High Growth.
Positive Impact.

SJF Ventures invests in high-growth companies creating a more sustainable and equitable future.

Over 25 Years of Investing

Sustainable Jobs Fund was formed in 1999. Our original name set out the impacts we still pursue today—a clean, resilient environment and equitable opportunities. Though our strategy has expanded over our 25+ years of experience, we remain committed to these fundamental themes.

Impact Stats

96
portfolio companies
have partnered with SJF to scale their impact
19,362
total jobs
created by SJF portfolio companies
SJF Ventures (SJF) was established in 1999 as a venture capital partnership focused on creating quality jobs in low-income communities through sustainable industries.
>3 million
metric tons of CO2
mitigated by SJF portfolio companies
In 2024, SJF partnered with a team of executive MBA students at Duke's Fuqua School of Business to build a model estimating the avoided emissions associated with SJF’s portfolio companies. This estimate gives us a starting point to understand the scale of our climate impact.
25
years
of impact data collected from our portfolio companies
SJF has been collecting impact data from its portfolio companies since 2001, though this process has taken many different forms throughout our history.

Our Impact Strategy

SJF invests across six sectors to address climate change and drive equitable opportunities. We use our expertise in these sectors to support portfolio companies working within and across them: from Take Command, which improves job quality by enabling small employers to offer health insurance, to Iron Sheepdog, which supports small business growth while reducing emissions in trucking. We believe environmental and social impacts are intersectional, and much of our portfolio represents that approach.

Because the biggest challenges we face aren’t confined to single sectors, neither is our investment strategy.

A Cross-Sector Approach
for Deeper Impact

Environmental Impact

We invest to mitigate climate change and environmental degradation, including scaling clean energy and efficiency and reducing waste and carbon. We work across all areas of the economy, seeking energy and material flows that are more sustainable, affordable, and socially beneficial.

Clean Energy and Electrification

  • Accelerate the transition to clean energy
  • Improve access to affordable and reliable energy
  • Catalyze emerging solutions to climate change

Clean Energy and Electrification

  • Accelerate the transition to clean energy
  • Improve access to affordable and reliable energy
  • Catalyze emerging solutions to climate change

Supply Chain and Circular Economy

  • Drive resource efficiencies and improve resilience in supply chains
  • Reduce waste and increase the reuse of goods
  • Advance economic opportunity of workers and small businesses

Supply Chain and Circular Economy

  • Drive resource efficiencies and improve resilience in supply chains
  • Reduce waste and increase the reuse of goods
  • Advance economic opportunity of workers and small businesses

Sustainability and Climate Resilience

  • Advance more sustainable products and systems
  • Build adaptive and resilient systems in a changing environment
  • Promote systemic ethical treatment of stakeholders

Sustainability and Climate Resilience

  • Advance more sustainable products and systems
  • Build adaptive and resilient systems in a changing environment
  • Promote systemic ethical treatment of stakeholders

Social Impact

We were founded to invest in companies that help support disadvantaged individuals and communities. We continue to do so, with a deeper focus on investing in solutions to problems driving inequity, including through gainful employment, quality health and education access, and stronger civil institutions.

Education and Employment

  • Improve learning environments, systems, and outcomes
  • Create equitable and quality career pathways
  • Improve employee wellbeing at work

Education and Employment

  • Improve learning environments, systems, and outcomes
  • Create equitable and quality career pathways
  • Improve employee wellbeing at work

Health and Wellness

  • Increase access to care
  • Provide better long-term outcomes for less cost
  • Improve the care experience
  • Address social determinants and care coordination needs

Health and Wellness

  • Increase access to care
  • Provide better long-term outcomes for less cost
  • Improve the care experience
  • Address social determinants and care coordination needs

Government and Civil Society

  • Enhance the leverage of government services for public good
  • Improve the public safety of physical and digital spaces
  • Strengthen democracy, civic engagement, and community

Government and Civil Society

  • Enhance the leverage of government services for public good
  • Improve the public safety of physical and digital spaces
  • Strengthen democracy, civic engagement, and community

Impact Highlights

The Evolution of our Strategy

SJF has refined its strategy as the impact investing industry has evolved over the past 25+ years.

The Big Idea.
Created the CDFI for low income job creation and early climate initiatives
The New Model.
Delivering impact alongside market rate returns
An Impact-Driven Team.
Generating impact alpha through team expansion and sectorial expertise
Measuring Impact.
Early adopter of emerging industry standards in impact measurement
Growing the Ecosystem.
Driving the industry forward as founding members of the Impact Capital Managers
Bending the Curve.
Dedicated team for impact acceleration work across our portfolio
Catalyzing Deeper Impact.
Relaunched the SJF Institute to improve access to impact products
Sustainable Jobs Fund
1999-2004
SJF Ventures II
2004-2011
SJF Ventures III
2012-2016
SJF Ventures IV
2016-2020
SJF Ventures V
2020-Today
SJF Institute
2025-Today
scroll
Matt Campbell
We have enjoyed our partnership with SJF since leading our Series A round 4 years ago. Their deep experience in clean energy and in helping to build great companies has been invaluable as we have grown from a team of 10 to over 100 people. We value SJF’s long commitment to sustainability and look forward to continued collaboration.”
Matt Campbell, CEO

Supporting our
Portfolio Companies

SJF provides capital to grow impactful businesses driving positive change across our six themes. Our impact acceleration team works in partnership with our investment professionals and portfolio companies. We support our portfolio companies in all things impact, such as reaching new, higher-need beneficiary groups, improving their employee value proposition, or upgrading their impact measurement practices. In the past year, we have helped conduct critical end-beneficiary impact research, supported companies in reaching high-need and rural customer groups, sharpened our AI toolkit and helped draft ethical AI policies, amplified companies’ impact narratives through case studies, marketing, and PR support, and hosted regular CXO roundtables to encourage cross-portfolio learning.

Check out our latest impact acceleration work

Measuring Progress Towards
Our Impact Objectives

Every year, we ask our active portfolio companies to complete our Annual Impact Survey. We believe impact reporting should be a collaborative process, with input from all stakeholders — including Limited Partners, our portfolio companies, and their beneficiaries. With that in mind, we continue to review and adapt the survey to find the right balance between standardized metrics, company-specific measurements, and outcomes-driven beneficiary feedback.

We share this data back to our portfolio companies to help them benchmark their performance and provide ongoing support.

This data is imperfect, but we aim to be transparent, practical, and aspirational about our impact measurement journey. We invite you to scroll through our living impact report, which will evolve together with the firm and update as we garner new insights throughout the year.

Recent Insight

SJF’s Impact Diligence: Balancing Flexibility and Rigor to Achieve Effective Partnerships

SJF invests in six different social and environmental impact sectors, which means our ninety-five portfolio companies are a diverse group:…

– June 5, 2026

Impact Tear Sheet - 2024 Impact Tear Sheet - 2023 Impact Report - 2020 Impact Report - 2016

SJF’s Commitment to Sustainable Jobs

From our inception in 1999, SJF has backed businesses that empower people. Creating quality job opportunities in healthy, diverse, and ethical workforce environments can generate deep societal impact. After we make an investment, SJF encourages portfolio companies to prioritize employee satisfaction and wellness through culture, DEI practices, benefits, and good governance.

Measuring Job Quality

 

From our inception in 1999, SJF has backed businesses that empower people — particularly those historically marginalized. Creating quality job opportunities in healthy, diverse, and ethical workforce environments can generate deep societal impact.

Employees

SJF tracks employment numbers, diversity, and employee engagement, among other indicators like turnover, to understand our portfolio’s workforce.

15,128
new jobs created
by SJF portfolio companies since our initial investment
44%
women employees
on average within our portfolio companies
This is higher than the average for industries like tech (35%), but just below than female representation across the US workforce (47%).
36%
employees from under-represented racial/ethnic backgrounds
on average within our portfolio companies
This is above the US workforce benchmark (25%), and in-line with industries like technology. However, SJF aims to benchmark each company's data to relevant industry benchmarks to encourage diverse working environments.

Benefits and Professional Development

SJF collects data on the benefits and opportunities portfolio companies provide employees.

100%
offer healthcare benefits
and 32% offer additional wellness benefits.
88%
offer retirement benefits
and 58% offer contribution matching to employees.
Comparable industry benchmark: ~70% of private US businesses offer retirement benefits (58% of small businesses)
80%
offer paid parental leave
and 70% offer secondary caregiver leave
Nationally, around 50% of small businesses offer some paid parental leave, and about half of those offer one month or less of paid leave. However, the duration of leave is, with 53% of these businesses offering one month or less of paid leave. The average minimum weeks offered by SJF portfolio companies was 11 weeks, significantly outperforming US averages. Additionally, 70% of reporting SJF companies were also offering paid parental leave to secondary and/or non-birthing caregivers.

Good Governance

For startups, policies related to ethical best practices can help shape company norms early on.

63%
have an Ethical AI policy or procedures
This includes ethical AI policies, advisory boards, terms of use, and more.
This increased from just one company in 2023, and 29% in 2024, demonstrating the growing significance of responsible AI practices.
100%
have a formal data privacy and security policy
and 69% are SOC 2 certified, indicating strong practices to protect employee and customer data rights.
85%
have an employee code of conduct
96% of companies reporting also have an employee handbook and 83% have an anti-discrimination and harassment policy in place.
All of these documents are important for early-stage companies to set norms around ethical behavior and practices in the workplace.

Our Contribution 
to the Field

Through our collaborative work with peers and leading organizations, SJF extends our firm’s reach, shares lessons learned, and contributes to the success and growth of the impact investing field. SJF is a co-founding member of ICM, a network of over 110 market-rate impact funds.

SJF in the field

  • Impact Data as a Value Driver

    Impact Data as a Value Driver

    The study captures how portfolio companies experience impact measurement and management activities and how investors can better support them. Drawing on survey responses from nearly 100 private companies invested in by ICM member funds, the research highlights strong demand for clearer communication between company leadership and investors, greater alignment on metrics, and improved data systems that turn reporting obligations into decision useful insights that demonstrate material performance and strategic value.

  • Leveraging Impact Data for Smarter Sharing

    Leveraging Impact Data for Smarter Sharing

    By partnering with UpMetrics, SJF Ventures has been able to refine its impact measurement and management (IMM) practices, making them more actionable and transparent for both their investors and portfolio companies.

  • Path to Partner

    Paths to Partner

    Empowering Emerging Leaders for Firm-Wide Success

  • How SJF Ventures seeks to bend the impact curve (podcast)

    How SJF Ventures seeks to bend the impact curve (podcast)

    David Bank is joined by Dave Kirkpatrick, Managing Director and co-founder of SJF Ventures, a climate and impact investor in Durham NC, and SJF’s Director of Impact, Kelsey Jarrett, to talk about finding the alpha in impact.