Doug Schaeffer is Board Chairman, Managing Director, and Co-Founder of Allivate Impact CapitalSM (AIC) which deploys innovative capital solutions, elevates communities, alleviates poverty, and activates entrepreneurial ecosystems. AIC, a subsidiary of Woodforest Financial Group®, is an impact investing firm managing capital across asset classes in responsive ways to meet the needs of communities. These communities have historically lacked access to the investment needed to bring underutilized local assets to their full potential. AIC operationalizes the impact goals of its funds to drive positive social returns alongside attractive financial returns.

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Doug is a visionary financial services leader and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) expert, who conceived and created two highly impactful and profitable community development lending and investment programs with over $1.7B in cumulative AUM. Throughout his career he has managed over $100B of secured and unsecured Debt Capital Markets funding for some of the nation’s leading financial institutions.

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Since 2015, in his role as Executive Vice President, Executive Director, CRA for Woodforest National Bank®, Doug led and recruited an award-winning and industry-leading Community Development Team that delivered an outstanding rated CRA program in one exam cycle. As a member of the bank’s Executive Leadership Team, Doug also established CRA as a profitable line of business with a growing lending and investment portfolio.

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He is known for his innovative style, team development, and ability to read and navigate complex landscapes to deliver better than expected results. He is a trusted, strategic advisor to CEOs and boards, and adept at creating strategic vision, implementing that vision, and winning over diverse groups of constituents, resulting in significantly improved business reputation. His leadership and foresight have won numerous awards (national and international).

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Environment, social and governance-linked loans are fast entering the commercial construction industry as it deals with ESG ... diversity, equity inclusion, and governance. Doing the right thing regarding energy savings and climate change is linked to doing the right thing socially and in how a company governs itself. All these factors are beginning to affect loan activity and loan approval.

 

Doug is committed and passionate about leveraging his experience and knowledge of capital and financial services to break down barriers to access, increase inclusion, and bring transparency to resources that expand economic opportunity for communities that are far too often denied entry. Through this drive, Doug has created numerous award-winning initiatives. For example, he introduced the concept of and launched the Woodforest FoundrySM. The FoundrySM is an entrepreneurial ecosystem activator that provides trusted guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs from ideation through public offering, helping thousands of people across the nation test their business ideas without losing capital.