Letters from Lauren: January/February 2023

This year has started off with strange weather (certainly here in California) and many disheartening reports of violence and discord, but we still believe that centering community in finance can help change those trajectories. I was on the road this week talking about that intersection at the California Strategic Growth Council Catalyst conference.

My talking points were rooted in lessons learned from our team’s busy end of the year. Not only did we gather for an in-person retreat and take a weeklong holiday break, but our team closed 15 deals across a variety of active strategies! Meet a couple of the newest portfolio companies below.

Our not-so-secret sauce to getting deals out the door and reconnecting capital with community has two key ingredients:

1. Growing our intentionally diverse team. You may have seen that we seem to be hiring. All. The. Time. It is true that we are still growing our team to bring big, bold initiatives to life. We are currently seeking a director of real estate asset management and a real estate development project manager for CARE—our child care real estate fund, as well as a senior analyst to strengthen our data and insights.
2. Community representation. Last year we piloted an advisory committee for the Advance Strategy—our house brand fund supporting San Diego—to incorporate community voice in our approach. We now recommend all funds put an advisory committee in place alongside an investment committee. And we are thrilled to welcome new members to our Advance Advisory Committee:

• Juan Carlos Hernandez, CEO, California Southern SBDC
• Bill Ponder, Director of Programs and Engagement, Burnham Center
• Colin Santulli, equitable energy advocate
• Jonathan Yackley, Deputy Executive Director/Vice President, Rise Up Industries

Huge thanks to these community and business leaders, and champions like you.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2023,

Lauren Grattan
Co-founder & Chief Community Officer

P.S. ICYMI, our Senior Director of Care & Education Laura Kohn spoke at the 39th Annual San Diego County Economic Roundtable, a forum where experts forecast what’s to come for the region. Laura was on a panel discussing housing, child care, and business issues. As she shared, “Affordable housing includes families and must work alongside child care.”