April 2023: Upcoming programs on economic mobility and community wealth, field news member spotlight, and our internal practice survey!

Deep Dive on Deals: Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth
Thursday, May 4, 2023
10:30am - 12:00pm PT / 1:30pm - 3pm ET

MIE is excited to launch a new opportunity for our members to learn about each other’s strategies and approaches. Starting next Thursday, our “Deep Dive on Deals” series will feature Virtual Learning Opportunities and separate foundation member-only gatherings that showcase the nuts and bolts of impact investing. 

To kick off this series, MIE will present the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth, which offers Black/ African American first-time homebuyers access to no-interest down payment funds that can be used toward the purchase of a new home. Investors include Gary Community Ventures, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Gates Family Foundation, Denver Foundation, and The Colorado Trust. 

In a moderated conversation, we will hear from Dearfield’s investors on the problem that the fund addresses, investment structure and terms, investment scaling, due diligence and underwriting, legal and closing dynamics, and post-closing monitoring. 

This program is available to our foundation and affiliate members. We will also hold a related follow-on program, “How the Deal Gets Done–Internal Foundation Practices,” for our foundation members only on Friday, May 5. If you have questions, please contact Sophia Brown.

Impact Investing: A Tool to Support Economic Mobility and Community Wealth Building
Tuesday, May 16, 2023
8am - 9:30am PT / 11am - 12:30pm ET

Confronting racial bias in asset building philanthropy is an important step toward realizing economic justice. By intentionally adopting race-conscious grant making, asset funders can better fulfill their missions and help advance a more fair and equitable economy that benefits everyone. How can funders move beyond the minimum 5 percent requirement of annual grant making and activate the entire foundation to support economic mobility and wealth building strategies in our communities?
 
Join us and our partner Carolinas Asset Funders Network (AFN) for this important conversation, which will continue to activate AFN’s interactive funder primer, On the Road to Racial and Economic Justice: Essential Questions to Address Racial Bias in Asset Building Philanthropy. If you have questions, please contact Sophia Brown.

Communications Professionals Spring Gathering: Telling Your Impact Investing Story
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
10:30am - 11:30am PT / 1:30pm - 2:30pm ET

Join fellow communications professionals to compare notes and share lessons learned on working with outsourced resources, impact investing journalists, and the mass media to amplify your foundation’s impact investing program. If there is an additional communications topic that you would like to cover, please email Zineb Touzani or Melanie Audette. 

MIE members should log in to register. If you are not a member of MIE and would like to attend, please inquire at [email protected]. 

Community Foundation Summer Gathering: Establishing and Improving Your Impact Investing Systems and Practices
Thursday, June 22, 2023
10am - 11:30am PT / 1pm - 2:30pm ET

The board has signed off on or increased the allocation for your impact investment program, but what now? Come together with other MIE members at Community Foundations to discuss how to work across your organization to advance inclusive, strategic processes and practices that respect the needs of staff and community members and engage their talents. If you are a Community Foundation wishing to lead a topic around setting up your systems and practices, please email Zineb Touzani or Melanie Audette.

MIE members should log in to register. If you are not a member of MIE and would like to attend, please inquire at [email protected]. 

Health Investors Summer Gathering: Impact Measurement and Management
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
10am - 11am PT / 1pm - 2pm ET

Join your fellow MIE health investors to discuss how investment decisions are tied to recognized social impact measures such as IRIS+, The Happiness Quotient, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Topics may include, among others: choosing and applying a manageable set of measures or framework; investee dynamics and reducing burden; and sample reports. If there is an additional topic regarding impact measurement and management that you would like to cover, please email Zineb Touzani or Melanie Audette. 

MIE members should log in to register. If you are not a member of MIE and would like to attend, please inquire at [email protected].. 

MIE on the Road

Colleagues from MIE will be participating in the following events:

• ImpactPHL: Total Impact Summit 2023 - Investing for People, Planet, and Place from May 1-2 in Philadelphia, PA. Learn more here and let Zineb Touzani know if you’ll be there to connect in-person.
• Council on Foundations: Leading Locally 2023 - The Power of Place-Based and Community Philanthropy from June 13-14 in Denver, CO. Learn more here and let Melanie Audette know if you’ll be there to connect in-person.