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Journal Article
Increasing access to capital: could better measurement of social and environmental outcomes entice more institutional investment capital into underserved communities?
The role of capital in promoting growth is more apparent than ever as communities across the country struggle to bolster sagging economies and stem job losses brought on by the credit crunch. Although it may seem now that all markets are undercapitalized, some areas are chronically undercapitalized, including inner-city urban markets, rural markets, low-income communities, and enterprises owned by minorities and women or serving undervalued customer bases. Their struggle for capital means a struggle to thrive, and for owners, entrepreneurs, employees, customers, and communities, whether they ...
Discussion Paper
The case for the community partner in economic development
Community-based organizations promote economic development by assembling investments in affordable housing, mixed-use real estate, community facilities, and small business in specific geographies. A principal way that community-based organizations tap institutional investors for deals is by partnering with investment intermediaries who manage the risk of these transactions by pooling assets, spreading risk across investors, and pricing the transaction up to the associated risk. Such a partnership allows an investment intermediary, or what the industry calls an ?investment vehicle,? to use its ...
Working Paper
The new family philanthropy: investing for social and environmental change
The impact investing marketplace is gaining traction?investment vehicles now span asset classes, infrastructural improvements are enhancing transparency and investor confidence, and social enterprise is maturing with a new generation of entrepreneurs. On the investor side, industry growth is being driven by large institutional investors such as public sector pension funds, banks, and private foundations. Today, we are also seeing a growing movement by families who seek to realize their core values, and effect societal change, through their family assets. This paper focuses on family investing ...
Discussion Paper
The role of community partners in urban investments
Institutional investors seeking to deploy capital to underserved areas do not have either the time or the expertise to actively manage these specialized investments. Investment vehicles intervene by using their financial expertise to pool assets and lower transaction costs. Community partners, in turn, link the investment vehicle to the neighborhood. This paper develops a typology of community partners and their unique characteristics that enable them to overcome information asymmetries in certain markets. The paper also discusses the business models that establish the relationship between ...
Journal Article
Investment intermediaries in economic development: Linking public pension funds to urban revitalization
It is difficult for large investors, such as pension funds, to make investments in EDMs because they must make very large investments. The investments in communities of need, however, are usually small. The most successful strategy to overcome these two problems is for investors to work in concert with intermediaries that can aggregate the investments and community partners that understand both the need of communities and know how to tell ?the story? to investors.