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The Dunham Fund, an Aurora, Ill. private foundation, announced a $1 million PRI with Joseph Corporation to establish a home rehabilitation loan fund, according to The Chicago Tribune's TribLocal Aurora. The Dunham Fund Home Rehab and Refill Program will purchase, rehabilitate, and resell 75 unoccupied and distressed homes over five years in an area identified as a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area by the city of Aurora. The PRI is an interest-free five-year term loan. Read the story here. (January 24, 2012)
PRI Makers Network member Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently published a new report, Impact Capital Measurement: Approaches to Measuring the Social Impact of Program-Related Investments. As philanthropic institutions are increasing interested in measuring the social impact of their investments, especially PRIs, the report's author Melinda Tuan posits "it may be helpful to do three things: 1. Identify and review the leading and promising approaches to measuring the social impact of PRIs; 2. Analyze the relative strengths and weaknesses of these approaches and identify any cross-cutting issues; 3. Understand how these examples and insights can inform the philanthropic sector's explorations about measuring the social impact of PRIs." Tuan goes on to examine the social impact measurement policies of five foundations, all PRI Makers Network members: The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, The F. B. Heron Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and KL Felicitas Foundation. (January 24, 2012)
IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins said in December that a guidance project related to private foundations will add more PRI examples, according to Bloomberg BNA. Read the entire news post from The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. here. (January 24, 2012)
As part of its latest $900,000 funding round, the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation of the Americas announced in December the rollover of a $300,000 PRI in the form of a loan to nonprofit social investment fund Root Capital to provide funancing for rural businesses engaged in sustainable development in Latin America. The foundation's mission is to promote environmental causes throughout the Americas in the broadest sense, which encompasses both the physical and social environments, working in biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, environmental justice, and environmental education. (January 24, 2012)
Insight into the Impact Investment Market: An in-depth analysis of investor perspectives and over 2,200 transactions, authored by Yasemin Saltuk, Amit Bouri, and Giselle Leung of J.P. Morgan and the GIIN, finds that the majority of surveyed impact investors have tempered optimism about the impact investing industry, believing it is "in its infancy and growing." Most expect that 5-10 percent of overall portfolios will be allocated to impact investments within a decade. The lack of track record of successful investments is identified as the industry's biggest challenge, with the biggest risks around investment illiquidity and uncertainty of financial returns. A number of PRI Makers Network members were among survey respondents. (January 23, 2012)
Taking Stock of Microfinance: Perception Survey Among Wealth Holders and Their Advisors in the US, Europe and Asia, published by Credit Suisse Microfinance Capacity Building Initiative in collaboration with the Microfinance Communications Council, reports on a survey aimed at gauging perceptions about microfinance and the microfinance industry among wealth holders and their advisors. It finds microfinance is still viewed positively as an effective tool to alleviate poverty and to support entrepreneurship. Other findings include that most respondents believe the industry needs to address the risk of client over-indebtedness and rapid industry growth, and they believe both investments and donations are necessary and complementary. The report can be viewed by following the instructions on the right column here. (January 23, 2012)
PRI Makers Network member The California Endowment recently announced it has placed a $10 million investment with DBL Investor's Equity Fund II as part of its to-date $75 million commitment to mission-related investing. According to the fund's executive vice president and chief operating officer Kathlyn Mead, "Our partnership with DBL Investors continues the implementation of our MRI strategy that follows a rigorous investment discipline yielding both market-rate returns with significant social impact."
DBL Investors focuses on cleantech, IT, healthcare, and sustainability companies in the western U.S. The California Endowment's mission seeks to transform underserved areas in California into healthy communities through measurable employment and regional economic benefits. The foundation also recently released an RFP seeking $7.5 million in program-related investments whose activities contribute to their 10-year Building Healthy Communities plan. (January 17, 2012)
The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund recently announced an additional $3.2 million investment to support Haitian businesses, bringing the total investment to date to almost $36 million. Included in this funding round is a $350,000 loan to Global Home and Office Smart, a Haitian-owned office supply retailer. Earlier funding included both grants and PRIs to Root Capital, a Haitian nonprofit social investment fund promoting rural prosperity for agricultural businesses. (January 10, 2012)
To support its goal of preparing more students for success in college and career, PRI Makers Network member the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation recently announced more than $40 million in competitive funding for cities that have signed Charter-District Collaboration Compacts. The funds are a mix of competitive grant dollars for Compact cities to scale their existing work, and program-related investment dollars to support facilities investments in the highest performing schools. According to the foundation, the PRIs may be in the form of low-cost loans, credit enhancements or risk-sharing structures that leverage external funding. Learn more here. (December 6, 2011)
PRI Makers Network member the David and Lucile Packard Foundation made a $2.5 million low-interest loan to Sempervirens Fund as part of an effort by five Bay Area conservation organizations to preserve the largest expanse of unprotected redwoods and wildlife habitat in California's Santa Cruz mountains. The $30 million purchase of CEMEX Redwoods is the first major project to result from the Living Landscape Initiative, a collaboration launched earlier this year by the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, The Nature Conservancy, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Save the Redwoods League, and Sempervirens Fund. The goal of the Initiative is to protect 80,000 acres of land in and around Silicon Valley over the next 20 years. Other funding toward the purchase comes from a variety of sources, including a combined $8 million grant from PRI Makers Network member the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Packard. (January 10, 2012)