About Us
Renewal Funds is a sustainability focused impact venture capital fund. We support exceptional founders building technology and platform businesses driving meaningful climate and ecosystem impacts at scale.
Renewal Funds invests across five primary sustainability themes, focusing on the opportunities where our expertise, network and deal flow best position us to support mission-aligned founders building high impact companies:
- Energy transition – Platform and product companies helping utilities, businesses and consumers transition to clean energy
- Mobility – Connected infrastructure and mobility services to optimize and decarbonize transportation
- Food Systems – Products, platforms and technologies that support a sustainable food and agricultural system
- Zero Waste – Innovative platforms, materials and technologies that support the pillars of a circular economy including waste reduction, reuse and recycling
- Natural Resources – Technology and business model innovation to conserve natural resources and biodiversity
About Renewal
Renewal Funds is a Vancouver based early-growth stage venture capital fund. Renewal Funds currently has $240 million AUM across three funds: Renewal2 ($35 million, 2010), Renewal3 ($63 million, 2014) and Renewal4 ($145 million, 2019).
Renewal Funds makes minority preferred equity investments in high growth, capital efficient businesses. We look to partner with exceptional, mission-driven founders who have built category leading companies and can demonstrate excellent product-market fit and customer traction.
History of Renewal
Paul Richardson and Joel Solomon co-founded Renewal Funds 2008, with support from Carol Newell following their successful collaboration on Carol’s pioneering family office, Renewal Partners. At Renewal Partners, Carol, Joel and Paul invested in over 40 mission-based businesses, including successful exits from pioneers like Stonyfield Farm (organic yogurt) and Seventh Generation (sustainable household and personal care products). In 2008, with support from Renewal Partners, Paul and Joel founded Renewal Funds and were joined by Mike Cormack and Nicole Bradbury to open up early-stage environmental impact investment opportunities to other mission aligned investors. Under the leadership of Managing Partner Paul Richardson, the founding team raised an initial $35 million fund (Renewal2) in 2010, and Renewal3, a $63 million fund, in 2014. With a view to expanding the investment team to support future funds, the founders hired Geordan Hankinson (Partner, 2015), Jerrod Shin (Partner, 2017) and Genevieve Pinto (Partner, 2017). In 2019, the team successfully raised Renewal4, a $145 million fund and subsequently added Linda Chen (CFO), Jennifer Anderson (Partner), Daniel Vo (Associate).
The original Renewal Funds team (left to right): Joel Solomon, Mike Cormack, Nicole Bradbury, Carol Newell, Paul Richardson
Sustainability
Our work is dedicated to a better, more resilient future. We invest in innovation that will advance the sustainability of food, water, and climate — contributing to a safer and cleaner planet for future generations.
We have played a catalytic role in the development of the impact investing ecosystem, including the systems and tools to improve how funds quantify, monitor and report their impact. Renewal helped pioneer the Global Impact Investment Ratings System (GIIRS) in 2012, and our team currently participates in the ESG Data Convergence Initiative, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and the Impact Capital Managers Network. Renewal Funds has been consistently recognized for its achievements in the industry, including: ImpactAssets50 recognition in 2013, 2015 and 2022, B Corp Best for the World for eight consecutive years, GIIRS Best for the World Funds, and being named to Croatan Institutes’ Divest-Invest Clean Fifteen in 2016.
