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Journal Article
Capital for Communities: Regulatory Changes Support Impact Investing
Several recent regulatory changes have made it possible for new players to become involved in ?impact investing.? From regulatory changes at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) that allow retirement funds to invest for environmental and social impact to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announcement on private foundation investments to changes at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that allow small businesses to solicit funding in new ways, recent developments are opening up new potential sources of capital for community and economic development.
Journal Article
Capital for Communities: Financing Human Capital Through Income Share Agreements
Outstanding federal student loan balances in the U.S. exceed $1.2 trillion, and many believe rising student loan delinquencies represent an emerging crisis for students and the broader economy. Income share agreements (ISAs) have been identified as a new potential source for financing higher education, making important investments in human capital improvements while limiting some of the debt burden placed on students. This article will explore why some believe that alternatives to traditional student loans are needed and will also examine the promising solutions ISAs could bring to students ...
Journal Article
Capital for Communities: CDFIs Innovate on Small Consumer Loans
Nearly two out of three Americans do not have sufficient savings to cover an unexpected expense of $500.1 Further, income uncertainty and volatility cause many families to experience spikes and dips in their monthly budgets, often leaving insufficient capital to cover expenses. With limited access to traditional lines of credit, many consumers turn to small loan products to weather a financial shock or to smooth their income fluctuations. While predatory, expensive products can lead consumers into a cycle of repeated usage and mounting debt, consumer-friendly products can provide the ...
Journal Article
Measuring the Quality, Not Quantity, of Job Creation
Job creation has long been seen as a worthy goal that supports economic growth while providing opportunities for the local workforce. Increasingly, however, stakeholders are beginning to ask whether success should be measured purely by the quantity of jobs created without regard for the quality of those jobs. This article explores various efforts that are underway to encourage the creation, dissemination, and integration of job quality standards into investment, philanthropic, and economic development efforts aimed at job creation.
Journal Article
Capital for Communities: Transforming the Community Investment System
Panelists in a session on connecting communities to capital through collaboration challenged participants to think about raising capital as important yet secondary to setting strategic and collaborative priorities. Tamar Kotelchuck, director of the Working Cities Challenge at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, discussed the cross-sector collaboration that is underway in New England. The Working Cities Challenge addresses the issue of limited resources in smaller cities by using a collective impact-type approach that is based on collaborative leadership in a community as a means to attract ...
Report
A Qualitative Exploration of Affordability and Availability of Rental Housing in the Third Federal Reserve District: 2015
In February 2015, the Community Development Studies & Education (CDS&E) Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released a publication titled Affordability and Availability of Rental Housing in the Third Federal Reserve District: 2015. Following the release of the report, housing professionals were interviewed to further investigate the rental housing affordability challenges in the Third Federal Reserve District. This Beyond the Numbers qualitative companion report takes a more in-depth look at the challenges and trends revealed in the quantitative analysis. This report ...
Journal Article
Investing to Create Good Jobs
A growing number of foundation, nonprofit, and for-profit investors are making investments for measurable social and environmental impact as well as financial return. The ?impact investing? field includes a few investors that are investing in businesses specifically to create jobs for unemployed and underemployed residents. These investors also provide ongoing assistance to owners of the businesses to create ?good quality jobs,? which generally provide income above the minimum wage, health benefits, and training and opportunities for workers to move into positions with higher wages. Three ...
Journal Article
Pay for Success: Financing Research-Informed Practice
Undercapitalization of nonprofit organizations and years of seemingly stagnant results in addressing certain social problems have led many to hope that ?pay for success (PFS) financing? will bring solutions in the form of new capital to support program delivery, improved accountability, and increased rigor in performance measurement. PFS financing, sometimes termed ?social impact bonds (SIBs),? shifts the risk of a preventive social service?s success from taxpayers to investors who finance programs and receive government repayments if, and only if, an agreed-upon performance metric is ...
Report
A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Consumer Credit Trends by Age in the Third Federal Reserve District
While there is growing awareness of the importance of consumer credit use for the broader economy, less is understood about the full context of borrowers? balance sheets and how financial challenges change over a credit user?s lifecycle. Responding to this knowledge gap, this report takes a comparative look at the use of credit among Third Federal Reserve District residents across three age groups (18 to 34, 35 to 54, and 55 to 84 years). Combining analysis of credit bureau data with insights from interviews with housing and credit counselors, this report provides a comprehensive overview of ...