Sorenson Impact

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.

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

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

• Impact investing advisory
• Impact measurement management
• Innovative finance structuring
• Social impact consulting
• Experiential venture capital

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City, Utah

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

Core 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

Named customers10 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bowie State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership 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 CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership 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)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Sorenson 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 FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021The 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 BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013The 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSorenson 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 UtahcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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 InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBlue 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 HomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe 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 HouseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst 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)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICS 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 GlobalcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSorenson 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)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld 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

Direct 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

• Xtwitter.com/Sorenson_Impact
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/SorensonImpact
• Facebookfacebook.com/SorensonImpact
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sorensonimpact
• Instagraminstagram.com/sorensonimpact

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sorenson Impact