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Innovate. Leverage. Grow. | |
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Greetings!
The PRI Institute in St. Paul, MN, welcomed 30 participants from 17 foundations to a three-day intensive program on program-related investing earlier this month. The Institute featured foundation leaders and experts in many aspects of investing, including community development, real estate, equity investing and nonprofit development. Many kudos to the Northwest Area Foundation for hosting this event at their fabulous training facility.
Future Institutes are expected to take place in the Spring and/or Fall 2011 at locations to be determined. Let us know if you would like to attend! Peter Berliner
PRI Makers Network |
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If you have any questions about the PRI Makers Network website or your username/password, please contact Shiho Fuyuki. | |
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Job Opportunities
The Ford Foundation
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What's New at the Network
Wednesday, December 8, 10:00 a.m.PT/1:00 p.m. ET
How can investing in community development financial institutions (CDFIs) help foundations reach their goals? Hear speakers from The California Endowment, the CDFI Assessment and Ratings System (CARS™), the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, The Ford Foundation and Coastal Enterprises, Inc. discuss the role of CDFIs and the use of CARS™ as part of their PRI program. This free webinar is open to Network members only. Calling All International Funders The Network is developing an event for Network members that fund internationally. If you have not done so already, please complete our Survey of International Funders to give us your input on how we can support your use of PRIs internationally. PRI Makers Network Member Gathering in Seattle Friday, January 14, noon - 1:30 p.m. Network members who are in the Seattle area on January 14 are invited to a member luncheon. Watch for your email invitation in December and let us know if you can attend! |
Welcome New Members!
Please join us in welcoming the following new members to the Network this month:
Ernest J. Scharpf Jr. Charitable Trust (San Jose, CA) |
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PRIs in the News
Living Cities Invests $80 Million in Five Urban Areas
Living Cities, a national collaborative including 14 of our Network members, announced its investment in five U.S. metropolitan areas: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark and the Twin Cities. The Integration Initiative is comprised of grants, loans and PRIs to communities in which the public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors are committed to working together to:
- Create a new framework for solving complex problems;
- Challenge obsolete conventional wisdom;
- Drive the private market to work on behalf of low-income people; and
- Create a "new normal."
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Member Highlight
According to the 2010 World Energy Outlook, 15% of the world's population lacks access to electricity and relies almost exclusively on candles and kerosene for their lighting needs. Tanzania, for example, is a country that is still very much in the dark with 86% of the population without access to electricity. The low electrification rate has been identified by both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as one of Tanzania's main infrastructural bottlenecks and an impediment to development and poverty reduction. In 2006, the Lemelson Foundation and E+Co, a nonprofit clean energy investor, partnered to tackle this issue. Read more as Kim Martin of the PRI Makers Network interviews Anne Murray of E+Co. |
Articles of Interest Investment advisor Craig Muska at the Threshold Group, an investment firm working with The Russell Family Foundation and others, has authored an article on the relationship of investment advisors and social investors entitled Evaluating Collaboration Models for Family Foundations and their Investment Advisors. This article and other resources are available on the More for Mission website. Steven Rabago at Zimple Money offers a primer entitled Lending with a Purpose on lending for friends and family members as well as donors making PRIs. Zimple Money offers software and other tools that help lenders manage financial transactions. The Social Investment Forum reports that socially responsible investments (SRI) have increased by 13% during the economic downturn, compared to the growth in overall assets of less than 1%. SRI strategies, which include the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, shareholder advocacy and community investing, have grown by 24% since 2005, compared to a 3% increase overall. As a result, nearly one of every eight dollars under professional management in the United States today (12.2% of the estimated $25.2 trillion in total assets under management) is involved in a type of socially responsible investing. In addition, assets in community investing institutions rose by more than 60%, from $25 billion in 2007 to $41.7 billion in 2010. Check out the Report on Social Investing Trends in the US for more information. |
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