Contact Fund concluded a very busy first quarter with a great deal of momentum!

 

Earlier this year we announced a commitment to raise and deploy  

$1 million in new loans in 2011 as we work toward reaching optimal scale and greater impact. I am thrilled to report that our March round of notes was our most successful to date, increasing our base of investors by 50%! We are within striking distance of our 2011 fundraising goal and ready to begin to place new capital into New York City neighborhoods. Thank you to all investors, and welcome to those joining us for the first time.   

 

The strong response among our new and current investors is part of a growing conversation that is taking place around social-purpose investing.  In fact, we've taken the opportunity to check-in with new and existing investors about impact investing and how they selected Contact Fund.  We've compiled a snapshot of their responses here.

 

This infusion of capital comes at a very opportune time as resources for New York City community development remain tight.

 

In preparation for our increased lending activities, we conducted initial due diligence and outreach to several new potential borrowers as part of a larger pipeline development strategy.  Our collaborative activity continued to deepen in this first quarter as we worked alongside a large familiar co-lender, Nonprofit Finance Fund, and held more advanced discussions with other non-profit lenders, membership organizations and foundations, including LISC and the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD).  Look for more detail in our next newsletter. 

 
In upcoming communications we also will provide information about new markets that can benefit from this impact investing approach, including food systems, a very active topic in NYC and national investing circles. 

 

As always we encourage inquiries and questions which can be directed to me at mark@contactfund.com or 212-209-3877. 

 

Regards,

 

 

Mark Reed

Founder