December 2020 Newsletter

Season's Greetings From LOCUS A Year of Impact

As we close the door on a tumultuous 2020, it's important to pause, breathe, and take stock. Rife with challenge as this year was, it's easy to lose sight of the brighter moments, examples of resiliency and progress amid seemingly insurmountable crises. With 2021 on the horizon, we at LOCUS hope you and yours are able take the time to look back and that, even if circumstances are still far from normal, you have a happy holiday season. Click here to read a full statement from LOCUS President Sarah Stremlau reflecting on the year and what's ahead.

CIGP's Year in Review Guarantee Pool deploys over $7M in its first year

This month, we take a look at the Community Investment Guarantee Pool (CIGP) and its year in review. Communities and stakeholders across the United States experienced a difficult 2020, a challenge CIGP answered with the deployment of multiple guarantees for impact in its target sectors while continuing to build capacity and infrastructure. Click here for the Pool's accomplishments to date and a preview of the year ahead.

LOCUS Focus

Community Philanthropy Innovators Network National Conference for Growing Community Foundations

In December, LOCUS concluded the first of four gatherings of the 2020-2021 Kansas Community Philanthropy Innovators Network. Community foundations participate alongside community and economic development organizations in a series of convenings about prosperity-focused economic development strategies. The Network also offers foundations the opportunity to explore local impact investing practice. Network members McPherson County Community Foundation, Solomon Valley Community Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Dickinson County are exploring efforts around high-quality childcare, youth and resident retention, and downtown revitalization/entrepreneurship. The Kansas network is a partnership between LOCUS, Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group, and NetWork Kansas with support from the Kansas Health Foundation. To learn more about this initiative and LOCUS’s efforts to develop mission-aligned local impact investing strategies with community foundations, reach out to Travis Green.

Opportunity Zone Updates

Last month, Opportunity Virginia wrapped up its virtual workshop series, Unlocking OZ Impact. The collection of four webinars brought together Opportunity Zone (OZ) stakeholders from across Virginia and the rest of the country to explore how the incentive has been successfully leveraged and where obstacles still exist. Through honest and engaging discussion, tough questions were asked, success stories were examined, and enthusiasm was reignited. Click here for a full recap and recordings of each talk.

News from the Field The Community First Foundation, Rose Community Foundation, and Denver Foundation aim to help local Denver nonprofits manage impacts of COVID-19 and counter systemic disparities with a $3.2 million loan fund. A discussion paper from The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) examines a new methodology for analyzing and comparing performance between impact investments, part of an effort to solicit feedback on an evolving topic in the field. Mission Investors Exchange (MIE) releases a racial equity resource library to help organizations and funders deepen their commitments to justice through their investing practices. An article from Forbes speculates on how the incoming presidential administration will affect socially responsible investing practices, predicting continued growth in ESG sectors.

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