Timberland Investment Resources (TIR), a prominent asset manager in working forests and related assets, sought the expertise of Broadstreet to help refine its rural impact strategy as part of its foray into impact investing. The objective was to leverage forestry investments as a catalyst for wealth creation in distressed rural communities across America.

Broadstreet conducted a comprehensive market scan, engaging with experts in forestry, rural community development, and impact investing. This involved identifying market trends, challenges, financing gaps, and opportunities. The focus was on developing investment models, fostering potential partnerships, and exploring novel governance approaches that would empower TIR in executing its rural impact strategy effectively.

Through this strategic partnership, Broadstreet facilitated the creation of a formal collaboration between TIR and Rural LISC, a leading rural community development program that partners with more than 140 rural community-based organizations across the country. This collaboration was dedicated to enhancing the capacity of community organizations in distressed rural communities where TIR planned to invest in forestry assets.

Following the initial engagement, Broadstreet collaborated with TIR to co-develop an impact measurement and management approach. This approach, aligned with the refined rural impact strategy and included a customized system for tracking progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Key Highlights:

• Broadstreet collaboratively refined TIR's rural impact strategy through targeted market research, identifying investment challenges and opportunities.
• A formal partnership with Rural LISC was established to ensure investments strengthen distressed rural communities.
• A tailored impact measurement system was co-developed to track progress towards impact and sustainability goals.