Maria Ramos operates a small roadside flower shop outside of the Ecuadorian capital of Quito. A mother of two, Maria recently used a loan originated by a MCE Social Capital (MCE) client to purchase new plant pots, which have helped her increase sales. Maria’s story is typical of the types of entrepreneurs that have benefitted […]
Community Investing News
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RSF Social Finance Fall Quarterly: Are We What We Grow?
In this latest issue of the RSF Quarterly, we highlight farmers and food entrepreneurs who are dedicated to building a healthy food system. Rachel and Steffen Schneider of Hawthorne Valley Farm share insights on farming that is values-based and rooted in culture. In Clients in Conversation, Chris Mann of Guayaki and Rob Everts of […]
2015 Impact Report Launches
Last week a number of us were in San Francisco at the Social Capital Markets conference. It’s an annual gathering of impact investors, wealth advisors, foundations, social entrepreneurs and everyone in between. As always, the panels and plenary speeches were wide-ranging, touching healthcare, storytelling, healthy foods, impact evaluation, conservation, gender equality, and so on. Listening […]
Bank of America Launches Directory Listing Sources of Capital for Small Businesses
Directory Designed to Create More Awareness of Available Funding SOURCE: Bank of America DESCRIPTION: CHARLOTTE, N.C., October 1, 2015 /3BL Media/ – Bank of America announced today the launch of an online community development financial institution (CDFI) directory to connect small businesses to more capital. This nationwide directory, www.bankofamerica.com/cdfi, will enable entrepreneurs and small business owners […]
An Impact Investor’s Journey From Appalachia to Silicon Valley and Back
These days, you can often find Kevin Doyle Jones out walking with his dog, Izzy, on the sprawling 16-acre farm in western North Carolina that he now calls home. It’s a long way from the money and tech epicenter of San Francisco, where Jones runs a social impact fund, oversees the Impact Hubs he helped […]
Achieving Impact! 2015 – Community Investment in Canada
TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2015 /3BL Media/– In 2014, 36 LBG Canada companies invested $428 million dollars in community. When including funds leveraged from external stakeholders, this total increases to $551 million dollars. Over the course of the next two days, 65 community investment professionals will gather at the RBC Centre for Achieving Impact! 2015, the annual national […]
Is Investment Crowdfunding Finally Coming to Main Street?
The crowdfunding world has been abuzz with rumors that the rules for the crowdfunding provision of the JOBS Act—which would open up investment crowdfunding to all investors—will be finalized this fall. That timing was seemingly confirmed on Wednesday when S.E.C. Chair Mary Jo White told an advisory committee that final rules were coming “in the […]
Spotlight: The Revolutionary Impact of Multi-Generation Education
Before she came to ChildCareGroup, Jasmine and her children were living out a scenario that is all too common among Dallas, TX families today. Though she was doing her best to raise and support her family, Jasmine did not have the resources to pursue higher education and secure long-term employment with a living wage. As a result, […]
Old-School Crowdfunding: Meet the Direct Public Offering
Equity crowdfunding and Regulation A+ grab the headlines. So it may be news to some that investment crowdfunding was around long before the JOBS Act was a gleam in Patrick McHenry’s eye. It just went by a different name: the Direct Public Offering, or DPO. And in spite of the new crowdfunding options ushered in […]
August Local Economy Leaders in the News
In August, Andrea Chen’s work supporting New Orleans entrepreneurs saw widespread national and local coverage during the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina; Kimberlee Williams was selected to lead a World Economic Forum initiative in Newark; Joel Solomon’s leadership in impact investing was featured in Forbes Magazine; and more.
Money and Spirit: An Argument for Rediscovery
SOURCE: RSF Social Finance DESCRIPTION: by John Bloom Money would not exist without spirit. That is, money first occurred as a concept, which is itself a manifestation of human spiritual capacity. Money was generated out of a perceived need to materialize value through physical things, large and small, and as an evolutionary step to replace […]
Place-Based Impact Investors Bonny Meyer, Joel Solomon Profiled in Forbes
Place-based impact investing has caught the attention of the mainstream media, as evidenced by two recent stories in Forbes Magazine. The increased coverage shows how far the “crazy idea that investors can make money and change the world at the same time,” has come.
Thinking About Raising Capital From Your Community? Ask These Questions First.
Community-based investment can be a great way to raise money and build support for your venture. And there are new options for entrepreneurs choosing this capital-raising path, such as investment crowdfunding. With the right team in place, community-based investment can be relatively user-friendly and easy to understand, but it still involves asking people to take real […]
RSF Social Finance Makes a Loan to Hudson Valley Harvest
SAN FRANCISCO, August 14, 2015 /3BL Media/ – RSF Social Finance (RSF) is pleased to announce a new PRI loan to Hudson Valley Harvest (HVH), a food hub providing timely and efficient distribution services that connect small and medium sized farmers in upstate New York with wholesale food buyers in New York City. RSF provided a line […]
Forums: Join the Conversation Now
Join the conversation The Invest With Values discussion forums will connect you to investors with similar interests and values. Four public discussion forums currently include: General Money and Values Local & Community Investing Private Funds and Impact Investing Publicly Traded and Socially Responsible Investing These online forums are devoted to the possibilities of aligning money and values. Registered […]
Crowdfunding Boosts Community Share Offerings For Local Pubs And Football Clubs
Earlier this month, a media publication called Positive News concluded a 30-day crowdfunding campaign on Crowdfunder.co.uk, the largest rewards-based platform in the U.K. But the 1,500 or so readers, journalists and supporters that together committed £263,422 to the project got something more than rewards: they got ownership. Positive News is the first business to raise […]
Community Wealth: Building the Field, Building a Movement
Over the last decade, Steve Dubb of The Democracy Collaborative has seen incredible shifts in the work being done around North America building community wealth and economic systems that work for more people. In this first part of a two-part series, learn more about Steve’s journey to this work in Localism and social justice and […]
Congressional Inaction Threatens a Vital Source of Small Business Funding: SBA Loans
Brayden McCarthy is head of policy and advocacy at Fundera and was formerly senior economic policy advisor in the Obama White House and SBA. Patrick Kelley is a vice president at Live Oak Bank and was previously deputy chief of staff at SBA. In this opinion piece, they lay out the argument for raising the lending limit for SBA […]
Public Offerings of Private Securities Are Gaining Momentum, Says a New Report
Wealthy investors continue to pour money into crowdfunded securities, with capital commitments for Title II offerings rising nearly 18 percent in the second quarter of 2015. The number of deals grew more slowly though, at just under 5 percent, as companies assessed a shifting regulatory landscape. Investors are gobbling up technology, services and real estate […]
Public Offerings of Private Securities Are Gaining Momentum, Says a New Report
Wealthy investors continue to pour money into crowdfunded securities, with capital commitments for Title II offerings rising nearly 18 percent in the second quarter of 2015. The number of deals grew more slowly though, at just under 5 percent, as companies assessed a shifting regulatory landscape. Investors are gobbling up technology, services and real estate […]
ESG Risks and Opportunities in Affordable Housing Investments
The PRI’s Fixed Income Case Study series highlights examples of interesting and innovative approaches to responsible investment. Written by fixed income practitioners from around the world, the case studies cover topics such as integrating ESG, negative and positive screening, thematic investment and engagement. WHY DO ESG ISSUES MATTER FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING? The investment opportunity of […]
New England States Pursue a Regional Approach to Crowdfunding
On July 1, as thoughts everywhere turned to the coming Independence Day holiday, securities regulators from New England’s six states gathered in Boston with a difference set of freedoms on their minds: how to streamline crowdfunding across their states and carve out a sensible approach to capital-raising in the region. The meeting was part of […]
Can Impact Investing Pay Off For Investors? A New Study Says Yes.
Good news for impact investors: you don’t have to sacrifice financial returns for social good. Not only do impact investment funds have very respectable returns, they are in spitting distance of comparable conventional funds. And in some cases, impact investment funds have outperformed their conventional peers. Those are the findings of the first Impact Investing Benchmark, […]
On Puddle, Social Networks and Trust Can Unlock Loans
When Rose Ann Haft wanted to create an online diabetes prevention program a year ago, she didn’t need much. Still, without access to a line of credit or a bank loan, she struggled to come up with even the modest amount of cash it required. Then she heard about Puddle, a social lending site that […]
Investing in a Healthy Future: Sustainable Agriculture, Organics & Fair Trade
“If you do just one thing – make one conscious choice – that can change the world, go organic. Buy organic food. Stop using chemicals and start supporting organic farmers. No other single choice you can make to improve the health of your family and the planet will have greater positive repercussions for our future.” […]
Insights on The New Regulation A+ From Fundrise, a Reg A Pioneer
In 2011, Ben and Dan Miller had an audacious idea: why not let local residents, rather than outsiders, invest in commercial real estate in their neighborhoods? But that seemingly simple idea was not easy to pull off. It was months before the JOBS Act would be passed, much less proposed, and their inquiries led to […]
Canada Moves Ahead With Investment Crowdfunding
The crowdfunding ice melted in the Great White North last month when a group of six Canadian provinces adopted a common set of rules for equity and debt crowdfunding. The rules, released on May 14 and effective immediately, allow non-public companies in participating provinces to raise up to CAD $250,000 per offering, with two offerings […]
A Social Lender Pursues a Radical Experiment in Financial Transparency and Participation
On a rainy evening in March, sixteen people gathered in a tucked away conference room in Brooklyn. Before the evening was through, they would decide among themselves a key rate of interest that would affect borrowers and investors across the country. But this was no illicit cartel. There wasn’t a cigar-chomping banker in sight. The […]
Ours To Own Turns One
This month, we’re celebrating the one year birthday of the Ours To Own campaign, our investment initiative with a vision to activate broad and diverse networks of local residents to drive significant investment in their own communities. Last June, we launched the first two cities – the Twin Cities and Denver – and we have […]
From Wall Street to Main Street: A Conversation with Local Investor Marco Vangelisti
Marco Vangelisti left his job as an investment fund manager in 2009, after an eye-opening discovery about the kinds of companies the fund, and its mission-driven clients, were investing in. The first thing he did was to liquidate his Wall Street portfolio and reinvest it in local and sustainable investments. The second thing was to […]
Resilient Investing: A New Book Takes a Broad View of What it Means to Invest
Global instability. Climate change. Market swings. Investors need to look beyond sustainable investing to resilient investing, argue the authors of a new book. In The Resilient Investor: A Plan for Your Life, Not Just Your Money, Michael Kramer, Hal Brill, and Christopher Peck (pictured from left to right, above), the Managing Partners of financial advisory firm […]
Retail Co-op: Maine Islanders Band Together to Preserve a Way of Life
Summer 2015 Retail Co-op: Maine Islanders Band Together to Preserve a Way of Life by Gloria J. LaBrecque Cooperative Fund of New England As owners of a valued island business began to think about retiring, the idea of helping their loyal workers form a co-op had real appeal. On the website of the Deer Isle […]
InvestWithValues.com Launches News Center
InvestWithValues.com is the leading gateway for the sustainable, responsible and impact investing community with its free educational resource and just launched news center. May 27, 2015 10:30 AM ET Tweet This: News Center offers curated articles by leading providers on #impinv #SRI #socfin #communityinvesting http://bit.ly/1IYClZf @InvestValues Press Release ARMONK, N.Y., May 27, 2015 /3BL Media/ […]
Venture Exchanges Could Bring Liquidity to Small Firms And Boost The Economy
Three years after the JOBS Act was passed, making it easier for small ventures to raise capital, Congress is tackling the issue of secondary trading. The House Financial Services Committee last week floated a draft bill that would allow the creation of “venture exchanges” tailored to the needs of small companies. In many ways, the […]
Changing Capital: Four Strategies for Shifting Capital to Communities
By Sarah Trent This is the third in a three-part series featuring Local Economy Fellow Jessica Norwood. Below, read about four strategies ECN is implementing to change how capital works for under resourced communities in the Black Belt. In part one, learn about Jessica’s journey to Localism and her passion for changing how capital works to support communities. […]
Joel Salatin and Van Jones join speaker slate for #BALLE2015
We are excited to announce that Joel Salatin and Van Jones will join the lineup of visionaries speaking at our 13th annual conference this June 10-12 in Phoenix. Joel of Polyface Farm – often considered America’s most influential farmer – will join Sallie Calhoun (Paicines Ranch), Mark Tilsen (Native American Natural Foods), and Nikki Silvestri […]
Watch It Again: Building an Ecosystem for Place-Based Investing
Purchase Now! Recorded April 2015 Cost $10 With new generations of local financial institutions, community foundations, and supportive public policies, pathways have opened for trillions of dollars to move from Wall Street to Main Street. Innovative leaders are changing the way that capital works, moving away from a system that perpetuates inequality and toward place-based […]
What’s Behind the Boom in Women Entrepreneurs?
Woman-owned nonprofit Untapped Shores provides an opportunity for travelers to make a difference by carrying and delivering a life-saving business-in-a-box to a woman or a family in need. There are now 8.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States. Together they employ more people than McDonald’s, IBM and Wal-Mart combined, and their revenue of $1.3 […]
Where Does Your Money Spend the Night? Rethinking Capitalism
The global nonprofit sector has played a crucial role in identifying solutions for the needs of the world’s most marginalized populations. As the severity and scale of the problems escalate, however, it has become clear that the 20th century paradigm of maximizing profits in the capitalist realm of the economy then donating a percentage of […]
Don Shaffer: Community Foundations: What It Takes to Become Dynamic Hubs of Local Capital
Community foundations — with their deep local ties, significant unrestricted assets, and community benefit missions — are ideally positioned to play a leading role in solving our communities’ most profound and difficult challenges. Yet many are stuck in a pattern of disbursing only a small percentage of their assets in grants and investing the rest […]
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