Community investing gets a boost from Starbucks

By Sally Hatch

We’ve been writing about how the “market” for community investing (a.k.a. impact investing) has commanded much more attention in the past five years.

I just returned from the SRI in the Rockies conference, which used to have maybe two or three breakout sessions on community investing over a two-and-a-half-day period. This year there was an entire day’s worth of forums – plus an address from the head of the CDFI Fund (a program of the U.S. Treasury). Despite the conference's name (i.e. “…in the Rockies”), the event was held in New Orleans to highlight the impact that community investing has had on the rebirth and revitalization of this historic city.

While enjoying the new focus on community development financial institutions as a vehicle for community investment, I saw a commentary by New York Times columnist Joe Nocera. The op-ed, titled We all can become job creators, talks about the newly announced initiative between Starbucks and CDFIs, which urges more Americans to think about community investing, and to start by donating $5 for job creation.

I highly recommend Nocera's commentary. Please give it a read, let us know what you think, and share it with others who might be interested.

Sally Hatch is the Community Loan Fund’s Director of Investor Relations.