Heading for Change announces investment in The 22 Fund

Heading for Change (HfC), the donor-advised fund focused on accelerating proven climate solutions with women as agents of change, has announced its seventh investment into a fund that is creating clean, quality jobs for underserved and low-and moderate-income (LMI) communities in the United States by investing in export-oriented, climate and sustainability-focused manufacturing companies.

The 22 Fund is an early-stage growth impact fund that invests in tech-based, export-oriented manufacturing with a racial, gender, climate and social justice lens in order to generate above market returns and outsized impact. Their holistic investment approach focuses on systemic shifts with outcomes grounded in economic mobility, better climate outcomes and intergenerational wealth creation. The fund is focused on creating the clean quality, jobs of the future to help ensure LMI communities, and women/women of color (WOC) in particular, are not left behind by the transition to Industry 4.0 and a green economy.

Rose Maizner, Director of Investments at Heading for Change, said, “We’re proud and excited to back a fund who is intentionally investing in BIPOC founders and LMI communities, and shifting critical capital and support to the communities who are often most impacted by climate change, and the most ill-equipped to mitigate and adapt to those changes. The trifecta of cleantech manufacturing and export, Industry 4.0 and women/BIPOC-owned firms addresses a massive gap in the market and also creates an attractive risk profile, especially given the stage of investment and low technology risk.”

The 22 Fund was founded by Tracy Gray to meet her goal of bringing more women and BIPOC into tech and the jobs of the future, with women currently only making up one third of the manufacturing workforce. The manufacturing and export sectors pay 10-20% more than other industries so women/BIPOC participation has significant implications for their economic mobility and intergenerational wealth creation.

Tracy is a vocal advocate for gender and racial equity and has been part of numerous initiatives, advisory councils and organizations, including her own ‘We Are Enough’ campaign, to catalyse additional investment from/to women, and to reshape power dynamics in the larger investment space and create more equitable access to capital, resources and support.

Tracy cites Heading for Change’s founder Suzanne Biegel as instrumental in introducing her to the climate-gender nexus, by helping her fully appreciate the significance and scale of this intersection in The 22 Fund's thesis and strategy.

“While others run away from DEI and ESG, we are proud to have a partner like Heading for Change that understands investing with a climate justice lens results in high returns and high impact, “ said Founder Tracy Gray. “Personally, I am very happy that The 22 Fund is now part of Suzanne’s legacy and Daniel’s continuing inclusive impact.”

The multi-thematic fund is sector agnostic and has made five investments to date, with four of those companies women owned/founded and three BIPOC owned/founded, ranging from a solution that helps global agricultural communities reimagine localized food waste, to a producer of plant-based, compostable and reusable alternatives to plastic pollution. All companies in the fund’s portfolio are currently meeting or exceeding growth targets.

Heading for Change launched in 2022 with a $1MM endowment from Suzanne Biegel and Daniel Maskit, which has since grown to almost $3.5MM. The investment is part of the fund’s strategy to build a demonstration portfolio and community of donors partners active at the nexus of climate and gender finance, and ultimately influence other institutions and individual capital to follow suit. The fund plans to commit all of its capital by April 2025 and is targeting a total of up to 20 investments.

Read more about The 22 Fund.