Consider this: less than five percent of small business lending goes to women, despite the fact that about 1,800 new women-owned businesses join the United States economy each and every day. That’s roughly $1 for every $23 of lending available to small business owners. Women-owned businesses make up almost a third of all businesses in the country, but they receive just 16 percent of all conventional small business loans.
Read MoreBuilding an impactful, mission-aligned portfolio is often described as a “double bottom-line” investment exercise. This is meant to convey the notion that there are two distinct objectives that an investor is targeting – one rooted in a financial outcome and one rooted in the furthering of specific societal goals. Done properly, this exercise involves decisions that reflect the tradeoff inherent to incorporating multiple considerations, with a goal of achieving peak efficiency.
Read MoreOur nation’s bias toward over-policing has led to the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Dominique Fells, and countless others at the hands of police and law enforcement. These killings and the ensuing nationwide protests expose a rift in the foundation of the U.S. municipal market that harkens back nearly two centuries to a time when the value of Black lives and the value of municipal bonds were explicitly linked. Today, too many local governments have predicted their financial fortunes on the control and oppression of Black people. As the Movement of Black Lives advances, the assets of the criminal injustice complex-- such as jail infrastructure and extractive revenues--will evaporate, leaving behind only liabilities and expenses.
Read MoreTo have the current crisis become a turning point and a move toward true transformation, investors can — and must — play a significant role, by adopting a racial equity lens when making investment allocations. In this article, Kristin Hull, PhD provides 7 simple steps to incorporate a racial justice lens when making investment decisions.
Read MoreAs COVID-19 destroys more American lives than the Vietnam War and more American jobs than the Great Depression, all of us are being called to consider acts of adoption. Here’s an easy possibility: Adopt your favorite local business.
Read MoreIt is well-known that 26% of Philadelphians live in poverty - a persistent challenge that perpetuates our status as the United States’ poorest large city. After leading The Enterprise Center for 27 years, my experience has taught me that all of our region’s stakeholders - public and private - need to act strategically to overcome this challenge and change the lives of nearly 400,000 residents that endure poverty’s effects. I’m calling for real investment in a critical priority for 21st-century Greater Philadelphia: minority entrepreneurship.
Read MoreIn this post, I walk through my case for why investing in local businesses is inherently impact investing. After reading this, you will understand why small businesses struggle to access capital even in a strong economy, why decentralized local lenders provide fair capital, and how you and everyone around you can participate in transforming the trillion-dollar small business lending industry currently failing many local small businesses.
Read MoreJust days before Christmas 2019, and we await the gift of regulatory clarity. Word is out that final OZ regulations have made their way to the White House. Can these offer what we need to craft a path forward to use this tax-benefited capital tool to grow businesses.
Read MoreTriple Bottom Brewing is Philly’s fair chance brewery. Our team brings a wide variety of experiences and perspectives to the table. We’ve been deeply intentional about reaching out to communities of people who are traditionally excluded from the mainstream economy in order to build an inclusive business, and have developed critical partnerships with Project HOME, Mural Arts Restorative Justice Program, and the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project to recruit and support our team members.
Read MoreSocial impact is an entity’s unmonetized external value. It is the uncaptured value of all of its outcomes - absent any moral judgment - on the interacts with via the products and services it delivers.
Read MorePolicymakers, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs, and impact investors frequently comment that we need evidence-based strategies to tackle social and environmental challenges effectively. The call for more thoughtful evidence-use has recently hit a crescendo in impact investing, with high-profile actors showcasing methods for incorporating secondary research into due diligence.
Read MoreImpact investing has existed for a substantial amount of time, but it has not been fully embraced by the investment community and, to many, is still not considered a mainstream investment practice. While there are signs that its adoption is increasing, there are several barriers, both real and perceived, that have slowed its adoption. This paper will present some of the key reasons for impact investments’ slow adoption. It will provide background on the industry and discuss specific factors causing its slow adoption. This paper will then provide several principles aimed at furthering investors’ understanding of impact.
Read MoreWhen we announced the PhilaImpact Fund a year ago, we noted that it was created to fill a gap, offering a safe, smart direct investment opportunity tailored specifically to the Greater Philadelphia region. Our goal was to ensure that the opportunity gaps that exist in our communities get smaller, so that every resident has a chance to thrive from possibilities born from the region’s vibrancy. The results to date have been inspiring.
Read MoreAlthough the Philadelphia region is home to some of the world’s finest hospitals that deliver best-in-class health care, many of our communities still suffer from the lack of access to care. Equal access to health care can be—must be—more than an aspiration; it must become a fact of life. Impact investment has the potential to help make high-quality care available to all. Let us work together to transform our best intentions into real solutions that benefit all who live in our region and in our nation.
Read MoreIn the United States, eighty-seven thousand foundations collectively own approximately $800 billion in assets. Each year, these foundations - financial institutions established for the public good - have a federal obligation to give just 5% of those assets toward achieving their mission. The remaining 95% of assets are traditionally invested in Wall Street, to preserve and grow the foundation's endowment and, consequently, ensure their capacity for philanthropic giving in perpetuity. In other words: foundations generally invest 5% for mission-first outcomes and 95% for finance-first outcomes. It is my resolute belief that challenging and changing this status-quo is not only philanthropy’s greatest 21st-century opportunity but our most critical obligation.
Read MoreDrexel University has taken on a mission as an engaged anchor institution with a substantial role and set of responsibilities in the life and local economy of West Philadelphia. One of our key strategies is to integrate this outward-looking perspective into our core academic functions through comprehensive supports for civic engagement. The Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships, part of Drexel’s Office of University and Community Partnerships, offers a hub for doing academically rigorous work that is creative, collaborative, responsive to the needs and interests articulated by residents and neighborhood stakeholders, and generates benefits for both students and residents.
Read MoreInvestments into Opportunity Funds offer attractive tax benefits, while catalyzing capital inflows into economically distressed communities. However, prudence is necessary in evaluating these investment opportunities as they come to market. The tax benefits will not outweigh the negative consequences of a bad investment. Moreover, large numbers of investment opportunities have not yet materialized. While the initial round of IRS guidance has answered some questions, additional information, expected shortly, is necessary, and then firms will need time to evaluate and identify qualified investment opportunities before launching investment funds. Currently we assume that there will be Funds available for investment in 2019. While questions remain, Opportunity Zones offer an exciting space to monitor and evaluate for tax-sensitive and impact investors.
Read MoreMost 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.
Read MoreIn 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.
Read MoreIn pursuit of deeper impacts, social sector investors have begun to explore different permutations of Program Related Investments. Intermediaries play an important role in facilitating PRI loan funds however, this often raises the cost of capital to a price equal to or exceeding market rates. Direct PRI loans could unlock significant savings yielding new programmatic investment, financial stability, and ultimately, deeper impact.
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