With 2019 officially behind us, our team took a second to celebrate our favorite wins, which helps us to also look forward and set goals for 2020.
Our team reflects on 2019 and looks forward to 2020
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Posts tagged as insights
The fight for immigrant & New American rights
Impact investing can unlock urgently needed finance quickly by using a catalytic model. The Freedom100 Fund combines the power of impact investing with Freedom for Immigrants’ proven national bond model to give immigrants a fighting chance at freedom by paying their bond and reconnecting them with loved ones and legal services, at no cost to the family.
Why I invest: Kara Ballester
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?
Closing education gaps with creative capital
Our flexible, personalized financing approach allowed us to provide Friends of Willow Tree a $100,000 bridge loan that they used for expenses at the start of the school year, keeping the program affordable and accessible for their majority low-income students.
How can we make investing in our community a great investment? Flip the traditional finance model on its head.
The idea for Advance came from speaking with people who wanted to invest in their communities and the issues that they cared about but didn’t know how.
Developing community with creative capital
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, and had been financing the business with high-interest credit cards and microloans.
SPECTRUM reflections on expanding the impact economy
Mission Driven Finance Co-founder Lauren Grattan reflects on building an inclusive, expansive economy after attending SOCAP’s SPECTRUM conference.
Thoughts from the road: Small business drives strong communities across the country
David and Lauren spent National Small Business Week on the road in New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They spoke with stakeholders from different walks of life who all recognize the transformative power of small business from varied angles.
MAAC creates pathways to healthier San Diego families
Our COO and resident social determinants of health nerd Shreya Sasaki discussed her work with local nonprofit MAAC to create pathways for healthier San Diego families.
NPR: Breaking the cycle of disinvestment In lower-income communities
Our conversation with NPR about discrepancies in access to capital for lower-income communities and how we can level the playing field.
Milken Institute Opportunity Zone takeaways
Here are David’s generalized takeaways from the Milken Institute convenings in Oakland, centering around affordable housing, Opportunity Zones, and how local and statewide policies in California can be structured to influence positive outcomes.
Optimistic about Opportunity Zones in San Diego
While Opportunity Zones have the potential for the biggest wave of gentrification and displacement we’ve ever seen, we’re optimistic about San Diego.
Notes from L.A. Opportunity Zones forum
Here are my thoughts and takeaways from speaking at the Los Angeles Opportunity Zones Forum: Community-Centric Investments.
How to align with Islamic financing principles to create economic opportunity
Mission Driven Finance provides culturally sensitive bridge financing to Somali Family Service of San Diego in accordance with Islamic financing principles.
Legacy Arts: Intentional impact investing
We were delighted to share with Legacy Arts Magazine how impact investing can support wealth managers, financial planners, and advisors to offer their clients new strategies to craft a legacy with meaning.
What’s happening with Opportunity Zones?
An interesting piece of legislation included in 2017's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the Opportunity Zones program. We've been digging in with colleagues across the country on how this can drive investment into neighborhoods that need it. So what's the scoop? The...
Mission Driven Finance guide to looking smart at parties
A helpful roundup of the most important words to know in impact investing. There’s plenty of jargon for both impact and investing. We make it clear.
Debt vs. Equity Financing
When looking for capital for your business, consider the ins and outs of debt versus equity financing before deciding which way to go.
