In 2022, Fondazione Cariplo and Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore launched an impact investment program dedicated to strengthening the cooperative sector. Today, Impact4Coop represents a unique initiative within the social finance landscape: in addition to expanding and diversifying the capital available to Social Cooperatives (alongside or complementary to non-repayable grants), it introduces an innovative financial instrument to the market — the Impact Grant.
The evolution of the Third Sector toward sustainable entrepreneurial models
In recent years, the Italian Third Sector — particularly social cooperatives — has undergone a significant transformation. Alongside its traditional solidarity-based and mutualistic dimension, a stronger entrepreneurial profile has gradually emerged, grounded in sustainable business models, revenue-generation capacity, and the production of measurable social impact. At the same time, a shared space has developed where responsible for-profit enterprises and economically sustainable social enterprises converge — an arena in which an “evolved” Second Sector engages in dialogue with an entrepreneurial Third Sector. Within this intersection, impact investors are increasingly active. Their objective is to invest in economically sustainable initiatives capable of generating financial returns — often lower than those expected by traditional investors — while maximizing social value. In short, whereas traditional investors primarily assess the risk/return ratio, impact investors add a third dimension to their analysis: risk/return/impact.
Beyond Grants: the importance of new financial instruments
Historically, social cooperatives have relied mainly on non-repayable grants, bank credit, and short-term financing instruments. While these are essential tools, they are not always sufficient to support investments in innovation, capital strengthening, organizational growth, and scalable impact. In many cases, undercapitalization limits the sector’s ability to plan long-term development. It therefore becomes necessary to complement grants with patient capital and participatory investment instruments consistent with the nature and mission of social cooperatives. From an investor’s perspective, encouraging these organizations to open up to new forms of financing and investment is crucial to fostering a more entrepreneurial culture oriented toward medium- and long-term sustainability. Moreover, for banking foundations, grants are a highly valuable resource that must be allocated carefully. Looking ahead, given the sharp reduction in public funding, non-repayable contributions are likely to become increasingly insufficient relative to the scale of demand and social needs.
Impact4Coop: addressing the capital gap
Within this context, Impact4Coop was launched in 2022 by Fondazione Cariplo and Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore, with an initial commitment of approximately €2 million. The program was relaunched in 2025 with an additional €1.8 million allocated to impact investments in Italian Type A, Type B, or mixed social cooperatives. The program aims to strengthen capital structures and support the growth of organizations that play a key role in community services, social and work inclusion, and assistance to vulnerable individuals.
The Impact Grant pilot: the case of Vesti Solidale
Within the Impact4Coop framework, Fondazione Social Venture Giordano Dell’Amore introduced for the first time in Italy an innovative financial structure known as the Impact Grant. This mechanism — based on specific legal and contractual arrangements — allows a portion of the investment to be converted into a non-repayable grant upon the achievement of pre-agreed social impact targets. This tool creates a strong incentive to achieve measurable impact outcomes while simultaneously strengthening the beneficiary’s capital structure, thereby improving access to additional financing and attracting new investors. The first application of this innovative structure took place through FSVGDA’s investment in Vesti Solidale, a social cooperative operating in the circular economy and environmental protection sectors, with a mission focused on the employment inclusion of disadvantaged individuals. The transaction supported the cooperative in developing a new facility with the capacity to recycle up to 15,000 tons of used clothing per year.
Results achieved
Across the first and second editions of Impact4Coop, the Foundation has invested a total of €2 million to support 16 social cooperatives: AEPER, Alice, Auxilium, Casa dello Studente, Chico Mendes, ExEat, Il Grigio, Il Ponte, Koinè, La Cordata, La Fabbrica di Olinda, La Miniera di Giove, Lo Specchio, Pandora, Tikvà, and Vesti Solidale. In six investment transactions, the Foundation applied the Impact Grant mechanism.
To apply for Impact4Coop, visit: https://impact4coop.fsvgda.it/
Program video: https://youtu.be/8kgVQI1wqL8
