Hey friends,
This week’s edition highlights a clear throughline we are seeing across impact markets right now: early-stage capital is being rebuilt from the ground up, and entire categories once considered niche are becoming mainstream investment opportunities.
From clean beauty’s rapid market expansion to new models for founder-led impact funding, and from disability innovation to climate-critical infrastructure, the stories below point to a maturing ecosystem.
We are also opening nominations for Social Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2026, our annual look at the founders building real solutions with measurable traction. Each year, this list becomes a signal of where impact is actually happening before the headlines catch up.
Let’s dive in.
— Grant
Featured Resource
50 Social Entrepreneurs to Watch for in 2026
As we navigate the complexities of a global economy, these leaders are redefining what it means to build a mission-driven business. This year’s list highlights founders moving beyond "awareness" and into deep systems change across climate tech, circular fashion, and ethical AI.
Social entrepreneurship in 2026 is no longer defined by good intentions or downstream philanthropy.
It is defined by how a company makes money.
The founders featured here have embedded impact directly into their unit economics. Revenue is generated only when a real world problem is solved.
A battery recycler gets paid when critical materials are recovered and reused.
A housing startup earns revenue by building faster, safer, lower waste homes.
A fintech platform grows by eliminating fees or predatory financial practices, not by shifting costs elsewhere.
This generation is not separating mission from margin.
Outcomes are the business model.
Growth reinforces impact instead of diluting it.
The more these companies scale, the more value they create for customers, communities, and systems that are already under strain.
That alignment is the defining feature of impact entrepreneurship today.
Not charity layered on top of business, but business designed so that positive outcomes are unavoidable.
Featured Interview
Meet Daring Capital: Rebuilding Early Stage Impact Funding from the Founder’s Seat
In this interview, we speak with the team behind Daring Capital, a new firm rethinking how early-stage impact capital is deployed. The conversation explores why first-check funding remains one of the biggest bottlenecks for impact founders, and how Daring is designing capital structures that work with founders rather than against them.
🗞️ News and Headlines
Clean beauty market growth – tailwinds for impact brands (US/global)
New research projects the U.S. clean beauty market at about $2.70 billion in 2025, growing to roughly $7.34 billion by 2033 at a 13.35% CAGR.
Globally, clean beauty is set to reach nearly $30 billion by 2033, with North America leading and social media-fueled demand for ingredient transparency accelerating adoption.
For mission-led founders, this isn’t just a category story—it’s a macro signal that “clean label” is moving from niche to default, widening the exit landscape for ethical personal-care, refillable formats, and traceable supply chains.
Rivian Foundation launches first $10M in grants
Rivian’s philanthropic arm announced its first $10 million in grant funding, backing 41 projects focused on conservation, clean energy, and community resilience across the U.S.
The grants sit alongside a renewable energy matching initiative—4.8 MWh of RECs purchased per vehicle sold, tying Rivian’s commercial growth to tangible climate and community benefits.
It’s a notable case study in how climate-aligned corporates can blend product, philanthropy, and infrastructure funding into one integrated impact thesis.
Perkins Howe Innovation Center x Adaptation Ventures: accelerating DisabilityTech
The Perkins Howe Innovation Center announced a new strategic collaboration with Adaptation Ventures, a pre-seed VC fund exclusively focused on DisabilityTech.
Perkins will surface high-potential founders from across disability and startup ecosystems, while Adaptation Ventures brings first-money-in capital, strategic guidance, and investor networks—explicitly targeting the early-stage funding bottleneck for accessible products and services.
New Climate and Impact Funds
- XAnge 5 – €200M first close: Paris-based XAnge announced a first close of €200M for its fifth fund, backing Seed–Series B startups across AI productivity & SaaS, frontier tech, and sustainable-tech, with tickets from €1M–€10M.
For impact founders, the “sustainable future” pillar opens a channel into a fund explicitly looking for European climate and deeptech category leaders. - Astarte Capital Partners – Impact Forestry Fund II, $80M: Astarte Capital Partners and SilviPar launched SilviPar Astarte Impact Forestry Fund II, with $80M already committed toward a $200M target.
The vehicle will back sustainable forestry projects in South America, aiming to pair climate-positive land use with real-asset returns in restoration, timber, and biodiversity-linked value chains.
🌎 Events, Fellowships, Grants, Accelerator, and Opportunities
- Breakthrough Energy Fellows – Innovator & Business Fellowships – One‑year climate tech commercialization fellowships with concept‑paper application, living stipend up to ~110,000 USD/year and substantial non‑dilutive R&D funding; Innovator track for <2M USD raised, Business track supporting commercialization. Learn more
- Activate Fellowship – Two‑year deep‑tech climate fellowship with living stipend (up to 110,000 USD/year), 100,000 USD research funding, plus at least 75,000 USD flexible capital to help scientists spin out climate ventures. Learn more
💰 Funding and Capital Watch
- Carba ($6M): The carbon removal startup secured $6M to scale its permanent underground carbon storage technology.
- Klir ($17.5M): Announced growth financing to serve as a centralized operational hub for water utilities, improving compliance and efficiency in water management.
- Aptera Motors ($9M - $18M): The solar electric vehicle maker closed $9 million from its public offering, with the potential to double that through warrant exercises.
Grant Trahant
Founder | Causeartist
Host | Disruptors for Good + Investing in Impact
Venture Partner | Pay it Forward Ventures
Connect: LinkedIn | X
