Sorenson Impact
Sorenson Impact Institute is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit housed at the University of Utah that provides impact investing advisory, impact measurement, and innovative finance services to foundations, government agencies, and nonprofits while operating one of the world's largest student-led venture capital training programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSalt Lake City, Utah, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sorenson Impact does
Sorenson Impact Institute is a private nonprofit impact advisory and research organization founded in 2013 by Jim Sorenson and housed at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business in Salt Lake City. The institute operates across three interlocking practice areas: impact investing advisory, impact measurement and management, and innovative finance structuring, with the mission of expanding the market for impact investing and training the next generation of impact leaders.
The institute's core products and proprietary assets include the MAPS Project dashboard suite (STEP Dashboard, Institutional Equity Outcomes Dashboard, and Financial Health Dashboard) for higher education institutions, monetization frameworks such as the one developed for Huntsman Mental Health Institute, and the University Venture Fund, one of the world's largest student-led venture capital programs with over $45 million deployed across 100+ companies. The institute generates revenue through professional services consulting engagements, university-supported academic and experiential learning programs, and grant funding from foundations including Ford and MacArthur. Its customer base spans foundations, government agencies, nonprofits, family offices, and higher education institutions across the United States and globally, with 300+ organizational partners and notable engagements including Salt Lake County's $11.7M pay-for-success HNJ and REACH projects.
Sorenson Impact firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sorenson Impact
- Legal name
- Sorenson Impact Institute
- Website
- https://sorensonimpactinstitute.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Sorenson Impact Institute is a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit housed at the University of Utah that provides impact investing advisory, impact measurement, and innovative finance services to foundations, government agencies, and nonprofits while operating one of the world's largest student-led venture capital training programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sorenson Impact industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Impact Investing Advisory and Social Impact Consulting
- NAICS
- Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)
- SIC
- Investment Advice (6282), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG), Healthcare Access & Life Sciences Impact Funds (FSANAJAI), Impact Investment & Social Finance Programs (BPADAOAJ)
Keywords
Where Sorenson Impact is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sorenson Impact business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Consulting and Advisory Services: The institute generates revenue through consulting engagements with organizations seeking impact strategy, impact measurement and management, innovative finance structuring, and impact storytelling services.
- Academic and Experiential Learning Programs: Revenue is supported through the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business for managing student programs, internships, and academic initiatives that integrate experiential learning with real-world impact investing work.
- Grants and Foundation Funding: The institute receives grant funding from foundations such as the Ford Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for field-building initiatives like the $1M Collaboration Fund.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Sorenson Impact product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sorenson Impact Institute is a nonprofit advisory and research organization that helps foundations, government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations achieve their impact vision through three practice areas: impact investing advisory, impact finance and innovative finance structuring, and impact measurement and management. It also operates the University Venture Fund, a student-led venture capital program, and the highly competitive Impact Investing Student Program that trains future impact leaders in experiential deal work.
Product overview
Sorenson Impact Institute is an advisory and research organization that offers service-based programs rather than a traditional software product. The core offerings include the University Venture Fund (student-led investment fund), the MAPS Project data tool suite (higher education enrollment forecasting dashboards), the Impact Investing Student Program (experiential VC internship), and various advisory/research services including impact measurement frameworks and outcomes-based financing research. These programs are interconnected through their shared mission of expanding impact investing markets and training future impact leaders.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Impact & Prosperity Epicenter: A pioneering live/work ecosystem that fosters a shared vision for the betterment of people and the planet, serving as the Institute's headquarters.
- University Venture Fund
Products and services
- University Venture Fund (UVF) The premier student-led investment fund for impact-minded investors, offering students experiential education operating one of the world's largest student-run investment funds since 2001. Over $45 million deployed across 100+ mission-driven companies worldwide spanning healthtech, fintech, clean energy, and sustainable agriculture.
- MAPS Project A student-centric initiative to chart the shifting landscape of higher education using data-driven research and dashboards. Features multiple tools including the STEP Dashboard, Institutional Equity Outcomes Dashboard, and Financial Health Dashboard. Developed in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- Impact Investing Student Program A highly competitive experiential venture capital program where students gain immersive, student-led investing experience. Over 75% dedicated to dealwork, 25% to training. The 2025-2026 cohort comprised 27 students from 6 institutions including Bowie State University, Brigham Young University, Miami Dade College, UC Berkeley, University of Miami, and University of Utah.
- The State of Outcomes-based Finance in Canada A joint research project with Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation examining how Outcomes-based Financing (OBF) is used in Canada, including a comprehensive Canadian-specific database and comparative analysis with US and UK OBF practices.
- Huntsman Mental Health Institute Monetization Framework A monetization framework developed with the CTSI Health Economics Core at the University of Utah to quantify the financial and social benefits of mental health care services for the Huntsman Mental Health Institute.
- Impact Authenticity Score (IAS) A research tool developed in collaboration with the Impact Evaluation Lab for rigorous research and testing of impact authenticity in impact investing claims and practices.
- Project DEEP (Developing Equitable Economies Program) A multi-pronged initiative supporting female and BIPOC entrepreneurs in creating a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Quantifiable outcome
- $5.5 in savings for every $1 spent on Nurse-Family Partnership program (South Carolina study)
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Sorenson Impact
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Sorenson Impact technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sorenson Impact partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Bowie State UniversityminorPartnership with Bowie State University as part of the student cohort program, aimed at broadening the talent pipeline for the impact investing field. Bowie State students participate in the 2025-2026 cohort alongside students from other institutions.
- Miami Dade CollegeminorPartnership with Miami Dade College as part of the student cohort program, aimed at broadening the talent pipeline for the impact investing field. Miami Dade College students participate in the 2025-2026 cohort alongside students from other institutions.
- Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation (RIIF)coreSorenson Impact Institute and Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation collaborated on a research project on Outcomes-based Financing (OBF) in Canada, including a comprehensive Canadian OBF database and comparative analysis with US and UK practices. This partnership advances understanding and implementation of OBF for Indigenous communities and broader social impact.
- Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationcoreThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partners with Sorenson Impact Center on the MAPS Project — a multi-phase initiative using data-driven research and dashboards to help higher education institutions chart the future of postsecondary education and student success. The foundation is partnered through ongoing work supported by the Gates Foundation.
- University of Utah David Eccles School of BusinesscoreThe institute is proudly housed at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. This partnership provides academic infrastructure, student talent pipeline, and research capabilities. The institute has trained nearly 1,000 students from across the country through this partnership.
- Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI)coreSorenson Impact Institute is engaged in identifying and quantifying HMHI's social and economic impact to produce a comprehensive monetization framework. This includes reviewing economic evaluations, mapping social outcomes, and building financial models demonstrating the fiscal value of HMHI's programs.
- CTSI Health Economics Core at the University of UtahcoreThe CTSI Health Economics Core collaborates with Sorenson Impact Institute on research including the Huntsman Mental Health Institute monetization framework and other health economics analyses. The partnership provides academic rigor and research infrastructure for impact measurement.
- Blue Haven InitiativeminorBlue Haven Initiative, a family office dedicated to market-rate returns and positive social/environmental change, partnered with Sorenson Impact Institute on a virtual convening exploring policy-enhanced impact investing strategies.
- The Road HomeminorThe Road Home is a service provider partner in the Salt Lake County Pay-for-Success HNJ project, which focused on providing wrap-around services with a Housing First approach to homelessness.
- First Step HouseminorFirst Step House is a service provider partner in the Salt Lake County Pay-for-Success REACH project, focused on therapy-based intervention to address jail/prison recidivism for adult males.
- Institute for Child Success (ICS)minorICS sought to develop and fund the Hello Family Early Childhood Pay for Success Project in collaboration with Sorenson Impact Institute, aimed at improving birth outcomes and early childhood development.
- SOCAP GlobalcoreSorenson Impact Institute holds a longstanding partnership with SOCAP Global, the largest action-oriented gathering of impact investors and entrepreneurs. The institute helped curate content for SOCAP23 and participated in SOCAP25, leading sessions on nature-based solutions, outcomes-based financing, and impact measurement.
- World Education Services (WES)minorWorld Education Services partnered with Sorenson Impact Institute to expand access to impact investing careers through experiential learning opportunities. A new $400,000 collaboration offers students pathways into the impact investing field.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sorenson Impact competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Acumen: Global impact investment fund and advisory organization investing in early-stage companies serving the poor; directly comparable as a practitioner-led impact investing organization combining patient capital, advisory, and thought leadership.
- Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): Industry-building nonprofit for impact investing that produces research, ratings/tools, and convenings (GIIN Investor Forum); directly comparable as a field-building, research, and convening organization in impact investing.
- Net Impact: Student- and professional-led nonprofit focused on using business for social impact, with chapters across the U.S.; comparable in mission to expand the impact talent pipeline and equip next-generation impact leaders through experiential programming.
- Mission Investors Exchange: Membership network for foundations deploying impact capital; highly comparable as a peer that convenes foundations, runs field-building programs, and supports impact investing practice among philanthropic institutions.
Broad incumbents
- Bridges Fund Management: Established impact investment manager running multiple strategies across private equity, debt, and property; comparable as a much larger incumbent in impact investment advisory and fund management overlapping with Sorenson's field.
- Skoll Foundation: Major foundation supporting social entrepreneurs through grants, awards, and ecosystem investments; comparable in supporting the impact entrepreneurship ecosystem, convening leaders, and field-building though at significantly larger scale.
- Echoing Green: Nonprofit that identifies and invests in emerging social enterprise leaders through fellowships; comparable in talent-pipeline mission for impact leaders and in supporting underrepresented founders (overlap with Project DEEP).
Emerging players
- Impact Hub: Global network of impact-focused co-working spaces, incubators, and innovation programs; comparable as an ecosystem player focused on accelerating impact entrepreneurship through community, convenings, and programming.
- Criterion Institute: Nonprofit that uses research and education to shift capital toward social justice, with deep focus on gender-lens investing; comparable as a smaller field-builder producing frameworks, research, and training for impact investors.
- REDF: Nonprofit pioneer of social enterprises and outcomes-based financing for workforce outcomes; directly comparable in pay-for-success / OBF practice area, especially their work on homeless and reentry services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sorenson Impact social profiles
Digital presenceSorenson Impact financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sorenson Impact leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Sorenson Impact funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sorenson Impact M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sorenson Impact
What does Sorenson Impact do?
Sorenson Impact Institute is a nonprofit advisory and research organization that helps foundations, government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations achieve their impact vision through three practice areas: impact investing advisory, impact finance and innovative finance structuring, and impact measurement and management. It also operates the University Venture Fund, a student-led venture capital program, and the highly competitive Impact Investing Student Program that trains future impact leaders in experiential deal work.
Is Sorenson Impact a public or private company?
Sorenson Impact is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Sorenson Impact founded?
Sorenson Impact was founded in 2013. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Sorenson Impact based?
Sorenson Impact is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sorenson Impact make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Consulting and Advisory Services are the primary driver. The others are academic and Experiential Learning Programs and grants and Foundation Funding.
Who are Sorenson Impact's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Acumen, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), Net Impact and Mission Investors Exchange. Broad incumbents are Bridges Fund Management, Skoll Foundation and Echoing Green. Emerging players are Impact Hub, Criterion Institute and REDF.
Does Sorenson Impact have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sorenson Impact.
What industry is Sorenson Impact in?
Sorenson Impact's product category is Impact Investing Advisory and Social Impact Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAA, Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance), with a secondary code of FSANAAAG, Impact / ESG Venture Capital. Its NAICS code is 52394 and its SIC code is 6282.