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Blog Post by Elizabeth Reynoso & Santiago Carrillo on Jun 11, 2019

Building Local Startup Ecosystems That Work for Entrepreneurs of Color 

Entrepreneurial hubs around the country are rethinking how they attract and support a group of business founders they’ve historically overlooked and underserved: entrepreneurs of color.

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Resource on Aug 21, 2015

Living Cities Catalyst Fund Annual Report July 2013-June 2014 

As of June 30, 2014, the Fund had commitments of $34.6 million from ten investors. Since inception, our total cumulative lending of $40.2 million has sparked initiatives with total funding of over $825 million.

Blog Post Elizabeth Reynoso & Santiago Carrillo on Jun 11, 2019

Building Local Startup Ecosystems That Work for Entrepreneurs of Color 

Entrepreneurial hubs around the country are rethinking how they attract and support a group of business founders they’ve historically overlooked and underserved: entrepreneurs of color.

Blog Post Ellen Ward & Brinda Ganguly on May 15, 2019

Asking the Right Questions to Guide Investments in Closing Racial Wealth Gaps 

Blog Post Ellen Ward & Sindhu Lakshmanan on May 1, 2019

Adapt to Changing Needs, and Other Lessons from Living Cities’ Pay for Success … 

Resource on Jun 8, 2016

Pay for Success in the U.S. 

This chart presents parties, financing, evaluation, time-frame and expected impact for Pay for Success transactions that have been implemented in the United States so far.

Blog Post Brinda Ganguly & Brian R. Nagendra on Apr 17, 2019

Apply a racial lens, and other lessons from Living Cities’ impact investments 

Race-neutral efforts to boost economic opportunity have failed. Going forward, organizations across sectors must deliberately incorporate a racial lens into their economic security efforts.

Blog Post Brinda Ganguly & Brian R. Nagendra on Mar 13, 2019

Living Cities’ Catalyst Impact Funds Named to ImpactAssets 50 for Eighth Consec… 

For the eighth year in a row, Living Cities’ Catalyst Family of Funds have been selected for the ImpactAssets 50, an impact investing showcase featuring fund managers with demonstrated financial capa…

Forbes

The United States: Domestic Opportunities for the Impact Investing Sector? 

Blog Post Brian R. Nagendra & Sindhu Lakshmanan on Mar 1, 2018

Living Cities’ Catalyst Impact Funds Named to ImpactAssets 50 for Seventh Conse… 

For the seventh year in a row, Living Cities’ Catalyst Impact Funds have been selected for the ImpactAssets 50. Learn more about our impact investing.

Blog Post Brinda Ganguly & Brian R. Nagendra on Feb 8, 2018

New Impact Investing Strategy Puts Race Front and Center 

Driving impact through investment means getting real about race.

Blog Post Andrea Chen & Flozell Daniels, Jr. on Dec 19, 2017

Propeller Social Venture Fund: Building an Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem … 

A new $1 million Social Venture Fund will support and scale innovative ventures of entrepreneurs of color.

Topic

Social Impact Bonds 

Bringing together government agencies, social service providers and socially minded financiers to achieve better results for people receiving preventative social services and for the taxpayers funding those services.

Blog Post Sindhu Lakshmanan & Sabrina Mutukisna on Dec 7, 2017

The Town Kitchen Q&A: Lunch with a Purpose 

We sit down with San Francisco entrepreneur Sabrina Mutukisna to talk social impact in this Q&A piece.

Resource on Sep 9, 2014

Reflections on Living Cities' Integration Initiative 

Our President and CEO Ben Hecht shares some of the biggest lessons from the first three years of our signature Integration Initiative that aims to catalyze systems change to improve the lives of low income people in US cities.

Blog Post Brinda Ganguly on Sep 14, 2017

Five Elements of Effective Collaboration for Investors 

Our new Managing Director of the Catalyst Loan Funds reflects on her first couple of months at Living Cities, sharing her thoughts on how those in the investment world can more effectively collaborat…

Blog Post Demetric Duckett on Sep 8, 2017

The Wolf of Social Impact: How We Use Capital as a Driver of Systemic Change 

What do gray wolves and capital innovation have in common? Explore the similarities we see in this thinkpiece.

Person Living Cities

Ben Hecht 

Ben Hecht is the President and CEO of Living Cities, a collaborative of 18 of the world’s leading foundations and financial institutions who work together to boldly fight poverty in America’s cities.

Blog Post Brian R. Nagendra & Sindhu Lakshmanan on Feb 15, 2017

Living Cities’ Catalyst Impact Funds Named to ImpactAssets 50 for Sixth Consecu… 

For the sixth year in a row, Living Cities’ Catalyst Impact Funds have been selected for the ImpactAssets 50 (IA50), an impact investing showcase featuring fund managers that deliver social, environm…

Resource on Sep 8, 2014

Living Cities Catalyst Fund Portfolio Summaries 

Learn more about our investments through our impact investing vehicle, the Catalyst Fund.

Blog Post Eileen Neely & Brian R. Nagendra on Dec 15, 2016

What We Learned About Collective Impact Through Raising the Blended Catalyst Fu… 

Living Cities launched the Blended Catalyst Fund, to invest in and test innovative approaches to solving urban problems. Here is some of what we learned through raising the Fund.

Blog Post Eileen Neely & Sindhu Lakshmanan on Oct 25, 2016

Pay for Success: To Invest or Not to Invest? Assessing the Impact 

First and foremost, we believe Pay for Success projects should help improve the lives of low-income people in American cities. With all of the new projects coming onto the market, the first question …

Blog Post Clara Brenner & Julie Lein on Sep 14, 2016

How We Started a Venture Capital Firm to Fund Urban Innovation Startups 

By providing critical capital and support to a new generation of startups, the Urban Innovation Fund is identifying solutions to the toughest problems facing our cities.

Blog Post Mary Kay Bailey on Jun 14, 2016

My Seven-Year Ride on the Green Line  

Linking the downtowns of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, the 11-mile Light Rail Transit (LRT) Green Line is creating benefits “beyond the rail” for residents, businesses, and neighborhoods.