Capitalization and Fundraising
Breakout Sessions

Sponsored By

Assembling and Disbursing Capital in the Midst of a Pandemic

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, CDFIs were uniquely positioned to aggregate and mobilize private, philanthropic, and government capital to community service providers while traditional financial institutions were focused on risk management or other businesses. Hear from three of the nation’s leading CDFIs about how we responded and what lessons we learned from rapidly assembling and disbursing capital in challenging conditions. Capital Impact Partners: CPCA COVID Response Fund (Low cost, flexible loans for California Health Centers) Nonprofit Finance Fund: NYC COVID Response & Impact Fund (Emergency loans to NYC nonprofits) IFF: Paycheck Protection Program (A partnership between IFF and the Community Reinvestment Fund to provide PPP loans to Midwest nonprofits)

Speakers:
Diane Borradaile, Chief Lending Officer, Capital Impact Partners
Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO, Nonprofit Finance Fund
Amy Chung, Director, Impact Investing, The California Endowment
Dana Lieberman, Senior Vice President Capital Solutions, IFF

For Investors Only: Due Diligence Insights from Pioneer CDFI Investors

Interest in CDFIs is at an all-time high. But many new investors to the field are unsure how to evaluate CDFIs for their portfolios. This session offers an opportunity to hear from pioneering CDFI investors who will share an insider’s perspective on investment opportunities and due diligence approaches that have been refined over decades of experience. The discussion will draw upon real life examples to illustrate the range of investment vehicle types, key considerations when evaluating CDFIs, lessons learned, and more. Now more than ever, an expanding universe of investors seeks to utilize CDFIs to extend financial lifelines to disinvested people and places. This session will shorten the learning curve for these new entrants.

Speakers:
Paige Chapel, President and CEO, Aeris Insight, Inc.
Allison Clark, Associate Director, Impact Investments, MacArthur Foundation
Catherine Godschalk, Vice President, Investments, Calvert Impact Capital

Go Boldly: CDFIs Forging Partnerships with Nontraditional Investors

The CDFI industry has seen a tremendous increase in corporations investing debt and grants over the past year. How have these partnerships come about? How are CDFIs structuring these relationships to get funds deployed speedily? What is the motivation behind these investments? What is different about having corporate investors? Hear stories from the trenches from CDFIs and their corporate partners who are successfully navigating new partnerships.

Speakers:
Nicolas Coons, Corporate Finance Director, Google and Alphabet
Angela Dowell, Chief Financial Officer, Chicago Community Loan Fund
Peter Filipovic, VP, Global Treasurer, Starbucks
Amir Kirkwood, Chief Lending and Investment Officer,
Opportunity Finance Network
Julie Mahowald, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Housing Trust Silicon Valley

Illustrating Competence and Confidence to Stakeholders Even in Times of Crisis

During times of crisis, CDFIs play an even more crucial role in community development efforts especially when it comes to relief and recovery programs. As small businesses and community projects struggle to survive with increased public attention, it becomes exponentially more critical that CDFIs acknowledge both the challenges they face and risk mitigations available to them. Join this session to identify key stakeholders, their concerns, and how to effectively communicate to each audience the proactive role your CDFI is taking. Learn what your CDFI can do to assess and validate those concerns while responding with data-driven optimism.

Speakers:
Val Red-Horse-Mohl, Chief Financial Officer, The East Bay Community Foundation
Sandra Stewart, Principle, Thinshift Communications
Stacy Zielinski, Community Development Director, CNote

Streamlined Investment Opportunities to Purchase CDFI Bonds, Notes, and Other Products

Multiple platforms are available for both individual and institutional investors to purchase CDFI notes, bonds, and even custom products. Beginning in 2016, CDFIs entered the publicly-traded capital markets through Incapital, Morgan Stanley, and CNote. While some opportunities offer S&P-rated notes and bonds traded through DTC, other platforms offer the ability to sculpt your investment into customized impact investments tailored to your specific goals and objectives. Join experts Dr. Stephanie Gripne of Impact Finance Center, Jodi Waber of Incapital, Grace Chionuma of Morgan Stanley, and Catherine Berman of CNote for a conversation that will review existing opportunities and explore how CDFI products align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United States.

Speakers:
Catherine Berman, CEO and Co-founder, CNote
Grace Chionuma, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley
Dr. Stephanie Gripne, Founder and CEO, Impact Finance Center
Jodi Waber, Managing Director and Head of Syndicate, Capital Markets, Incapital

Unusual Suspects: Family Offices and Wealth Management Firms as Emerging Sources for CDFI Capital

As the concept of impact investing—investing for social and environmental benefit alongside a financial return—continues to gain traction among individual and institutional investors, family offices and wealth management firms are becoming a growing source of capital for CDFIs. Hear from a family office and a wealth management firm about the differences between these institutional types, the issues their clients seek to address, and the range of client risk tolerance. Then, through dialogue with a CDFI that received impact investment from the family office, gain an understanding of how CDFIs can position themselves as strategic allies to these institutions and how potential investors and CDFIs can find each other to forge results-oriented partnerships.

Speakers:
Suzanne Anarde, CEO, RCAC
Ben L. Bynum, M.D., Portfolio Director, Program Related Investments,
The Colorado Health Foundation
Justina Lai, Chief Impact Officer, Wetherby Asset Management
Greg Neichin, Director, Ceniarth, LLC
Lisa Richter, Managing Partner, Avivar Capital