September 2019 | Field News and Resources
This page features this month's highlights, announcements, and general news related to advancements in the impact investing field.
- The Rockefeller Foundation and Smart Growth America (SGA) announced the launch of the National Opportunity Zones Academy, which will help cities drive sustainable growth in Opportunity Zones by attracting socially responsible investment. Five cities have been selected to participate in the Academy including Chicago, Greater Miami and the Beaches, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Norfolk, VA. View this page for diverse and evolving perspectives on this nuanced topic.
- Opportunity Zones were highlighted in The New York Times for their potential to benefit the wealthy instead bringing much needed capital to the disenfranchised communities they're intended to uplift. The article sparked a range of responses.
- Forbes reviews three potential pitfalls of Opportunity Zones in an attempt to ensure that the benefits of their outcomes are weighted more toward adding value to communities instead of towards the financial gain of investors.
- This report spotlights philanthropic support of Native American communities in an attempt to inspire more foundations to partners with Native-led organizations and cultivate effective funding partnerships.
- Nonprofit Quarterly reports on the need to modernize the Community Reinvestment Act to better support the needs of Native American communities and direct more financial resources to Native lands.
- A study details the challenges of minority entrepreneurs, especially Black and Hispanic men, when seeking business loans face more scrutiny than less qualified white men.
- Inside Philanthropy addresses how investors can utilize their platform to address the impacts of slavery.
- Stanford Social Innovation Review describes how donor-advised funds can be used to provide early capital to entreprenuers and social venture investing to address the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
- Read about Borealis Philanthropy's launch of the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund, which will increase the capacity and sustainability of news organizations led by people of color.