FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Carrie Hutchison, 301.280.6003, carrie.hutchison@calvertfoundation.org

Calvert Foundation receives $1.45 million from U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund

Grant will help nonprofit create jobs, build homes, and improve lives in all 50 states

Washington, DC - August 8, 2012 - The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced a $1.45 million grant yesterday to Bethesda, MD-based Calvert Foundation, a nonprofit that fights poverty through investment. This is the highest grant amount that the CDFI Fund made to this year's recipients, of which Calvert Foundation was one of 210 organizations.

“We are grateful for the federal government's commitment to helping us make investment capital – which is needed now more than ever – available to organizations providing jobs, affordable housing, education, small business loans, and more,” said Lisa Hall, President and CEO of Calvert Foundation. "This grant will allow us to continue to grow our investment program, bringing more investors to the table, and dispersing more money to communities in need, a win-win for all participants."  

For 17 years, Calvert Foundation has been a leader in bringing investment capital to disadvantaged communities with the goal of creating sustainable solutions to poverty. Calvert Foundation has over 6,500 investors in the Community Investment Note, Calvert Foundation’s investment product, which raises investment capital used to make loans to highly effective organizations that develop or rehabilitate affordable homes, finance small businesses, provide essential community services, and create jobs.

The CDFI Fund was created to promote economic development in the nation’s disadvantaged urban and rural communities. Since its creation in 1994, the Fund has awarded over $1 billion to build the capacity of certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

This is the third year in a row that Calvert Foundation, a CDFI, has benefitted from this program, receiving a $750,000 award in 2010 and $1.5 million in 2011.

"We are so pleased to see so many of our partners receive grants from the CDFI Fund as well," said Hall. Thirty-six of the organizations that Calvert Foundation Community Investment Note holders invest in received awards as well – 30 of which received the same grant amount as Calvert Foundation. For the past two years, the CDFI Fund has provided supplemental awards to highly-qualified applicants under the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which aims to increase access to healthy food options in low-income areas. Calvert Foundation partners that also received funding from this Initiative include: ASI Federal Credit Union, the Chicago Community Loan Fund, the Colorado Enterprise Fund, IFF, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, NCB Capital Impact, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, and The Reinvestment Fund, Inc.

“This type of investing creates a virtuous circle of empowerment, opportunity, and engagement by connecting investors, underprivileged individuals, and communities,” said Hall. “This grant will helping us continue our work in connecting investors and communities in need, empowering families around the world.” 

The impact of the wide range of investments made possible by Community Investment Note holders is enormous for communities in need. It is estimated that Note investors have created more than 500,000 jobs in the U.S. and in developing countries, helped to provide 30,000 affordable homes, and supported more than 20,000 nonprofits, co-ops and social enterprises.

About Calvert Foundation: Calvert Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides the opportunity for investors to achieve financial returns while empowering people living in low-income communities around the world. Calvert Foundation believes in creating a win-win, improving both the lives of those who receive investment dollars and the lives of investors. A pioneer in the impact investment field, Calvert Foundation investors have created thousands of jobs, homes, and businesses for low-income communities their investment in the Community Investment Note. Learn more at www.calvertfoundation.org. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: Calvert Foundation is a separate entity from Calvert Investments Inc. and its products should not be confused with any Calvert Investments-sponsored investment product. In order to avoid confusion and be consistent when referring to Calvert Foundation in print news stories, always use “Calvert Foundation” as opposed to “Calvert” in headlines and subheads.