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SJF Institute and Investors’ Circle Announce Merger

SJF Institute and Investors' Circle

SJF Institute (SJFI) and Investors' Circle (IC) today announced a merger.  Effective July 1, 2011, SJFI has taken over management and governance roles for Investors' Circle. Bonny Moellenbrock, Executive Director of SJF Institute, has also assumed executive leadership of Investors' Circle. Two of IC's board members will join SJFI's board, and Suzanne Biegel – IC's Acting CEO and longtime IC member – will transition to serve on IC's Advisory Board.

Since 1992 Investors' Circle has built a network of over 150 angel investors, professional venture capitalists, foundations and family offices who are using private capital to promote the transition to a sustainable economy. During that time Investors' Circle has facilitated the flow of over $145 million into more than 220 companies and small funds addressing social and environmental issues.

SJF Institute was founded in 2001 as an independent nonprofit affiliate of SJF Ventures, a leading national impact investment venture capital fund. SJFI develops national and regional programs to connect, inspire and accelerate impact entrepreneurs and the fields that support them. SJFI has provided direct technical assistance to over 1,500 impact entrepreneurs and has helped hundreds of others through its programs, including Getting Ready for Equity, CleanLinks networking events, the SJF Cleantech Mentorship Program, the Green Jobs Award, and reports such as Employees Matter: Maximizing Company Value Through Workforce Engagement.

"IC and SJF Institute are completely mission aligned – we believe that entrepreneurship is key to addressing the world's greatest social and environmental challenges and supporting the economy," said Suzanne Biegel of Investors' Circle. "Early stage impact investors are looking for investment-ready companies led by passionate, capable entrepreneurs, and to align their investments with their values."

"We see a great deal of synergy in bringing together our entrepreneur and venture networks with the IC investment network," said Bonny Moellenbrock of SJF Institute. "We want to build a vibrant capital marketplace to put more impact entrepreneurs on a clear path to strong financial growth and measurable social and environmental impact. We know this is the pipeline that later stage institutional investors are seeking. When this happens, everyone wins: the entrepreneurs, the investors, communities, and the planet."

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SJF Summit on the New Green Economy to Take Place September 14-15 in Durham (Discount Available)

The SJF Summit on the New Green Economy will take place from September 14-15 in Durham, North Carolina.  This event is organized by SJF Advisory Services (affiliated with venture capital fund SJF Ventures) and will bring together business leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers, and community groups to focus on strategies to expand the green economy.

This conference will feature keynote addresses from Bruce Kahn (Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors), Dr. Robert Wallace, (BITHENERGY), Bruce Usher (Columbia Business School), and David Orr (Oberlin).  It will also include the following breakout sessions:

Thanks to our friends at the SJF Advisory Services, readers of Green VC can receive a $25 discount on the registration price for this event.  To receive the discount, please use code "greenvc08" when registering online. Further program information can be found at:

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SJF Ventures to Present “Cleantech Companies in Mainstream Markets: Fourth Annual CEO Panel on Innovative Strategies” on June 11

On Wednesday, June 11, SJF Ventures will present a program entitled Cleantech Companies in Mainstream Markets: Fourth Annual CEO Panel on Innovative Strategies.  This event will feature presentations from CEOs of the following nine cleantech companies, which represent sectors including alternative energy, transportation, electronics recycling, and consumer products: 

This event will also include a keynote address by Kevin Skillern, Senior Vice President at GE Energy Financial Services, who leads its venture capital team that is focused on the energy and water industries. GE Energy Financial Services has more than $19 billion in assets and is investing more than $5 billion annually.

"SJF Ventures is committed to supporting cleantech innovation," said David Kirkpatrick, Managing Director and co-founder of SJF Ventures. "Past presenters from this event have raised more than $130 million in venture capital, which is a testament to the caliber of the CEO presenters and the success of this event."

"Since presenting at last year’s CEO Panel, SJF Ventures has been a valuable resource for Helios Coatings as we looked to raise additional capital to ensure growth for our company," said Mark Leininger, CEO, Helios Coatings Inc., Canton, OH. "The connections we made at this and other events organized by SJF led directly to our completing a capital raise of over $4.2 million, at a time when raising capital in the cleantech sector has become increasingly more competitive."

This program will take place from 8:00 AM – 1:30 PM at Deutsche Bank, 60 Wall Street, New York, NY.  Although online registration is now closed, the event registration page has information on how you can register by phone.  Note that according to the event press release, pre-registration is required.

For more information: