Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Ford and MetLife Work to Measure Impact of Community Investing
Community loan funds are social-purpose, typically nonprofit, financial institutions that provide loans in underserved communities. The loans they make benefit low-income families, women, the environment, and small businesses, to name a few. While community loan funds have a 30+ year track record of successfully lending in underserved areas, investors and other stakeholders have struggled to quantify the social impacts of those loans. Aeris expects to be collecting data from 250 loan funds by 2018.
Joining Aeris is the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), which will serve as a liaison to the growing world of impact-motivated investors, many of which are increasingly interested in making local investments in their communities. Other partners include the Ford Foundation, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, and MetLife Foundation, each of which is providing philanthropic support for the project....