"My desire is to have broad-based community ownership of Montana businesses; because it makes sense. These businesses are profitible, they can pay a dividend. And so that's really where our arrow is pointed, but there's a lot of interim steps between starting and getting to that destination," says Mary Stranahan, founder of Goodworks Ventures.
Founded in 2007, Goodworks Ventures, a Missoula, Montana impact fund, currently has a portfolio of 35 companies in science, food, sustainability and technology. The company is the dream of Stranahan, a longtime Montana philanthropist and retired physician. Goodworks Ventures invests in early-stage Montana businesses that they believe contribute to the greater good and enact positive change.
A year after founding Goodworks, Mary founded a partner organization, The High Stakes Foundation. The foundation has provided over $6 million in grants to ideas that promote equality, local agriculture, climate change solutions, and sustainable communities. 2018 saw the launch of the Goodworks Evergreen Fund, dedicated to succession planning for Montana family businesses.
Learn more now from Stranahan and Goodworks CEO Dawn McGee on this episode Can Do, as we discus rural economic development and explore how Mary and Dawn define "impact investing."
