The Western New York Impact Investment Fund gathered investors, portfolio companies and community partners at Viridi for its 2026 Annual Reception on Oct. 1, celebrating nearly a decade of investing in companies that can deliver strong financial returns while making Western New York a better place.
Since launching in 2017, the Fund has made 27 investments totaling approximately $15 million. Those investments have helped create about 1,000 jobs while supporting entrepreneurs building and growing companies across the region.
The evening featured a video highlighting the Fund’s progress and the people and companies behind it.
CEO Tom Quinn followed with an overview of the portfolio and reflected on how far the Fund has come.
“I’m incredibly proud of what this Fund and our portfolio companies have accomplished,” Quinn said. “Today, we have real evidence that this model works — and even more reason to be excited about where it can go. We’re building something that we believe can be an important part of this community for many years to come.”
The event took place at Viridi, a battery storage startup company founded by CEO Jon Williams, into which the Fund has invested about $2.9 million over the course of five investments. That investment has helped Viridi turn a moribund factory on Buffalo’s East Side into a thriving clean energy campus with hundreds of jobs and a bright future.
The program also featured a fireside conversation with Betsy Constantine, president and CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
The Community Foundation played a formative role in bringing the Fund to life, convening local corporate, private and philanthropic leaders around the idea that investment capital could generate both financial and social returns. It backed that belief by investing in both Series 1 and Series 2.
Constantine reflected on that early vision, why the Community Foundation continues to support the Fund and the opportunity she sees ahead for impact investing in Western New York.
“The Fund gave people and institutions that care deeply about Western New York a new way to invest in its future,” Constantine said. “Today we can see that idea has produced growing companies, new jobs and capital being put to work in our community. That track record gives us tremendous confidence in what can come next.”
For Quinn, the Fund’s progress over its first decade is ultimately a foundation for what comes next.
“We’ve built a strong portfolio, created real impact and proven there is an appetite for this kind of investing in Western New York,” Quinn said. “There are still great entrepreneurs who need capital and investors who want their money to make a difference here. Our job now is to bring those two groups together and see how much further we can take this.”
.jpg)
.jpg)