Social finance is the use of capital to achieve outcomes which go beyond a purely financial return.
Socialfinance.ca defines it as:
“an approach to managing money that delivers social and/or environmental benefits, and in most cases, a financial return. Social finance encourages positive social or environmental solutions at a scale that neither purely philanthropic supports nor traditional investment can reach.”
Known also as impact investing, blended value returns, triple bottom line, social finance includes the use of such financial instruments as Community Bonds, Social Impact Bonds, forgivable loans, program related investments, etc.
Investor intentionally invests to create a positive social and/or environmental outcome in addition to a positive financial return. More information concerning Impact Investing can be found at Taylor & Francis Online.