Greetings!
As we settle into a New Year many are wondering how to create opportunity in a time of continued change and constant disruption. The keynote address by Dr. Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, at the Acumen Fund's 10th anniversary investor gathering helped put this into perspective. In her remarks, she references an editorial from Thomas Friedman, 'Something's Happening Here' and a theory called the Big Shift which attributes this moment of incredible uncertainty as an earth-changing flow of ideas, possibilities and opportunities. While disruptive, it is argued that in the end it will be transformative and overwhelmingly positive. (Another theory explains it as the end of the world as we know it - I prefer the former). Regardless, one thing is for sure, things are changing and in that change, are opportunities.
That is why I'm pleased to share resources from a recent presentation of a pilot social investment fund established in collaboration with Housing and Neighborhood Development Services, HANDS, to support high impact community and economic development in Orange, New Jersey. Developed with my colleague from Urban Oasis Development, inspired by our work with Contact Fund, with seed support provided by NeighborWorks America, this fund is an example of impact investing, the private approach to investing that provides both a financial and social/environmental return. It takes advantage of blended capital, which combines private philanthropy with other sources of financing, to build larger pools of funding than any one source - or sector - could provide.
Most significantly, this approach recognizes that we must find a way to leverage resources to find solutions that create opportunities. It also is helping to fuel a new approach to smart growth and potentially the new economy. The main sections of the presentation include:
A Financial Social Capital 'Marketplace' - that places philanthropy along a continuum of funding sources - and puts it within the context of organizational readiness to help an enterprise begin to assess their capacity to attract these funding sources.
A Methodology - a way to think about and prepare an organization for accessing this broader array of funding sources.
A Sample Fund - the Neighborhood Anchors Fund is an innovative, blended capital social investment fund created this past year to provide long-term affordable financing that will support HANDS and their vision of urban/suburban development.
Specifically, HANDS uses the arts to attract artists, innovators and community builders -- including redevelopment of properties that now house a theater, music venues, a hydroponics greenhouse, furniture-makers and an award winning restaurant- part of a larger vision to create a 21st century urban village, a just and beautiful city.
Clearly these are challenging times. I hope that you make the Big Shift and turn it into a much-needed source of new opportunity. Unleash the possibilities in 2012!
Wishing you a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year,
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