We are pleased to share the Thrive Impact Fund 2025 Impact Report, highlighting a year of continued deployment, growing impact, and steady commitment in a time of uncertainty.
Thrive continues to mobilize our resources into good projects and support entrepreneurs stepping up to help solve some of the big challenges. Currently, Thrive has $3,134,500 deployed into organizations advancing democracy, climate resilience, food security, eco-tourism and social equity. The type of investments Thrive makes are close to communities, and communities thrive when there is food security, journalistic integrity and local reporting, less toxins, more clean energy, arts and culture, community ownership and affordable housing.
At its core, this report reflects a simple but important idea: when capital is aligned with impact, and deployed with flexibility and trust, it can help organizations not just survive, but grow, adapt, and lead.
Key Highlights from Our 2025 Impact Report
In 2025, Thrive Impact Fund:
- Deployed $3.13M into impact organizations across British Columbia
- Reached $5.3M total deployed capital since inception
- Grew to 23 portfolio organizations, with 15 active investees
- Made 9 new investments during the year
Across the portfolio, the impact is tangible:
- 69 new jobs created directly linked to environmental and social missions
- $9.8M in wages paid by portfolio organizations
- 77% of reporting investees pay a living wage
These outcomes reflect organizations that are not only growing, but doing so in ways that contribute to more inclusive, equitable, and resilient local economies.
The portfolio itself continues to reflect a diverse mix of organizations, including social enterprises, non-profits, co-operatives, and charities, working across sectors such as affordable housing, clean technology, food systems, digital media, and financial resilience.
Investing Through Uncertainty
A defining theme of 2025 was uncertainty. As noted in the report, many investors responded to global and national instability by adopting a “wait-and-see” approach.
For Thrive, this moment reinforced the importance of staying active.
Access to capital is often most constrained precisely when it is most needed. Organizations navigating growth, contracts, or operational challenges cannot pause their work while markets stabilize. Thrive’s approach—deploying flexible, patient capital—allowed organizations to continue moving forward, even when traditional financing options were unavailable or inaccessible.
This is particularly important given the barriers many organizations continue to face. In 2025, investees reported challenges including lack of collateral, limited access to investors, misalignment with traditional financing structures, and timing gaps in receiving funds.
Thrive’s role is to help close these gaps, matching the right financial tools to the realities of impact-driven organizations.
Beyond Capital: Support and Relationships
While capital is a critical input, the report reinforces that it is not sufficient on its own.
Thrive’s model combines financing with ongoing support, including check-in meetings, peer learning circles, individualized coaching, and strategic introductions.
This relationship-based approach is reflected in feedback from investees:
“It is incredibly helpful to be in a ‘room’ with other enterprise leaders… Sometimes we can brainstorm and problem-solve together… but we know we’re in it together.” – Laura Gair, Director of Food Security & Resource Development, Victoria Community Food Hub Society
This combination of capital and community helps organizations navigate complexity, build confidence, and strengthen their long-term sustainability.
Strengthening Impact Measurement
In 2025, Thrive also made significant progress in strengthening its approach to impact measurement.
The fund enhanced its internal capacity to align with the Social Finance Fund and the Common Approach to Impact Measurement, while continuing to use globally recognized frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Importantly, Thrive positions impact measurement as a tool for learning and improvement—not just compliance.
By aggregating data across the portfolio, Thrive is able to generate meaningful insights while minimizing reporting burden on investees.
This reflects a broader commitment to transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement across both financial and impact performance.
A Story of Catalytic Capital in Action
The report also highlights individual portfolio stories that illustrate how this model works in practice.
One such example is Lux Bio, a biotech company developing a bioluminescent alternative to toxic lighting products.
At a critical stage, Lux Bio required capital to scale production and meet growing demand. Thrive provided an early revenue loan, alongside support in financial modelling and planning, helping strengthen the company’s readiness for execution.
As the company secured a contract with the Canadian Coast Guard, another challenge emerged: the need for upfront capital before payment was received. Thrive responded with bridge financing, enabling Lux Bio to expand production and deliver on the contract.
“Capital can make the difference between thriving and making it into the world or not.” – Paige Whitehead, Founder, Lux Bio
Today, Lux Bio has fully repaid its loan—demonstrating the regenerative nature of Thrive’s model, where capital is returned and redeployed into new opportunities.
Learn more about their journey in Thrive’s interview with Lux Bio Founder, Paige Whitehead.
Why this Work Matters in Canada
Thrive Impact Fund operates within a Canadian context where access to flexible, impact-aligned capital remains limited.
Many social enterprises, non-profits, and community-led organizations fall outside the criteria of traditional financing. They may lack collateral, operate with hybrid models, or require capital structures that reflect uneven or early-stage revenue.
At the same time, these organizations are often working at the forefront of addressing critical challenges—from food security and climate resilience to Indigenous sovereignty and local economic development.
Thrive’s approach is designed to meet this gap.
By providing place-based, flexible, and non-dilutive financing, Thrive enables organizations to access capital that aligns with their mission and growth trajectory.
This is paired with an “impact-first” lens, prioritizing social and environmental outcomes alongside financial performance.
The result is a model that not only supports individual organizations, but contributes to building a stronger, more resilient social finance ecosystem in Canada.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 Impact Report reflects a fund that is growing in both scale and depth.
With increased capital deployment, a larger and more diverse portfolio, and strengthened impact practices, Thrive Impact Fund continues to demonstrate what is possible when capital is aligned with purpose.
At a time when uncertainty can lead to hesitation, Thrive’s work reinforces a different approach: continuing to invest, support, and believe in the organizations building solutions in their communities.
Because when those organizations succeed, the benefits extend far beyond individual projects, contributing to healthier ecosystems, stronger local economies, and more inclusive communities across British Columbia.