| Job Opportunities | | PRI Consultant, Romanian-American Foundation |
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Greetings!
Given all the terms being used to describe social (or blended-value or double-bottom-line) investing, no wonder we get confused. Socially responsible investing, for example, encompasses screening and shareholder advocacy. Impact investments include ones made by any type of investor seeking to solve social or environmental challenges while generating financial return. Mission investing includes both concessionary and market-rate investments (MRIs) made by foundations, as described by David Levitt in Unscrambling MRIs and PRIs. MRIs and program related-investments (PRIs) are two distinct tools that private foundations use to further their missions. In addition, public foundations and other philanthropic organizations frequently make PRI-like investments without having to qualify them as such. The emergence of multiple terms is a reflection of the dynamic growth of the field. As we engage greater numbers of participants, we will do our best to clarify the terminology so we can talk to and not past each other.
Peter Berliner
Managing Director |
 In the News |
First Lady Announces California FreshWorks Fund
California FreshWorks was officially lauched last month during a Healthy Food Summit. This public-private partnership has raised $200 million to invest in increasing access to healthy food in underserved communities in California. Partners in this initiative include Network members The California Endowment, the Calvert Foundation and Catholic Healthcare West. Click here to read about the situation on Treasure Island, an example of a "food desert."
The Seattle Foundation's investment will support green retrofits of affordable housing and other projects in lower income neighborhoods in the greater Seattle area. The Impact Note is a means for foundations and other investors to put their cash assets to work while earning a significant financial return.
Alice's Integrity Loan Fund Established at Lincoln Community Foundation
Alice Dittman, chair emeritus of Cornhusker Bank, a community bank in Lincoln, Nebraska, is giving $1 million to establish a micro-lending program. The program will provide entrepreneurs who want to start or grow a business with unsecured three-year loans of up to $5,000 at six percent interest.
Jeff Clarke Named Interim President of the Council on Foundations
Former PRI Makers Network co-chair and former vice president of the Rasmuson Foundation, Jeff Clarke will start his new position on September 1. Read about Jeff's transition in Philanthropy Northwest's blog. |
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Upcoming Network Events |
Given the important learning opportunities for community foundations in September (listed at the end of this newsletter), we have moved the date of our fourth and final session in the series to Wednesday, October 12. (Be sure to remove the September 7 date from your calendar.)
Our new four-part webinar series for community foundations began in June, and there's still time to catch the final session on October 12. Register today! The webinars are available to members as a no-cost member benefit; non-members pay a modest fee.
PRI Institute
November 9 - 11 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Princeton, NJ The PRI Institute brings together industry experts to provide three days of intensive training for PRI practitioners, foundation leaders and trustees. We are now taking registrations. Space is limited to 30 participants - register now! Save the Date: 2012 PRI Makers Network National Conference May 8 - 10, 2012 Seattle Waterfront Marriott Hotel Mark your calendars to join us in Seattle for our 2012 National Conference! |
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New at the Network | |
Welcome New Members!
Please join us in welcoming the following new foundation and affiliate members:
The McConnell Foundation of Redding, CA helps to build better communities through philanthropy. They primarily fund in rural northern California, with some international grantmaking in Laos and Nepal.
EDCO Ventures partners with universities, government laboratories, risk capital groups and private individuals to discover and commercialize technologies and business ideas to create innovative companies and thereby increase living wage jobs in economically distressed areas of Texas. |
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Articles of Interest |
Converting Mission-Related Investing Into Action in the Foundation World
Is it time for foundations to move in a meaningful way beyond traditional grantmaking? David Wood, director of the Initiative for Responsible Investment at Harvard University's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations and the More for Mission campaign speaks to trends in mission-related investing.
Innovating for More Affordable Health Care
The Stanford Social Innovation Review, in conjunction with The California HealthCare Foundation, has published a special issue that explores opportunities for high value, low-cost health care solutions, identifies test markets favorable to innovation and discusses the multiple roles that social investors can play in this emerging field. |
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Resources | A Study on Growth and Sustainability for CDFIs
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) provide access to credit and other financial services in low-income and minority markets that traditionally have been underserved by mainstream institutions. The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation commissioned a report on CDFI growth and sustainability in order to continue support for this critical piece of infrastructure for addressing poverty. The report finds that the ability and willingness to leverage debt and other resources are important for the sustainability and growth of CDFIs.
Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference In September 2011, Antony Bugg-Levine of The Rockefeller Foundation and Jed Emerson of Impact Assets will release this book charting the catalytic path of impact investing, explaining how it is and can be a positive disruptive force. |
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| Events of Interest |
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SOCAP 11
September 6
San Francisco, CA
SOCAP is a multi-platform organization dedicated to the flow of capital towards social good. Attend this four-day event to connect with global innovators helping to build a market at the intersection of money and meaning. |
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