Changing the face of finance through the Community Finance Fellowship

To build an inclusive economy, we must transform the world of finance. Communities need good businesses, and good businesses need access to affordable capital. But our financial systems, structures, and policies have restricted access to capital and opportunity—whether intentionally or not. We believe the lack of diversity in finance perpetuates unequal access to capital and […]
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Making Funding Accessible in the Asian Pacific Islander (API) Community

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 […]
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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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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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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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New Financing Model Unlocks Millions to Build Affordable Homes

Investors in non-traditional fund address San Diego’s housing crisis (San Diego)–May 16, 2019–Today, Mission Driven Finance announces that investors have contributed more than $1 million to a revolutionary fund that will support the construction of affordable homes for low-income families. Investors concerned about the region’s housing crisis contributed to Mission Driven Finance’s Homebuilding Investment Fund […]
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NPR: Breaking The Cycle Of Disinvestment In Lower-Income Communities

Recently, our co-founder and Director of Community Engagement Lauren Grattan sat down with NPR to talk about discrepancies in access to capital for lower-income communities and how we can level the playing field. We’re delighted that national media is looking for bright spots of what’s working so we can scale inclusive community growth with sensible […]
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Collaborative Approach Unlocks $12MM Project Transforming Youth Lives 

Mission Driven Finance, Civic San Diego, and Alliance Healthcare Foundation provide critical funding for nonprofit Access Youth Academy’s new athletic and academic facility in Southeast San Diego FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Contact: Lauren Grattan | 858-880-0252 | lauren@missiondrivenfinance.com (SAN DIEGO)—January 15, 2019—Mission Driven Finance recently announced a coordinated investment with Civic San Diego and Alliance […]
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Notes from L.A. Opportunity Zones Forum

  • Posted by David Lynn
  • On December 4, 2018
  • In News
Note: For a primer on Opportunity Zones, see our earlier post that outlined the spirit of the legislation, California’s strategy to designate eligible census tracts, and what issues we all should be sensitive to moving forward. Last week I had the opportunity to be one of the speakers at the Los Angeles Opportunity Zones Forum: […]
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