What is the difference between grants and social impact investing?

Grants and impact investments both share a common goal but they achieve that goal in different ways. The goal is to positively impact the community by addressing a social problem in a significant way. With grant funding, funds are awarded and the only expectation is that the resulting impact is tracked and reported back to the grant maker after particular period of time. An impact investment is different from a traditional grant in that it is expected to be repaid and can take the form of low-interest loans, lines of credits, and even equity.