John Kluge

Newly back (and actually posting this year)! Short version: I work to move private capital to refugee entrepreneurs — not as charity, but because they’re some of the best founders most investors never meet. Book on it, “Banking on Belonging”, out July 21. I also make mead in Virginia. 👋 #refugees

Lonnie Ali of the Muhammed Ali Center shares recent study finding compassion has declined across six cities studied, yet finds a rise in people seeking out compassion. “Rebuilding trust in the world begins with compassion. And that begins with compassion for self.” #concordia26

Thrilled to be at #Concordia26 w my colleague from the Refugee Investment Network, Selen Ucak, as we engage new friends and partners in investing with refugees to build economies of belonging. #UNGA

Today at #Concordia26 I join @unhcr.org High Commissioner Barham Salih, Jonathan Reckford & @usaforunhcr.bsky.social’s Suzanne Ehlers on durable solutions for displaced communities. Refugees are talented workers & founders. Let’s invest together in a real way out of long-term displacement. #UNGA

The ‘Economies of Belonging Tour’ is already underway with a list of dates and venues. We’ll update it as more come online. Want us to come to your city, firm, or organization? Send us a note! bankingonbelonging.com/impact-tour #books #withrefugees #impinv #migration

Our first copies arrived! Banking on Belonging is out Aug 18 from @columbiaup.bsky.social. Christine and I make the economic case for investing in displaced people — the jobs, the companies, the funds, the financing. #impinv #refugees #migration #business www.amazon.com/Banking-Belo...

Today is #EarthOvershootDay 🌎. $345B of private capital went into AI last year. $23B went into nature. Money moves when something in the structure compels it. #Nature has no seat, no vote, no standing. A creditor that cannot file! More here: open.substack.com/pub/klugesan...

Private capital is critical to closing the climate finance gap but won't reach women without the right market infrastructure. Our latest paper, submitted to UNFCCC under the Belém Gender Action Plan, outlines what it takes to scale gender-responsive climate finance. www.2xglobal.org/knowledge-hu...

Advocacy hasn’t shifted the politics around #refugees. Capital might. We joined @ImpactAlpha.com’s Agents of Impact podcast to make the economic case for investing in displaced entrepreneurs. The US #resettlement program alone has generated close to $500B in tax contributions. tinyurl.com/3rpkf9h6

1 million Ukrainian refugees make up 2.5% of Poland's population but contribute 2.7% to the Polish GDP (Deloitte/UNHCR), helping prevent economic stagnation. 8% higher economic contribution per capita by Ukrainian refugees to Poland than the Poles.

Fact: 80% of terrestrial biodiversity lives in forests. When trees vanish, species vanish.

Tomorrow #America turns 250. I spent some time this week asking what James Madison -the guy who literally built the guardrails of our #democracy- would make of where we are. #july4 #usconstitution open.substack.com/pub/klugesan...

Bravo gents, bravo! Belgium here we come!🇺🇸 #usmnt #worldcup #digdeep

Impact investors can successfully serve as a counterbalance to governments that are ambivalent, obstructionist, or even hostile to refugees. SSIR’s David Johnson speaks w/ Christine Mahoney and John Kluge Jr. about their new feature article, “Building the Refugee Economy.” Tuesday, July 14:

Great news for the American people 💯🎯

#Virginia produces <4% of the honey we consume, and ours is the most valuable in the country, pound for pound. But we’re barely producing it. My case for making the pollinator economy a real focus of Virginia's Farm & Forest Plan ran in the @richmond.com: 🐝 #bees richmond.com/opinion/colu...

Grateful to @porchlightbooks.bsky.social for featuring an adaptation from BANKING ON BELONGING (out 7/21). Investing in #refugee entrepreneurs builds stronger economies for everyone. 8 strategies, free to read. CC @unhcr.org porchlightbooks.com/blogs/changethis/banking-on-belonging

Something I’ve learned about refugee entrepreneurs: the business plans are often sharper than what I see from founders who had every advantage. Scarcity is a brutal teacher. The talent was never the missing piece. It’s capital and access that is the market failure.

People hear “refugee” and picture need. I spent a decade learning to picture risk-taking. Someone who crossed a border with nothing and rebuilt a life is, almost by definition, an entrepreneur. Our book is about what happens when capital finally treats them that way.

The phrase I keep coming back to: from donor to partner. Refugees don’t need rescuing so much as backing. A grant says “I’ll help you survive.” An investment says “I believe you’ll build something.” The latter is the paradigm shift.

This morning, an exec at a big NGO asked me: "Will #USAID come back?" My answer: Probably. But it doesn't matter. 123M displaced people can't wait for Congress to decide. The humanitarian sector is fighting the wrong battle. Here's what they should do instead: open.substack.com/pub/klugesan...

🌳 Our bond with nature is fading, threatening our health & planet. My new op-ed, reflecting on new research documenting a 60% loss of connection to nature, explores why reconnecting is vital—for body, soul, and survival—and how we can act now! 🌍 #Nature substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Join me on Tue, Aug 12, 6-8pm for a fireside chat & book launch with Dr. @Rosa Vásquez Espinoza! Celebrating The Spirit of the Rainforest—exploring the Amazon, stingless bees, & indigenous wisdom. RSVP: spiritofthe rainforest.eventbrite.com #AmazonConservation #BookLaunch #ThistlerockMead #virginia

Grateful for our community for showing up on July 4th in protest of government overreach and fighting to protect academic freedom! Please consider signing our petition to the Virginia General Assembly to shield our institutions from a despotic federal government! #uva Change.org/handsoffUVA

The Environmental Protection Agency has drafted a plan to eliminate all limits on greenhouse gases from coal and gas-fired power plants in the U.S., according to internal agency documents reviewed by The New York Times.

💐Why hit up your local farmers market? Fresh, tasty produce, direct support for local farmers, and less environmental impact. Plus, you’ll find unique goods and connect with your community. Visit one this weekend! 🐝🍷 #FarmersMarket #SupportLocal #thistlerock

Grateful for good people doing good in the world. My buddy Brian Woerner from the #WorldHoneyExchange stopped by the farm for an impromptu rare honey tasting and to hatch collaboration plans for the next year. 🍯🐝🍷✈️🌍🎥

He is a dose of positivity to get your Friday started- a case study on the #innovativefinance work for #affordablehousing being led by @redlightmanagement.bsky.social & DMB’s Bama Works Fund in #Charlottesville, VA ssir.org/articles/ent...

“Protecting free and independent thought in the United States is going to take more than just one institution fighting back.” Let’s go. www.columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2025...

Here in Virginia, because we don’t have many large commercial beekeepers or move our bees across state lines for pollination (at least the majority of VA beekeepers), we are thankfully somewhat insulated - for now. That could change but it’s crucial we stay ahead of this.

This matches, step by step, the playbook we’re witnessing from the White House and DOGE. The first half of this narrative is background and context of the ideology while the second half is the roadmap for implementation. Very disturbing. m.youtube.com/watch?v=5RpP...

@marianabellmusic.bsky.social welcome to the land of non-suck. There is cheese and less Nazis.

@benstiller.redhour.com just wanted to say thank you for all your work with @unhcr.org and for standing with refugees. That’s all. Keep doing you Ben. 🙌

Re-read U.S. Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 (the Appropriations Clause) and Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 (the Taxing and Spending Clause). @kaine.senate.gov is Congress going to take them to court or what? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/u...

When you wear multiple hats…up early today to share our #netzero mead with customers. Mead for breakfast? #whateverittakes #entrepreneurship

EU’s solar and wind growth pushes fossil-fuel power to lowest level in 40 years - Carbon Brief