Spare Change Adds Up for Microfinance (06/04)
A new campaign by MicroPlace helps raise awareness of the power of microfinance to lift people out of poverty.

Merrill Lynch Uses CDFI Assessment and Ratings System on $93 Million Community Investment (11/08)
While many investors use the CARS ratings as secondary information in their community investment decisions, Merrill Lynch will use it as its primary underwriting tool.

The Numbers--and the Stories Behind Them--on Community Development Financial Institutions (06/02)
CDFI Data Project recently released the most comprehensive report on the CDFI industry, with statistics documenting CDFI growth and case studies illustrating positive social impacts.

The Case for Categorizing Community Development Venture Capital as a New Asset Class (05/18)
A white paper by Pacific Community Ventures lays out the argument and identifies steps to promote growth in community development venture capital, such as standardizing social return metrics.

Common Good Bank Advances One Branch of Community Investing Evolution (04/05)
The bank promotes the common good by distributing excess profits to the community and by making all lending and spending decisions through participatory democracy.

Socially Responsible Investing Advances Anti-Racism in Helping Rebuild New Orleans (12/12)
In addition to supporting community investment and leveraging influence through shareowner advocacy, social investors can help rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina by naming root problems.

Fonkoze Helps Transform Microfinance to Reach the Poorest of the Poor in Haiti (11/18)
After convening a summit on how to modify microfinance to serve the extreme poor, Fonkoze adapts a model pioneered by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.

Consortium Advances Microfinance as an Emerging New Asset Class (11/09)
The Global Commercial Microfinance Consortium, with its $75 million fund, links mainstream financial institutions to socially responsible investment practitioners with microfinance experience.

Community Development Financial Institutions Spread Like Wild Grass in Indian Country (10/25)
First Nations Oweesta Corporation serves as a national umbrella organization providing the structural framework and organizational support to fuel current exponential Native CDFI growth.

Oneida Nation Loan to Lakota Fund Marks First Intertribal Community Development Financing (07/20)
While the World Bank Global Fund for Indigenous Peoples covers only developing nations and socially responsible investors have yet to support the Lakota Fund, a fellow tribe fills gap.

Women's Equity Mutual Fund Supports Businesswomen Through Screening and Now Microfinance (06/17)
Subadvisor Walden Asset Management provides research on how companies treat women, and Blue Orchard Finance provides a new securitized product supporting microfinance institutions.

Bush Budget Ghettoizes 18 Community Development Programs, Slashing Their Funds (02/16)
Community development advocates criticize the proposed budget for fiscal year 2006, as the consolidated programs will have to compete with one another for a smaller pool of funds.

Community Investment Surpasses the $1 Billion Mark at The Rock (02/03)
The Prudential Financial Social Investment Program, one of the oldest community investment programs in the country, has distributed more than $1 billion before its 30th anniversary.

Fonkoze Partners With Zanmi Lasante to Link Microfinance and Health in Haiti (10/22)
The largest microfinance institution in Haiti teams with a renowned community health provider to launch a new bank and hospital in a rural village.

FDIC Proposes Rule Watering Down Community Reinvestment Act Requirements (10/19)
The SaveCRA.org website promotes opposition to the rule change, posting information and a sample letter to file with the FDIC before the end of the comment period tomorrow.

Blueberries, Bats, and Barns: How Community Investing Aids Small Family Farms (09/29)
The Community Investing Program of the Social Investment Forum and Co-op America honors nine community investment organizations for assisting small family farms.

First and Largest International Microfinance Bond Issued (08/18)
Grameen Foundation USA joins forces with two socially responsible investment firms to issue a $40 million bond to support microfinance institutions in nine developing nations.

CRAFund Goes Retail (08/10)
Formerly available only to institutional investors, the Community Reinvestment Act Qualified Investment Fund is now available to individuals through Charles Schwab.

Microcredit Development Fund Helps Transform Household Scraps into Sustainable Entrepreneurship (08/05)
The Deutsche Bank Microcredit Development Fund seeks to alleviate poverty worldwide by helping microfinance institutions grow to scale and achieve sustainability.

Community Investment Institutions Managed By and Benefiting African Americans (06/16)
Generations Community Credit Union, Carver Bancorp, and UrbanAmerica are three African American managed community investment institutions.

Sarona Supports Microfinance To Help Alleviate Poverty in Developing Regions (06/03)
The Sarona Global Investment Fund finances starch processing in Paraguay, a foundation supporting small enterprises in Romania, and a savings and loan cooperative in Haiti.

Matchmaker Boosts FDIC Limit to $5 Million for Community Development Banks (05/18)
A new system allows community development banks to trade portions of deposits, upping the amount covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to $5 million.

Community Foundations and Community Investment: An Obvious But Underused Link (04/23)
The Vermont Community Foundation recently broke new ground by launching a first-of-its-kind community investment program with the support of the Calvert Foundation.

CRA Fund Helps Transform Environmental Liabilities Into Social Assets (02/12)
The CRA Fund supports environmental remediation of brownfield sites, helping transform them into socially beneficial projects.

The Leviticus Fund Helps Shelter the Homeless and Provide Care for Children (02/05)
In its third decade, the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund lending program continues to grow and now offers a return for social investors.

US Community Investment Assets Nearly Double Over the Past Two Years (12/10)
Community development financial institution assets rise 84 percent from 2001 to 2003, making community investment the fastest growing segment of socially responsible investing.

Give Peace a Chance: Support Women in Business (10/16)
The Business Council for Peace helps women create sustainable businesses by providing the technology for them to train in computer and entrepreneurial skills.

Jazz and Orchids Provide Inner City Hope and Opportunity (08/22)
An interview with William Strickland, CEO of the not-for-profit Manchester Bidwell Corporation in Pittsburgh, reveals he is continuing to push the boundaries of inner city economic development.

ACCION Creates Self-Sufficiency by Providing Microfinance to Microenterprises (07/24)
Social investors can support ACCION's international and national microlending initiatives, which seek to break the cycle of poverty through several mechanisms.

Village Banking Supports Tomato-Selling in Tanzania (and Other Community Investing) (04/16)
FINCA provides microfinance to groups of villagers at market rates to create businesses that remain sustainable in the local economy long after loan repayment ends.

Top Five Social Investing News Stories of 2002 (01/14)
The major social investing news stories of the year include significant corporate governance reforms and the success of community investment.

Community Investing Pays (10/10)
New study refutes the myth that loans to low-income borrowers carry higher risk than loans to conventional borrowers.

Conference to Consider the Business Case for SRI (07/29)
Institutional investors will discuss SRI at the Green Mountain SRI Summit, to be held in Stowe, Vermont in September.

Empowering Micro-business Entrepreneurs to Succeed (12/17)
A for-profit Washington, D.C. company develops business training tools that are helping educate entrepreneurs in the U.S. and around the world.

Ben & Jerry's Co-founder Invests in "Sweat-free" Garments (09/10)
Following the sale of the Ben & Jerry's label to Unilever, Ben Cohen has shifted his focus from ice cream to the clothing industry as a vehicle for social change.

Community Investment As a Means of Competitive Advantage (08/10)
Ford Foundation report illustrates how companies are finding investment in rural and urban markets to be good business.

Louisville Community Development Bank Focuses on Inner City Neighborhoods (05/08)
Unique bank helps turn pockets of despair into pockets of hope.

Calvert Launches Linked Account for Social Impact (05/09)
A new product combines measurable social returns with the flexibility and liquidity of a money market account.

VCLF Makes a Big Difference in a Small State (02/10)
Vermont Community Loan Fund brings a vibrant program of affordable housing, community facilities, and small business to the Green Mountain State.

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