TGIF! In this week’s round-up of reading recommendations we’re highlighting some of the exciting developments in the Living Cities network. Check-out these #GoodReads from our staff, site partners and innovation partners across the country:
#GoodReads
Nusenda Credit Union Named Most Innovative Community-Based Banking Organization
Recommended by Ben Hecht, President and CEO
Tweet number 654345416012627968 on Twitter
Blazing a trail to where the rest of the country will need to go over the next 25 years as we become a majority non-white nation, Nusenda was recognized for its non-traditional products built to get credit to low-income people of color looking to build their small businesses and more. One product highlighted, an innovative, character-based, co-op lending model may have broad appeal.
Nonprofit-Corporate Partnerships: A New Framework - Stanford Social Innovation Review
From our Director of Collective Impact, Tynesia Boyea-Robinson
Tweet number 655080018725335040 on Twitter
A newly released, step-by-step guide for nonprofit/business engagement on the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The article outlines why businesses and nonprofits need to work more closely together and steps for figuring out who to engage, when to engage them and how to create that engagement.
Toward Inclusive Growth in Detroit - By Bradford Frost, Capital Impact Blog
Recommended by Jeff Raderstrong, Program Associate, Collective Impact
Tweet number 654071869239267328 on Twitter
Recent rapid redevelopment in Detroit has caused concerns that Detroit’s rebound will not benefit all residents equally—namely low-income and minority residents. Brad Frost, the Detroit initiative director for The Integration Initiative released a report this week through Capital Impact Partners that outlines how to create mixed-income communities in Detroit that benefit all residents. The report is an example of how a city can keep low-income people at the center of its growth strategy.
The Reinvestment Fund receives AA credit rating from S&P
Recommended by Brian Nagendra, Senior Investment Associate, Capital Innovation
Tweet number 654704650189344768 on Twitter
The Reinvestment Fund, or TRF, took a major step forward for community development finance earning a AA rating from Standard & Poor’s rating agency, a global standard in credit ratings. The S&P rating will help open new capital markets to TRF and attract new investors. TRF joins the group of the first of Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, that have received S&P Ratings. CDFIs are banks and loan funds that are certified by the U.S. Treasury Department for their focus on underserved communities. TRF S&P rating builds on years of work that the Opportunity Finance Network and the credit ratings service it launched, Aeris to build the infrastructure the community development finance field needs to get to global capital markets.
Happy Reading!
