Josh Kwon, WH ’27, Vancouver, WA
This summer, I had the privilege of working as a climate finance intern at Raise Green, a climate crowdfunding startup. Raise Green is a crowdfunding platform where businesses can raise money from investors for climate-related projects, setting it apart from more widely known crowdfunding portals like Wefunder. My 13-week experience allowed me to work closely with the entire team, immersing myself in both the financial field and the climate impact space.
From the moment I started, I was thrown into a diverse assortment of meetings. These ranged from weekly all-hands sessions to private discussions with potential issuers. I met eager issuers ready to launch projects and partners, media outlets, and other stakeholders interested in Raise Green. These meetings gave me a high-level view of how Raise Green operates, exposing me to various aspects of the climate finance world.
My primary responsibilities included supporting marketplace activities, such as transaction reconciliation, researching investor queries, and drafting procedures for the marketplace desk manual. In doing so, I created multiple competitive analysis reports and honed my skills in data analysis through Excel assignments. These tasks enhanced my technical abilities and gave me a deeper understanding into how marketplaces operate within the finance sector.
A major highlight of my internship was overseeing the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into Raise Green’s marketplace. The SDGs provide a clear, measurable framework that helps investors assess the impact of their investments. My role involved collaborating with different departments across the company and engaging with SDG specialists to align the marketplace with these goals. This project allowed us to enhance transparency and offer investors a more tangible understanding of the potential impact of their investments. Additionally, I was responsible for crafting blog posts to educate investors about the SDGs and navigating the complex legal landscape to ensure our initiatives complied with financial regulations.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my time at Raise Green was the opportunity to learn directly from the President of the company. I joined various meetings and engaged with people from different backgrounds, absorbing both hard and soft skills.
My internship at Raise Green was transformative, igniting a passion for impact investing. It was inspiring to be part of a team that directly helps climate-related startups scale and create meaningful change. This experience taught me that finance can be a powerful tool for good— not just for profit, but also for positive social and environmental impact. I leave this internship with a renewed commitment to use finance as a means to help people and the planet.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
