Community Finance Fellowship

Changing the Face of Finance One of the fairy godmothers of impact investing Morgan Simon likes to say, “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good–we all know that one. But also, don’t let good be the enemy of perfect. Keep striving to do better.” We take that advice to heart. We started with a […]
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B Corp: Best For the Best Customers

  • Posted by Lauren Grattan
  • On September 22, 2019
  • In News
A year ago, nonprofit B Lab certified Mission Driven Finance as a B Corporation–akin to organic or fair trade certification but for our whole company. We were delighted to join the B Corp movement with other folks using business as a force for good. Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of […]
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How One San Diego Philanthropist is Using Impact Investing to Create a Better Future [Interview with Kara Ballester]

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On August 28, 2019
  • In Investors
As lead investors in our Homebuilding Investment Fund, Kara Ballester and her husband Andy were instrumental in jumpstarting our efforts to accelerate affordable housing with San Diego Habitat for Humanity. We wanted to know–what motivated Kara to invest in affordable homeownership and what her experience with impact investing has been like. We like to kick […]
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5 Things to Know About Getting an Impact-Based Loan for Your Business

There comes a time for many small businesses and nonprofits when you’re ready to grow and expand, but find yourself in an awkward, in between space–you’ve outgrown microfinance and often SBA loans, but don’t quite fit bank financing criteria.  That’s where we come in. While you have great plans, you might need customized transaction structures […]
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How Can We Make Investing in Our Community a Great Investment? Flip the Traditional Finance Model on Its Head.

When we first launched Mission Driven Finance, we developed the Advance Fund with one primary question in mind: how can we make investing in our community a great investment?  The answer we found is to reimagine and reinvent finance to put the community’s needs first. We discovered incredible businesses and nonprofits committed to their communities […]
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LuckyBolt Uses Creative Capital to Develop Community

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On July 18, 2019
  • In Borrowers
When we first met Kris Schlesser, founder of LuckyBolt, he was six years into a quest to make the perfect breakfast burrito easily accessible to professionals on the go. He had been financing the business with high-interest credit cards and microloans. Though he had met some venture capital firms interested in last-mile food delivery, they […]
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SPECTRUM reflections on expanding the impact economy

Building an inclusive, expansive economy is a daily practice. This work happens through big commitments and small actions as well. Prompted by Spectrum‘s conference moderator, Nadia Brigham, to find a partner for a listening exercise, a Black woman of a similar age to me a few rows up turned to scan the area and made […]
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Storytelling for Change: Going Beyond Diversity to Create Belonging at Work

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On June 13, 2019
  • In Resources
Recently, our communications team completed the Storytelling for Change course, a free eight-week online course led by global changemakers Acumen. We expected to learn strategies to better communicate with the public, but we walked away with so much more than that. We ended up with a stronger understanding of our own personal stories and how […]
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Thoughts from the Road: Small Business Drives Strong Communities Across the Country

David and I spent National Small Business Week on the road in New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We spoke with stakeholders from different walks of life who all recognize the transformative power of small business from varied angles. Let me tell you. It was wild. Mental gymnastics at its finest, switching gears […]
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