual impact. 

This is compounded by the fact that ESG metrics are an incredibly confusing and unstandardized system. To better understand why they are a poor metric for actual environment impact, read this blog post. 

In short – Raise Green is your best bet for straightforward and truly environmentally impactful investment. 

If you’re interested in starting your own clean energy project, Raise Green can support both the development (Originator Engine) and funding (Marketplace). Or if you’re interested in investing in an existing project, you can create an investor account for free here. 

As always, feel free to send any questions or comments you might have to info@raisegreen.com.

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This Blog is for discussion purposes only, expresses the views of Raise Green, and is not investment research. This is not investment or tax advice, and does not constitute a solicitation to sell or an offer to buy any securities. Certain information is from or links are to third party sources. Although they are believed to be reliable, we do not guarantee their accuracy, completeness or fairness. Raise Green is a licensed Funding Portal with the SEC and FINRA, and is not a Municipal Advisor. Prior to being approved to list a company on the Raise Green portal, a diligence review is completed. Prior to investing. investors must sign up for an account on the portal. Raise Green does not provide tax, accounting or legal advice. Investing in crowdfunded offerings involves risk and you should review the risks of a particular investment prior to investing. You are strongly encouraged to consult your professional advisors before investing. Go to www.raisegreen.com for additional information on services, the funding portal, regulation, and investment risks. Or, direct inquiries to info@raisegreen.com. Copyright © 2021