Regulated Impact Crowdfunding — Total of $5,924,292 Raised Last Week Through 12 Campaigns
Impact investors fueled $5.9M in Regulated Impact Crowdfunding last week, driving inclusive and sustainable innovation.
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In what marks a very active week for purpose-driven startups and projects, twelve offerings closed successfully under regulated impact crowdfunding (RIC) frameworks, raising a combined $5,924,292. These deals illustrate a broad spectrum of industries — from biotech pharmaceuticals and AI-driven resale platforms to community solar, food & beverage brands, and blockchain trust platforms — yet they are unified by their dual emphasis: financial return and measurable social or environmental impact.
In this article we will dive deeply into:
What we mean by Regulated Impact Crowdfunding (RIC) and why it matters,
How we identify, sort and highlight campaigns (including our proprietary filters for impact metrics and founder-diversity dimensions),
The security/offer types used in these deals (equity common, equity preferred, debt, SAFEs),
A detailed review of key campaigns from the week, including their business models, impact thesis and what investors should watch,
Recommendations for investors and for startups embarking on RIC,
A conclusion with take-aways for the broader ecosystem.
Note: Among the offerings, AJNA BioSciences was a Live Pitch Participant of SuperCrowd25 — be sure to watch the founder Joel’s pitch for insights into their vision and traction.
What is “Regulated Impact Crowdfunding” (RIC)?
“Regulated Impact Crowdfunding” refers to investment offerings made under securities-law frameworks (for example, Reg CF, Reg A+, Regulation D, or equivalent in other jurisdictions) that specifically embed a social or environmental purpose alongside financial return. Key features include:
The offering is compliant with securities regulation (i.e., not simply a donation or reward-based campaign).
The issuer articulates measurable impact goals (e.g., carbon reduction, community inclusion, accessible health solutions).
There is investor risk/return profile: investors receive equity, debt, convertible securities, or similar instruments.
The campaign is open (or partially open) to non-accredited investors (depending on the regulation).
Impact is often paired with founder/team diversity, inclusion of under-represented groups, or specific ESG (environmental, social, governance) credentials.
Why is this construct important?
It opens up previously exclusive early-stage investment opportunities to a broader base of investors wanting to align capital with values.
It offers startups and projects a way to raise capital while signalling their commitment to impact, not just profit.
It aligns with growing interest (among millennials, Gen Z, and institutional players) in impact-first and impact-aware investing.
From a regulatory perspective, offering under a regulated framework provides certain investor protections and disclosure obligations compared to informal crowdfunding.
However, as with any investment, risks are meaningful: illiquidity, early-stage company risk, potentially unproven business models, execution risk, regulatory risk (especially in sectors like biotech or energy), and impact measurement risk (i.e., will the promised impact actually be delivered?).
In the remainder of this article we will apply these concepts to the twelve campaigns that closed last week, and embed our analysis of how they fare on the impact + regulated dimension.
Our Sorting & Screening Methodology
To provide meaningful commentary, we apply a proprietary filter across several dimensions when we highlight RIC campaigns. Key features of our methodology:
1. Impact Criteria
We score each campaign on:
Environmental impact (e.g., carbon reduction, renewable energy, circular economy).
Social impact (e.g., healthcare access, community inclusion, minority or underrepresented founders, job creation in underserved communities).
Governance/Reporting: Does the issuer commit to ongoing measurement? Are external verifications provided (e.g., UN SDG alignment, third-party audits)?
We emphasise campaigns that go beyond “nice to have” and embed impact into the business model (not just marketing).
2. Founder Diversity + Inclusion
We track and highlight campaigns with:
Minority-founders (e.g., founder self‐identifies as Black, Latinx, Indigenous).
Women founders and co-founders.
LGBTQ+ founders.
In our coverage this week, we specifically note deals that involve such founder categories when that information is available.
3. Deal Terms & Security Type
We look at the type of security offered (equity common, equity preferred, debt, SAFE, convertible note, etc.). The security type affects risk and return profiles significantly. We also assess:
Minimum funding target vs raised total.
Valuation (for equity rounds) or interest/term (for debt).
The underlying business stage, traction, and use of proceeds.
4. Impact + Financial Alignment
We look at whether the company’s financial model logically aligns with the impact goal (i.e., is the impact simply a side-benefit, or is it baked into the core value proposition?). We prefer models where the impact does not compromise the business viability, but rather is a differentiator.
5. Transparency & Credibility
We review:
Platform choice (some platforms are more rigorous than others).
Disclosure of metrics, use of funds, pipeline of business.
Prior track record (if any) of the company/founders.
Whether the campaign is clearly labelled “Reg CF / Reg A / etc” and what investor protections apply.
Breakdown of the 12 Campaigns
Summary Table
Below is a summary of the twelve campaigns we reviewed:
In the sections below, we’ll highlight a selection of these campaigns in more depth, illustrating how they perform on our impact, founder / diversity, and security axes.
Campaign Spotlight 1: Firesale (Wefunder)
Raise: $1,220,733 (min target $50,000)
Security Type: SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) KingsCrowd+2PitchBook+2
Valuation (pre-money): ~$10 million KingsCrowd
Business & Impact: Firesale has developed an AI-powered resale marketplace (upload once, list in two seconds) designed to accelerate the second-hand economy, reduce landfill waste and extend product life-cycles. KingsCrowd+1
Strengths:
Raises significant amount for a relatively early stage company (valuation $10M, zero revenue reported).
Clear environmental impact: promoting reuse, reducing waste.
Uses regulated offering (Reg CF) with broad retail investor access.
Risks / Notes:SAFE means investors don’t receive traditional equity now; they get right to convert later. This adds uncertainty about dilution and eventual valuation.
A zero-revenue business model at the time of raising means execution risk is high (Kingscrowd notes zero revenue as of FY24). KingsCrowd
Impact-first models can sometimes face margin pressures: the resale marketplace must ensure profitability while keeping affordable pricing.
Impact Assessment: Strong environmental narrative; good fit for impact-oriented investors who accept higher risk for earlier stage.
Founder Diversity: Based on available information, not flagged as minority/women founder in our filtering — though companies may still have diverse teams beyond headline info.
Campaign Spotlight 2: AJNA BioSciences (StartEngine)
Raise: $1,095,306 (min target $49,995) KingsCrowd+2Crowdability+2
Security Type: Equity – Preferred (Series A Preferred Stock) KingsCrowd+1
Valuation (pre-money): ~$125 million (per Kingscrowd) KingsCrowd
Business & Impact: AJNA is pioneering botanical drugs (derived from plants/fungi) targeting CNS disorders like autism, anxiety, PTSD. It operates a DEA-registered lab and has two drug candidates in clinical trials. Reg CF Raise Feed+1
Strengths:
Strong scientific team (Harvard, Johns Hopkins, NYU) and prior track record in botanical/plant medicine. Crowdability+1
Equity preferred means investors have more traditional ownership rights (though as early stage still high risk).
Clear impact in healthcare: addressing unmet medical needs with potential large addressable markets.
Risks / Notes:Biotech / pharmaceutical is inherently high risk: long timelines, regulatory hurdles (FDA approvals), clinical trial risk.
At high valuation $125M pre-money for a pre-commercial company — dilution and model execution risk are real.
Measuring “impact” in healthcare is more complex: success is binary (approval vs non-approval) and long-term.
Impact Assessment: Very good social impact narrative (health, access) and rigorous business model; fits the “impact + regulated” mold strongly.
Founder Diversity: Founded by Joel Stanley (male) — not flagged for women- or minority-founder category in our filtering.
Live Pitch Note: AJNA BioSciences was one of the Live Pitch Participants of SuperCrowd25 — watch CEO Joel’s pitch to gain further insight.
Campaign Spotlight 3: Kara Water (StartEngine)
Raise: $770,488 (min target $9,995)
Security Type: Equity – Common
Business & Impact: Kara Water’s product “Kara Pure” captures moisture from air and turns it into drinking water — addressing clean water access and resource scarcity.
Strengths:
Strong product-market fit: clean water is a global sustainable development priority.
Early traction: $2.2 million in sales reported and supplier agreement with Costco (per campaign summary).
Risks / Notes:Scaling hardware, manufacturing and distribution is capital intensive and risky.
Equity common is structurally riskier for investors (typically lower preference) than preferred equity.
Impact Assessment: Strong environment / social impact profile: clean water technology. Good alignment for impact investors.
Founder Diversity: Founders Cody Soodeen and Michael Di Giovanna (not flagged women or minority in summary) — diversity filter not triggered.
Campaign Spotlight 4: Greenfield Community Solar (Climatize)
Raise: $735,000 (min target $634,325)
Security Type: Debt
Business & Impact: A 295 kW community solar project in Greenfield, MA, delivering ~372,000 kWh annually and avoiding ~264 metric tons of CO₂ emissions. Reg CF Raise Feed
Strengths:
Clean energy, community-based: beneficiaries include local residents who may not have rooftop access.
Debt structure offers defined returns and potentially lower risk vs equity.
Risks / Notes:Project execution risk: delays, permitting issues, construction risk.
Debt terms may offer lower upside than equity — for investors seeking large returns, may be less attractive.
Impact Assessment: Excellent fit for impact investor seeking stable project-based exposure with defined return.
Founder Diversity: Developer was Plankton Energy (Daniel Giuffrida, Nikhil Mittal) — not flagged for the specific diversity categories we track.
Campaign Spotlight 5: CGB Green Liberty Notes (Honeycomb Credit)
Raise: $350,000 (min target $50,000)
Security Type: Debt
Business & Impact: Provided by the Connecticut Green Bank, this offering focuses on zero-interest energy-efficiency loans for small businesses, helping reduce energy costs and improve economic resilience.
Strengths:
Social impact: supporting small businesses (often underserved) to adopt energy-efficiency upgrades.
Debt offering yields clear payment structure, interest/term (depending on details).
Risks / Notes:Borrower credit risk, project risk (will the small business succeed).
Impact measurement: quantifying energy savings across borrowers may be complex.
Impact Assessment: Very good social + environmental ranking; impact aligned with business model.
Founder Diversity: Not applicable in the same way (this is a public-bank-backed vehicle, not a traditional startup).
Additional Campaigns
We also highlight briefly:
Minnesota Community Solar Portfolio (Debt) — raised $432,000 — community solar in Minnesota for residents without rooftop access.
Solar for School in Brooklyn (Debt) — raised $416,000 — solar installation at a school, combining educational impact and clean energy.
Illinois Community Solar Portfolio (Debt) — $185,000 — similar model in Illinois.
Norr Organic (Equity – Common) — sustainable yogurt brand, raised $241,211 — food & agriculture impact.
WILLPORTtrust (Equity – Preferred) — blockchain-based trust platform, raised $169,623 — fintech/governance impact.
Patio29 (Equity – Common) — raised $158,820 — less publicly detailed, but included in the week’s dataset.
Grid Reliability for Albany (Debt) — raised $124,000 — battery storage and grid resilience for Albany, NY.
These additional campaigns broaden the impact spectrum (from food to fintech to grid resilience) and demonstrate that regulated impact crowdfunding is not limited to one sector.
Security Types — What They Mean for Investors
An important part of our sorting is the type of security used in the offering. The choice of security significantly affects investor rights, risk profile, liquidity and potential return. Here’s a breakdown of the main types seen this week:
1. Equity – Preferred
Used by companies like AJNA BioSciences and WILLPORTtrust. Preferred equity gives investors priority over common equity in liquidation or sale, sometimes fixed dividend or liquidation preference.
Pros: More protective, clearer ownership.
Cons: Still early stage, illiquid; valuation and dilution matter a lot.
2. Equity – Common
Used by companies like Kara Water and Norr Organic. Common shares often have fewer protections, are last in line in liquidation, and may have limited control rights.
Pros: Simpler terms, often lower minimum investment.
Cons: Higher risk of losing value; less priority in exit.
3. Debt
Used by solar and project-finance deals (Greenfield, Minnesota solar, Illinois solar, CGB Green Liberty Notes, Grid Reliability). Debt means the investor is a lender: they receive interest and principal repayments (in some model) and are higher priority than equity in liquidation.
Pros: Lower risk (in many cases), more predictable returns, often backed by physical assets or revenue-generating projects.
Cons: Returns might be lower, upside is limited, still risk of project failure or borrower default.
4. SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)
Used by Firesale. SAFE is a contractual right to receive equity later (upon a triggering event like next financing or liquidity event), but not traditional equity today.
Pros: Simple to execute, often lower cost, early access.
Cons: Greater uncertainty: conversion terms, valuation cap, dilution, time to exit may be longer.
As an investor, one should assess which security type is appropriate for their risk tolerance, time-horizon and desired return profile.
If you are more return-oriented and willing to accept higher risk, you may gravitate toward equity (especially preferred).
If you prefer more stable downside protection and a clearer path to return, debt might be preferable.
SAFEs are very early stage, high risk/high reward.
Recommendations for Investors in RIC
Here are our key recommendations for investors considering Regulated Impact Crowdfunding opportunities:
Align your impact goals with investment goals.
If you care about environmental or social impact and expect financial return, select deals where business model marries the impact (not just gives it lip-service).
For example, community solar debt deals deliver measurable impact (kWh generation, CO₂ avoidance) while also offering predictable returns.
Check the security type and understand your rights.
Preferred equity offers more protections than common.
Debt often offers defined returns but less upside.
SAFEs are speculative: you may not even receive shares until later — high risk and long time-horizon.
Scrutinise the use of proceeds and traction.
Are the funds being used for meaningful growth (product dev, sales, scaling), or just general marketing?
Has the company or project achieved any milestones?
Does the campaign provide transparency (revenue, burn rate, pipeline)?
Evaluate founder/team credibility.
Impact startups need both impact-vision and execution ability.
For example, AJNA’s team includes experienced pharma/biotech founders, which boosts credibility.
Check prior results, domain expertise, track record of scaling.
Consider liquidity and exit horizon.
Most RIC investments are illiquid (no public market). You likely need to hold for several years.
Ask: what is the exit strategy? For debt deals: what is repayment schedule? For equity: what is likely exit path?
Note that the risk of capital loss is high in early-stage equity.
Assess the impact measurement and reporting.
Impact claims should be backed by data or credible metrics (e.g., CO₂ avoided, people served, water produced).
Many campaigns list impact goals, but fewer commit to ongoing measurement and reporting.
Diversify across risk levels and sectors.
Don’t put all your capital into one startup equity.
Mix higher-risk equity plays (like biotech, early stage tech) with lower-risk debt or project-finance deals (like community solar) if your capital allows.
Beware of over-hyped valuations.
Some early stage companies (e.g., AJNA) already carry high pre-money valuations. While this may reflect strong potential, it also ups the risk that returns will be modest or negative if growth slows.
For earlier stage, lower valuation may offer better upside (though with risk).
Recommendations for Startups/Issuers in RIC
For companies or project developers looking to raise via regulated impact crowdfunding, here are our recommendations to optimise your campaign success and investor appeal.
Frame your impact clearly and credibly.
Define what impact you intend to deliver (e.g., “reduce 264 metric tons CO₂ annually” or “provide X litres of clean water to underserved communities”).
Provide baseline metrics and future targets.
Where possible obtain third-party verification or align with frameworks like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Choose a suitable security structure.
Early stage: SAFEs or convertible notes may be easier.
Growth stage: preferred equity may attract more serious investors.
Project finance: debt may suit those wanting lower dilution and clearer returns.
Communicate clearly the rights, preferences, risks and return expectations.
Show traction and credibility.
Demonstrate customer or partner commitments, prototype performance, revenue if any, milestone progress.
Show team credentials (founders, advisors, prior exits, domain expertise).
For impact, show how business model integrates the impact (not just an add-on).
Be transparent about use of funds and timeline.
Specify how the campaign proceeds will be used (product development, expansion, working capital).
Provide realistic timelines to deliver both business and impact milestones.
Include risks and disclaimers (illiquidity, regulatory, market risk).
Incorporate investor-friendly terms where possible.
Offer protections (liquidation preference, reporting commitments).
Consider bonus share incentives or early-bird perks (as AJNA did) to attract investors. AJNA BioSciences
Provide regular investor updates to build trust and community.
Leverage storytelling but back it up with data.
Impact narratives resonate (e.g., “turning air into drinking water”).
But investors will want the numbers behind the story (market size, unit economics, adoption path).
Use visuals, charts, milestones to convey progress and potential.
Build a community of supporters.
Crowdfunding works partly because of the communal aspect: investors feel like stakeholders in mission.
Provide engagement (webinars, updates, behind-the-scenes access) to drive investor loyalty and word-of-mouth.
Taking Stock: What Patterns Did We Observe This Week?
From this set of twelve campaigns, a number of patterns emerge:
Sector Diversity: Clean energy / community solar dominates several deals — illustrating that energy + impact is fertile ground in RIC. But we also see biotech, food/agribusiness, fintech/governance and resale marketplaces.
Security Mix: Equity (both preferred and common) and debt were used roughly equally. SAFEs appear less common (only one in this set).
Scale Variation: Some campaigns (Firesale, AJNA) raised >$1 million; others (Grid Reliability for Albany) raised smaller amounts ($124K). This indicates that RIC is accessible both to mid-size ventures and smaller project-based raises.
Impact Embeddedness: The strongest campaigns didn’t just add “impact” to a business model—they built their core business around it (e.g., water from air, community solar, botanical drugs).
Platform Variety: Platforms used include Wefunder, StartEngine, Climatize, Honeycomb Credit — showing that impact‐crowdfunding is not limited to one type of platform.
Founder Diversity Disclosure: Interestingly, in this cohort, none of the headline campaigns clearly flagged minority-founder, women-founder or LGBTQ-founder in the public summaries we accessed (or we did not locate that data). That suggests that while impact is strong, the “diversity of founders” dimension is less visible here — a gap to watch.
Considerations & Caveats
While the overall picture is encouraging for regulated impact crowdfunding, investors and observers should remain aware of the following caveats:
Illiquidity: Many of these investments are illiquid (i.e., no secondary market for years), and there is a high likelihood of capital loss, especially for early-stage equity.
Measurement of Impact: Impact claims are often forward-looking or aspirational; actual delivered impact (and associated financial return) may fall short.
Valuation Risk: Especially for equity deals, high valuations reduce potential upside and increase the hurdle for return.
Sector Risk: Biotech (AJNA) and hardware/hardware-manufacturing (Kara Water) have inherently longer timelines and execution risk.
Regulatory Risk: Some sectors (e.g., botanical drugs, blockchain, energy) involve regulatory pathways that can be uncertain or delayed.
Platform/Issuer Risk: While regulation helps, not all platforms or issuers are equally rigorous; investor due diligence remains essential.
Conclusion
The rise of regulated impact crowdfunding gives investors a meaningful opportunity to put capital behind companies and projects that aim for both financial return and measurable social/environmental impact. Last week’s total of $5,924,292 across twelve campaigns shows that this is not a fringe phenomenon—it is gaining real momentum.
From strong science-driven biotech (AJNA BioSciences) to community solar portfolios, clean-water hardware, and circular-economy platforms (like Firesale), the breadth of offerings is impressive. For investors, the key is to align impact intent, business model credibility, and security structure with your personal risk-return profile. Equity (especially preferred) offers higher upside but higher risk and longer horizon; debt offers steadier return but less upside. SAFEs offer early access but come with maximum uncertainty.
For startups and project issuers, the advice is clear: embed impact into your core value proposition, tell a credible story backed by data, choose terms that attract but not over-promise, and engage your investor-community actively.
In the context of our proprietary filters, these twelve campaigns mostly check the “impact + regulated” boxes — though many would score higher still if they provided clearer founder-diversity disclosures and longer-term impact tracking commitment.
As more platforms, institutional capital and individual investors enter the RIC space, I believe we’ll see:
More standardisation of impact-reporting frameworks,
Greater liquidity options (secondary markets for crowdfunded securities),
Larger ticket sizes and co-investment by institutions, and
A push for founder-diversity metrics (women / minority / LGBTQ) to become a standard disclosure in impact crowdfunding.
Ultimately, regulated impact crowdfunding represents a promising bridge between mission and capital. But like all investing, it requires diligence, patience and alignment of expectations. With the right mix of oversight, transparency and investor education, this medium has the potential to become a significant channel for both innovation financing and purposeful capitalism.
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Upcoming SuperCrowd Event Calendar
If a location is not noted, the events below are virtual.
Impact Cherub Club Meeting hosted by The Super Crowd, Inc., a public benefit corporation, on October 28, 2025, at 1:30 PM Eastern. Each month, the Club meets to review new offerings for investment consideration and to conduct due diligence on previously screened deals. To join the Impact Cherub Club, become an Impact Member of the SuperCrowd.
SuperCrowdHour, November 19, 2025, at 12:00 PM Eastern — Devin Thorpe, CEO and Founder of The Super Crowd, Inc., will lead a session on “Investing with a Self-Directed IRA.” In this session, Devin will explain how investors can use self-directed IRAs to participate in regulated investment crowdfunding while managing taxes and optimizing returns. He’ll break down when this strategy makes sense, how to choose the right custodian, and what fees, rules, and risks to watch for. With his trademark clarity and real-world experience, Devin will help you understand how to balance simplicity with smart tax planning—so you can invest confidently, align your portfolio with your values, and make your money work harder for both impact and income.
SuperGreen Live, January 22–24, 2026, livestreaming globally. Organized by Green2Gold and The Super Crowd, Inc., this three-day event will spotlight the intersection of impact crowdfunding, sustainable innovation, and climate solutions. Featuring expert-led panels, interactive workshops, and live pitch sessions, SuperGreen Live brings together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and activists to explore how capital and climate action can work hand in hand. With global livestreaming, VIP networking opportunities, and exclusive content, this event will empower participants to turn bold ideas into real impact. Don’t miss your chance to join tens of thousands of changemakers at the largest virtual sustainability event of the year.
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Regulated Investment Crowdfunding Summit 2025, Crowdfunding Professional Association, Washington DC, October 21-22, 2025.
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We utilized AI to efficiently gather data and analyze key success factors, enabling us to deliver an overview of these successful crowdfunding campaigns.