Advancing economic opportunity, Borrowers, Resources

5 Things to Know About Impact-Based Loans

Posted by Tyana Smith
On February 27, 2020

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. See how an impact-based loan can help.

Affordable homeownership, 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 […]

Advancing economic opportunity, Borrowers, Early childhood, Gender equity

Closing education gaps with creative capital

Posted by Tyana Smith
On August 18, 2019

How Advance borrower Bethany Chaffin used creative capital to enrich the lives of more students in North County San Diego When we first met Bethany Chaffin, director of the education enrichment center Friends of Willow Tree, in 2018 she faced a challenging capital gap. Friends of Willow Tree needed a loan ahead of private and […]

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 […]