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Investors, Resources

Now is the time to try philanthropic investing

  • Posted by Wilda Wong
  • On December 18, 2020
In a nutshell, the federal government built temporary tax incentives into the CARES Act to urge Americans to make charitable contributions in 2020 and support our neighbors. For those who are in a position to give or do impact investing, there’s no time like the present.
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Advancing economic opportunity, Affordable housing, Community engagement, Early childhood, Investors, News, Social determinants of health, Sustainable systems

Real Estate for Early Care & Education: A Promising Venture

  • Posted by Wilda Wong
  • On September 29, 2020
We're honored to share that David—along with early care and education expert Laura Kohn and community finance fellow Essence Rodriguez—has joined the 2020 cohort of the Promising Ventures Fellowship to explore using real estate and finance to improve access to quality early child care.
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Investors, Why I invest

Why I invest: Laura Galinson

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On September 2, 2020
Meet Laura Galinson, director of community relations at Mission Driven Finance and a dedicated philanthropist. Laura has worn an impressive number of hats, from a world-traveling and award-winning Associated Press photographer to a publicist at Harper Collins. Laura explains, “Even though I’ve had very different roles, my work has always been rooted in being a connector and changemaker.”
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Advancing economic opportunity, Borrowers, Community engagement, Investors

Building a New, More Equitable Normal for Small Business and Nonprofits

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On June 10, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated the effects of centuries of racist policies. If we don’t act fast, this crisis will rob our communities of vibrancy, diversity, and strength for many generations to come. The current global recognition of the deep roots of racism reinforces how critical it is to use all the tools in one’s toolbox to advance racial justice. As such, finance can and should be used as a tool for change in advancing economic and health equity in our communities. Together, we can turn the tide.
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Advancing economic opportunity, Early childhood, Gender equity, Investors, News

AdvanceHER: Unlocking Opportunities for Women and Girls in San Diego and Abroad

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On March 3, 2020
In our quest to increase economic opportunity for underestimated groups, we knew we’d want to emphasize supporting women and girls. With a diverse and largely female team, empowering more women has always felt natural to us. We’ve long wanted to connect the resources and needs of our community in new intentional ways that make a real impact on gender inequality.
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Investors, News, Team

Mission Driven Finance Selected as an ImpactAssets 50 2020 Emerging Impact Manager

  • Posted by Wilda Wong
  • On February 25, 2020
Mission Driven Finance has been named as an Emerging Impact Manager in ImpactAssets' IA50 2020, a publicly available, online database for impact investors, family offices, financial advisors and institutional investors that features a diversified listing of private capital fund managers that deliver social and environmental impact as well as financial returns. The new IA 50 Emerging Impact Manager category spotlights newer fund managers that demonstrate potential to create meaningful impact. "We are honored to be selected for inclusion in the new Emerging category, especially among such distinguished firms," said Mission Driven Finance CEO David Lynn.
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Advancing economic opportunity, Community engagement, Investors, News, Racial equity

Making Funding Accessible in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Community

  • Posted by Lauren Grattan
  • On November 22, 2019
AdvanceAPI: A Partnership with the Asian Business Association of San Diego Doing your taxes. Buying a house. Raising a family. Some things are, by nature, challenging. Entrepreneurs in underestimated communities would also add finding investors and accessing startup capital to this list. As an entrepreneur, sourcing start-up capital can be time-consuming. Add in the factor of…
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Affordable housing, Investors, Why I invest

Why I invest in community: Kara Ballester, impact investor and philanthropist

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On August 28, 2019
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 has her experience with impact investing been like? We like to kick…
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Investors, Resources, Team, Why I invest

How Can We Make Investing in Our Community a Great Investment? Flip the Traditional Finance Model on Its Head.

  • Posted by Tyana Smith
  • On July 22, 2019
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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