ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 16: Investing for Social Impact: Community Development Financial Institutions

Most low-income communities in the U.S. have access to an important resource that few people outside of these communities know: a CDFI (community development financial institution). CDFIs are private community lenders dedicated to delivering social and economic impact by providing responsible, affordable financing to disinvested people and communities. Why are CDFIs important? If you live in a community whose streets are dotted with check cashers, liquor stores, and blighted buildings, chances are there are few if any bank branches and very little investment overall. Without access to capital, residents can’t start or grow a business, purchase or rehab a home, or oftentimes, have access to quality childcare and healthcare facilities. CDFIs provide access to capital that creates opportunity and leads to real change that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

investors, business leadersDermot MurphyFebruary 26, 2019Donna Fabiani - OFN

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 15: PIDC Seeks to Spur Inclusive Growth in Philadelphia with New Opportunity Zones

In the last year, two unique opportunities brought the potential to drive significant new investment in cities across the country. First, Amazon announced their search for a second corporate headquarters (“HQ2”) which is projected to employ up to 50,000 employees over the next fifteen years. More than 238 cities and regions submitted proposals, and 20 candidate cities (including Philadelphia) were ultimately selected by Amazon to compete in a next phase. Amazon eventually decided to split its second headquarters into two locations and chose New York and Northern Virginia for its next stages of growth.

investors, business leadersDermot MurphyJanuary 28, 2019Anne Bovaird Nevins - PIDC

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 13: What Does Fly Fishing have to do with Leadership in Impact Philanthropy

This story begins in 2002 in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Clemens and a small group of colleagues saw the need to create a conscious and sustainable world through engaged philanthropy and had the vision to align practice with purpose – at the individual level, in the community, and on a global scale.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 12: Building Equitable Communities Through Patient Impact Capital and Thoughtful Real Estate Development

54.46% in poverty
27.56% unemployed
209 deaths from overdoses in 2017

These are the sobering statistics of Harrowgate, a Kensington neighborhood north of Lehigh Avenue, that is only 15 minutes north of Center City on the Market-Frankford subway line, and three subway stops away from Fishtown – “the hottest neighborhood” in the United States according to Forbes magazine.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 11: Impact Beyond Innovation

What comes after innovation? As CEO of Benjamin Franklin Technology Partners, an organization charged with catalyzing the Philadelphia region's entrepreneurial and innovation economy, I've struggled with this question. It was 2001 when I began to follow the emerging national narrative around impact, marked by Harvard Business Review's January 2001 issue: Ideas with Impact - an issue I still have to this day. In it, an article by Charles Handy entitled "Tocqueville Revisited: The Meaning of American Prosperity." revisits Tocqueville's journey, but focuses on capitalism instead of democracy. Handy writes of the need for "new capitalism" and discusses American Nobel Prize Winner Robert Fogel's optimism that "a new sense of purpose…will be at the heart of the next stage of capitalism." The idea resonated with me then and stayed with me over time.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 10: Fostering Economic Growth and Mobility in Philadelphia

Although community development finance has primarily built its foundation around real estate investing, we have learned that in a city like Philadelphia, neighborhood revitalization does not always empower local residents to move up the economic ladder but can often lead to displacement through gentrification. An impact economy requires both growth AND mobility, and thus, our strategies must include a focus on both improving places AND empowering people. To this goal, an effective impact capital strategy is about more than just building and investing financial and physical capital. We should also consider how we build and invest in human and social capital in our city.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 8: ReStore - A Self-Sustaining Revenue Model to Further Local Housing Support in Philadelphia

Many who hear “Habitat for Humanity” have some familiarity with Habitat for Humanity's affordable housing work, the phrase “a hand up, not a handout,” and President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter's the tireless commitment to the organization over years. However, few are aware of our furniture and home goods social enterprise, ReStore, that infuses dollars into our Homeownership and Home Repair Programs - two programs that provide affordable payment options, sweat equity, and volunteer labor opportunities for low-income populations that have housing needs in Philadelphia.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 7: An Introduction to Place-Based Impact Investment

At the Wharton Social Impact Initiative, we focus on how businesses and finance can be leveraged to drive inclusive economic development. Over the last decade, we have noticed a dramatic increase in the number of investors seeking to achieve financial returns as well as measurable social or environmental impact across their investable assets. This approach to investment – generally known as “impact investing” – takes many forms across asset classes, impact sectors, industries, and geographies. And, the growth in impact investing is leading to a range of partnerships, approaches, and funding strategies.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 6: Partnership – The Key to Future Regional Prosperity

At the Total Impact Conference in late April, The Philadelphia Foundation and Reinvestment Fund announced a joint initiative named PhilaImpact Fund. This impact investing vehicle will allow each organization’s investors to fund development projects in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties. The PhilaImpact Fund connects investors, philanthropists and engaged citizens with the projects, initiatives and big ideas that generate results on a local level.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 5: Best for PHL - The City of Brotherly Love in Name and Deed

Over the past several decades, investors, economists, and business owners alike have acknowledged the need to move from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism. Research shows that Millennials seek meaningful work and investments that make money and make a difference. And since Millennials represent 50% of the global workforce and will inherit $40 trillion in the coming decades, they will shape labor and capital markets like no other generation. The existence of this trend raises important questions that B Lab's Liz Fernandes explores in this Perspectives piece.

business leaders, start-upsCory DonovanApril 4, 2018Liz Fernandes - B Lab

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 3: Scaling Capital for Impact Through Fixed Income Investments

Last May, Reinvestment Fund announced a $50 million public bond offering to further its mission to build wealth and opportunity for low-income places and people. The bonds were rated AA- by S&P and represent one of the first examples of connecting CDFIs to mainstream capital markets. Demand for these bonds far exceeded expectations and the offering was oversubscribed. It was a testament to the demand among institutional investors for viable options to channel their capital towards impact, while also receiving market-rate returns.

ImpactPHL Perspectives, Volume 2: Making “Risky” Local Investments for the Common Good

There’s a collective societal consciousness that thinks of traditional stock and bond markets as prudent and safe while viewing direct investments into businesses and non-profits as risky. The Untours Foundation seeks investments with local and/or societal benefits and makes the case that perhaps the level of risk isn’t so different after all.

business leaders, investors, start-upsCory DonovanFebruary 21, 2018Elizabeth Killough - Untours Foundation

An Introduction to ImpactPHL Perspectives, Philadelphia's Role in the Global Impact Ecosystem, and Why It's So Important

Why does ImpactPHL chair John Moore feel so strongly about optimizing investments beyond financial metrics, and Philadelphia’s role as a global hub for such innovation? In volume one, he explains the perspective of ImpactPHL Perspectives.

business leaders, consumers, investors, start-upsCory DonovanFebruary 5, 2018John Moore — ImpactPHL