April 2018 Newsletter
Making Local Wealth Stick
- Travis Green, LOCUS Solutions Consultant, and Deb Markley, LOCUS Senior VP, highlight how foundations are exploring alternatives to traditional grant making as recent data heralds changes to the United States' Philanthropic Landscape.
Across the United States, LOCUS estimates that $9 trillion will transfer from one generation to the next by 2029. When you dig into the numbers, it’s clear that communities – rural and urban, wealthy and poor – have assets. The challenge for community philanthropy is how to turn that wealth into what a community really needs: housing, healthy food, education, childcare, a growing economy.
Baltimore Community Foundation provided a bridge loan to Healthy Neighborhoods, a local CDFI, to help “green” the historic Reservoir Hill neighborhood. The plan for the neighborhood includes increasing the tree canopy, expanding community gardens, and rehabilitating vacant lots. 
Place-focused foundations have made great progress towards capturing “just five percent” of that wealth. One example is the Central New York Community Foundation’s Five for CNY which challenges residents to leave five percent of their estates to their hometowns. In Nebraska, a similar effort, started in 2002, increased planned gifts to the statewide foundation by $55 million . One Nebraska town, Shickley, and its 337 residents, built an endowment of over $2 million and expects another $2 million in planned estate gifts. That’s a lot of money to support early childhood education, playgrounds, and training .
What if communities, inspired by Shickley, successfully tapped into that looming transfer of wealth? If community and other rooted foundations managed to capture just five percent of that $9 trillion over the next decade, what should they do to put those assets into productive use for America’s communities? - Read More
LOCUS FOCUS
Appalachian Funders Network 9th Annual Gathering
April 24-26 in Pikeville, KY, dozens gathered at the Appalachian Funders Network 9 th Annual Gathering to explore the opportunities for growth in Appalachia and welcome the new Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Federal Co-chair .

LOCUS was proud to support friend and partner, Stephanie Randolph , as she announced the Impact Appalachia investment platform.
A New Resource From OFN
The Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) launched a new resource for impact investors interested in partnering with community development financial institutions (CDFIs). OFN’s new resource outlines the role CDFIs play and samples the various products and services they provide. The resource also provides a list of all CDFIs certified by the US Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund .

OFN also links to several resources that provide more information about CDFIs, including LOCUS Impact Investing. - Read More
AiP Conference on Philanthropy 2018
April 30-May 2, The International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy (AiP) convened hundreds of financial advisors, attorneys, CPAs and philanthropies for three days in Nashville, TN. The conference explored the changing dynamics of philanthropy, such as how next-gen wealth holders are willing to use all of the tools in the kit, including local impact investing, to effect greater change.

LOCUS spoke on a panel with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee , Aspire to Give , Social Enterprise Alliance and US Lacrosse on trends and challenges in community philanthropy.
Client Spotlight
Following the completion of an Unlock Your Transfer of Wealth™ study in 2017, LOCUS is working with the Rural Maryland Council to produce a strategy for endowment development supporting Maryland’s rural communities.
To promote philanthropy in all of Mississippi’s counties, Mississippi Association of Grantmakers (MAG) commissioned an Unlock Your Transfer of Wealth™ study for the entire state.

Using the study, MAG worked with community foundations to recognize opportunities, fill service gaps, and discussed with state legislators how to promote endowed gifts through tax credits.
Growing Entrepreneurial Communities Summit
April 25-26 in Kansas City, KS, the second  Growing Entrepreneurial Communities Summit brought together best practice programs from many disciplines and perspectives to discuss what it takes to build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and how to reach marginalized members of those communities.

At the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City, Don Macke led a panel discussion on “Cutting Edge Research” and the impact data has on entrepreneurship and business development. Click HERE for event and presentation highlights.
News From the Field
Last month over 50 place-based impact investing leaders from foundations, CDFIs, philanthropy serving organizations, and others gathered at the Urban Institute . An article from the Institute shares lessons from the national convening which can help advance the practices of others engaged in impact investing. - Read More
The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta is working to spur impact investing by launching a $10 million fund, according to a brief by ImpactAlpha . The fund will make low-cost loans to organizations involved with arts, community development, education, well being, and “nonprofit effectiveness.” - Read More
The Philadelphia Foundation and the Reinvestment Fund , a non-profit CDFI, have seeded $10 million into the PhilaImpact Fund. With a goal of $30 million, the fund is part of a wave of efforts to catalyze place-based impact investing. - Read More
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) with Symbiotics presents a comprehensive analysis of private debt impact investment funds’ financial performance. The first of its kind, the report analyzes 50 Private Debt Impact Funds (PDIFs) and over 100 Community Development Loan Funds (CDLFs). - Read More
Venn Foundation along with The Minnesota Council on Foundations has released a report on the use of Program-Related Investments (PRIs) by Minnesota private foundations from 1998 to 2016. The PRI Pulse TM report shows how PRIs have been used in the past as foundations discuss how to use them going forward. - Read More
BALLE is welcoming the third cohort of its Local Economy Foundation Circle. The group features leaders who activate natural, social, and financial capital to build local economies that work for all. - Read More
A blog post by the American Endowment Foundation (AEF) outlines how Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) can be a useful tool for impact investing.  - Read More  
 With an estimated $85 billion placed in DAFs, with Inside Philanthropy explores impact investing with 10 sector experts.  - Read More
Upcoming Events
Here is where you will find members of the LOCUS team in the coming months:
Mission Forward!
May 14-16 Chicago, IL
LOCUS is a sponsor, and members of the LOCUS team will be in attendance.
Email us at info@locusimpactinvesting.org if you would like to connect with LOCUS at MIE!
May 23-24 Spartanburg, SC
LOCUS is a sponsor, and Teri Lovelace is a speaker. Sydney England and LOCUS Advisor Bonny Moellenbrock will be in attendance.
June 21-22 Washington, DC
LOCUS is a sponsor, and members of the LOCUS team will be in attendance.
July 16-18 Boston, MA
LOCUS will be a participant.
Aug. 28-29 Minneapolis, MN
LOCUS will be a participant.
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LOCUS Capital, Inc. is a Registered Investment Advisor Firm. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where LOCUS Capital, Inc. and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. LOCUS Capital, Inc. and its representatives do not furnish investment advice or services through this website. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.