Job Training Non-Profit Taps Markets For $10M Impact Investment After Proving That Its Model For Turning Low-Income Adults Into Software Engineers Is Self-Sustaining

• New Pursuit Bond 2.0 comes after Pursuit successfully repays an initial job training impact investment bond, successfully helping its graduates go from making $12K to over $85k, whereupon the participants paid with a percentage of their new increased earnings.
• Round led by Blue Earth Capital, allows Pursuit to scale up and enable upward mobility for 1,000 low-income New Yorkers, creating $1B in new lifetime earnings and a demonstrably self-sustaining financial market for job training.

NEW YORK, March 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pursuit—a social impact organization that transforms the lives of low-income, high-potential individuals by training them to launch tech careers—has raised $10 million in impact investments to support its growth, create a sustainable model for job training, and provide economic mobility for more Americans.

Launched in 2013 in Queens with an initial class of 23 Fellows, the investment in Pursuit's innovative funding model, Pursuit Bond, will enable Pursuit to scale its impact and equip over 1,000 adults from low-income backgrounds with the tools and skills they need to become software engineers and thrive in tech careers. The funding represents one of the most significant impact investments for job training in the U.S, and it has the potential to create a new financial market for similar investments.

"Pursuit is tackling one of the most pressing socio-economic issues of our lifetime," said Pursuit co-founder and New York City native Jukay Hsu. "With Pursuit Bond, we have pioneered a proven solution to create economic opportunity for adults from lower-socio-economic statuses through job training. This new round of funding demonstrates viability and represents a critical milestone towards our vision of creating a scalable and sustainable model for workforce development."

Delivering on Training and Job Placement Make Pursuit First to Deliver on Income Share Sustainability

This new investment builds on the success of the Pursuit Bond's pilot program, launched in 2016 and led by the Inherent Foundation and the Lily Auchincloss Foundation. While other companies have launched income share agreements, Pursuit is the first to successfully deliver on their promise, having repaid Bond 1.0 because they fulfilled their commitments from start-to-end — exceeding all projected, quantifiable outcomes across enrollment, program completion, hiring, and salary target.

Every Fellow payment is a quantifiable measure of a Fellow successfully getting trained, hired, and retained. During the four-year period of Pursuit Bond 1.0, Pursuit's impact was deep, lasting, and transformative. One hundred and four Fellows enrolled (102 expected); we had a completion rate of 86% (82% expected); a hiring rate of 88% (70% expected); and, on average, Fellows went from an annual salary of $12,389 to $85,967.

Pursuit Bond aligns the organization's success with that of its Fellows. Once Fellows land a well-paying job, they repay Pursuit with a percentage of their new increased salaries. Only Fellows who earned above the set salary threshold make the Pursuit Bond ISA payments, and Fellows who don't get a job or earn less than the threshold pay nothing. These payments allow Pursuit to return the impact investments that make the program possible, closing the loop and creating a sustainable source of funding and continued investments in future Fellows.

"We are extremely pleased to anchor the innovative and transformative Pursuit Bond 2.0," said Amy Wang, head of private debt at Blue Earth Capital, a global impact investment firm that led this round of funding. The firm mobilizes capital and expertise to meet some of the world's most pressing social and environmental challenges by delivering measurable impact with attractive financial return which led this round of funding.

"With over 16% of New York City's population living below the federal poverty line, Pursuit's comprehensive courses will provide a true pathway out of poverty," Wang said. "Our investment will support Pursuit to expand its cumulative reach to over 1,000 students by 2026, as well as foster increased access to training and improved employment outcomes across New York."

Other key investors include the Inherent Foundation, Pursuit Operating Board Chair Zac Smith, ETF@JFFLabs, Alphadyne Foundation, and Ramesh Chandra. Two of the largest donor-advised funds, Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable, are also participating.

"When we first supported Pursuit with our investment in 2017, we were excited by the potential for the Pursuit Bond to be a sustainable model for training and employment," said Tony Davis of the Inherent Foundation. "Now, nearly five years later, we have seen the model work: Pursuit has enabled their Fellows to earn exponential wage gains and has, in turn, repaid our impact investment. We are proud to re-invest in Pursuit and couldn't be more excited to be a partner in their mission to create life-changing transformation."

The impact can be seen in the lives of Pursuit Fellows like Rook Soto, now an engineer at a Fortune 500 online travel company, who went from living paycheck to paycheck to now making over six figures.

"Pursuit has legitimately changed my life," Soto said. "I went from being homeless to owning a home."

For more detailed information, read about Pursuit Bond 2.0 here and see more of Soto's story here.

Pursuit is a social impact organization that creates transformation where it's needed most. Through their four-year intensive program, Pursuit trains adults with the most need and potential to gain their first tech job, advance in their career, and become the next generation of leaders in tech.

Blue Earth Capital is an independent global impact investment firm, headquartered in Baar-Zug, Switzerland with operations in New York, London and Singapore. It manages diversified investment strategies for an international clientele of professional investors who are seeking investment solutions that offer market-rate returns, while also helping to address pressing social or environmental challenges.

SOURCE Pursuit