Our impact

Calvert Foundation began lending in 1995 to meet the pressing need for affordable capital for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Since then, we’ve expanded our lending to other organizations creating impacts in a variety of ways: developing affordable housing, expanding access to financial services, educating the next generation, and promoting sustainable agriculture. With more than $185 million in loans to more than 200 organizations working in 80 countries, Calvert Foundation meets a critical need for affordable capital.

The 7,200 investors who enable us to create these impacts have received 100% repayment of their Community Investment Notes, even during tough economic times.  We are also offering more targeted ways for people to invest, including our Green Strategies to Fight Poverty initiative and Women INvesting in Women INitiative (WIN-WIN).

Download our 2012 Social Impact Report (PDF, 1.4 MB)

Social Performance Measurement Methodology

On an annual basis, Calvert Foundation requests social performance data from every investee using a custom Social Performance Measurement Report template that incorporates industry-aligned metrics and best practices. Incorporating metrics from leading impact investing funders and thought leaders such as Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS), the CDFI Fund, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allows Calvert Foundation to collect well-defined performance metrics while limiting the additional reporting burden for investees. 

Calvert Foundation then aggregates and analyzes the social performance data to determine the impact area (e.g. affordable housing, educational facilities) and estimated outputs (e.g. number of housing units) attributed to Calvert Foundation’s investment in each organization.  On an annual basis, the metrics for each sector are aggregated and combined with impact stories and photos in Calvert Foundation’s annual Social Impact Report.

Over the past two years, we have been working diligently to update and improve how we collect and use social impact data from our borrowers. Our long-term goal is to better and more accurately communicate the true impact our investors and donors are making in communities. Part of this process was reclassifying our portfolio in the six sectors featured in this report. Another was choosing more specific data points, consistent with the IRIS framework developed by the Global Impact Investing Network, to provide a common reporting language for impact-related terms and metrics.