WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
This short film sparked a year of listening, learning, and building alongside communities across the Carolinas. What began as a response to crisis has become a regional movement toward stronger, more resilient local systems—from Charlotte to Asheville and beyond.
OUR JOURNEY OVER THE LAST YEAR
Blueprint for Impact began in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Fall 2024, when the storm revealed both the strength of local response and the fragility of the systems supporting it.
Seeing silos, funding gaps, and under-amplified community action, we set out to create a blueprint for how people, organizations, and capital could come together around regenerative solutions. We convened early collaborators to shape an integrated framework — Collaborate, Finance, and Amplify — and spent the following year listening, convening, and working alongside stakeholders across the Carolinas.
As the work evolved, so did we. What began as a portfolio-building effort became a clear, for-impact consulting practice — allowing us to support coordinated, fundable initiatives with greater clarity and traction.
Today, Blueprint for Impact is actively advancing collaborative projects, including Circular North Carolina, while continuing to deepen partnerships and expand our regional impact.
Fall 2024: Catalyst & Formation
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Blueprint for Impact formed in response to the fragility and fragmentation exposed across regional systems. Early conversations revealed both strong local action and clear gaps in coordination, funding pathways, and visibility.
Winter–Spring 2025: Listening & Framework Design
A small group of collaborators convened to shape an integrated Blueprint framework ~ Collaborate, Finance, and Amplify ~ while the team engaged in extensive listening across the region. Through hundreds of conversations with grassroots leaders, nonprofits, businesses, funders, and government partners, Blueprint for Impact deepened its understanding of regional needs and opportunities.
Spring–Summer 2025: Portfolio Development
Community events and partner convenings helped build shared understanding and momentum. Six interconnected projects were developed as a first Collaboration Portfolio, designed to be funded collectively through a coordinated, innovative capital approach. This phase provided critical insight into both the potential and the challenges of systems-level portfolio funding.
Fall 2025: Model Refinement
As interest in the work grew, it became clear that the breadth and innovation of the model required a clearer entry point for partners and funders. Blueprint for Impact refined its approach into a for-impact consulting practice, offering more accessible ways to engage while preserving its integrated model of collaboration, finance, and impact media.
Now: Funded Projects & Growth
Entering 2026, Blueprint for Impact is actively advancing funded and in-development initiatives, including Resilient Futures Co-Lab, grounded in place-based work within our home region and designed to inform and ripple outward over time.
OUR FIRST COLLABORATION PORTFOLIO
Early-stage portfolio design focused on wildfire risk reduction, soil restoration, and carbon sequestration.
Collaborative exploration of regenerative grazing practices to strengthen soil health and regional food systems.
Community-Owned Microeconomies
Portfolio concept supporting equitable local businesses through shared retail, food, and wellness infrastructure.
Partnership development with farms and clinics to improve food access and prevent chronic illness.
Kids in Parks
Expanding access to nature and place-based learning through doctor-prescribed outdoor programs.
Cultural investment model focused on youth empowerment, preservation, and global exchange.
Each initiative contributed insights that now inform how we
design collaboration, capital pathways, and narrative infrastructure.
Foundational Collaboration Portfolio (2024–2025)
The projects below represent early portfolio development work that informed Blueprint for Impact’s consulting approach.
Each initiative reflects deep collaboration with local leaders and organizations across food systems, land stewardship, health, culture, and community wealth. While these projects were not deployed as a single funded portfolio, they served as living case studies — shaping our understanding of what strong, place-based collaboration requires.
This work laid the groundwork for how we now partner, design, and support investable regional initiatives.
Learning from Global Bioregional Practice
In 2025, Blueprint for Impact participated in the inaugural BioFi Cultivator, a global learning environment focused on emerging bioregional financing frameworks.
Through this experience, our team deepened its understanding of innovative financial models designed to reconnect capital to place — and built relationships with practitioners working across bioregions in South, Central, and North America, as well as Hawaiʻi.
Rather than serving as an endpoint, this period informed our thinking and expanded our perspective — bringing global insight, shared learning, and new connections back into our regional work across the Carolinas.
The knowledge and relationships gained during this time continue to shape how we approach collaboration, capital alignment, and long-term resilience at home.
PORTFOLIO PARTNERS
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