NEWSWORTHY

Calvert Foundation is celebrating its third year in a row winning a Social Capitalist Award from Fast Company magazine and Monitor Group. This year’s awards feature 45 nonprofits who use the tools of business to solve the world’s most pressing social problems – ranging from poor healthcare in developing nations to unequal education access, homelessness, unemployment and substance abuse in the United States – and who have demonstrated a consistent and unusually large impact on society.

“This year we’ve seen an explosion of diverse experiments, many of them engineered by onetime Wall Street heavies, that attempt to bring new capital – and capital-market dynamics – to the realm of social good,” said Fast Company's Keith Hammonds. “Through these deals, social entrepreneurs and businesses are raising the stakes, creating both business and social impact, and changing old-style capitalism as we know it.”

Calvert Foundation, a three-time winner of the award, helps investors fight poverty while earning a financial return. Our portfolio of over 220 nonprofits and social enterprises supports affordable housing, microfinance, small business development, community facilities and fair trade coffee co-ops. “Investing in these groups helps close the gap between rich and poor by channeling flexible, affordable capital to communities underserved by traditional financial institutions,” said Calvert Foundation’s Executive Director Shari Berenbach. Calvert Foundation enhanced its status as an innovator this year by partnering with new eBay company MicroPlace to bring microfinance investment opportunities to the “everyday person” by making it available for purchase online for as little as $100.

Calvert Foundation is pleased and honored to share the award with some of the groups in our portfolio, including ACCION International, Civic Builders, Common Ground, Community Reinvestment Fund, Developing World Markets, Equal Exchange, First Book (see story below), IFF, Root Capital, Rubicon Programs, Shorebank, and Unitus.

> Read more about the awards and see all the winners.
> See Calvert Foundation's press release.

PORTFOLIO NEWS

Our Portfolio Partners Help Kids and Provide Ways to Get Them Involved

Give the Magic of Reading
We are excited to welcome new partner First Book, which became part of our portfolio this month. First Book is a nonprofit organization with a single mission: to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. The primary goal of First Book is to work with existing literacy programs to distribute new books to children who, for economic reasons, have little or no access to books. First Book has provided more than 50 million new books to children in need in hundreds of communities nationwide. If you work with an organization serving children from low-income families and would like to receive books from First Book, please register your program by visiting http://register.firstbook.org/. On their website, First Book also provides a list of ways anyone can get involved - many of which would be great to share with kids! For example, consider encouraging children to gather old books and give them to charity in order to raise funds for First Book.

Open a Low-Dollar, High-Impact Investment Online
For family members over 18, you may want to get them interested in opening a microfinance investment, which helps entrepreneurs - mostly women - in developing countries. Through new eBay company MicroPlace, you can purchase an investment for as little as $100.

Here's how it works:

1. Purchase an investment that provides the opportunity to earn a return.
2. Your investment dollars are used to provide loans to the working poor.
3. The working poor use their loans to build businesses. They repay their loans and pull themselves out of poverty!

Calvert Foundation issues investment options on MicroPlace, including Pro Mujer - an organization that gives Latin American women the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through training, microfinance, and healthcare support.

Make a Donation In Honor of a Loved One
Through the website Changing the Present, you can help your child give a great alternative gift for the holidays. The site allows you to choose "Create A Card" from the shopping cart to send a personalized greeting card announcing each gift you donate in a friend's name. You can choose from hundreds of options - including Calvert Foundation!

Additional Resources
The Case Foundation offers a great article on its website entitled, "9 Ways to Teach Your Child About Charity: How to Make Family Giving a Habit," by Chick Moorman and Thomas Haller. The article describes how parents can make the spirit of giving a way of life for their children, and offers strategies to help you get your children to acquire the habit of charity.

> Spread the word about supporting communities! Send a Calvert Foundation eCard.

SPOTLIGHT ON

When preparing for the holidays seven years ago, the extended Chase family of parents, step-parents, grown children and their spouses decided they wanted to make a change. Instead of buying each other presents no one really needed, they talked about pooling their gift money and giving it to a single charity every year.

The idea was a quick winner, but the larger problem was choosing a charity that everyone could agree on. With a spectrum of political beliefs and favorite charities among the family, some worried that picking just one organization would throw a wrench into their plan.

After some back and forth, however, Sue Chase, the matriarch of the family, suggested giving through Calvert Foundation’s GiftShares program. What appealed to her was the opportunity to make a donation that continues to work far beyond the year in which it was donated. Furthermore, GiftShares support a wide range of programs such as microfinance, affordable housing, and small and local business development. This was something that could satisfy the diverse interests of the entire Chase family.

That year, GiftShare account #75 was established by the Chase Family. Since then, there have been over 50 contributions to the account from three generations of the Chase family. At this point, their Fund balance is over $18,000 and not all of the 2007 donations are in yet. While they still give presents to the younger children in the family, those over 21 are encouraged to contribute to the GiftShares account and they also start getting Christmas cards saying that a donation in their honor has been given to the family’s GiftShare account.

The family’s effort to help communities during the holidays has even been recognized and emulated by in-laws and some family friends, who now also donate to the fund in lieu of gifts. Homes built, jobs created, and microloans made available increase every year thanks to the compassion and generosity of the Chase Family.

Thank you!

> Learn more about GiftShares.
> Send a Calvert Foundation eCard.

ASK SHARI

As a Mom with a teen herself, getting my daughter Moriah involved with philanthropy has been a way for us to connect as a family around a theme we all care about. Like many others, our schools require teens to participate in community service. This has let my daughter see firsthand that not everyone is as fortunate as she is, but that we are all working hard to create the best world for ourselves and our children.  

We have been encouraging Moriah to set aside a portion of her allowance so that she can donate to local projects.  Once she understood the impact she was creating, the motivation to do more came from this initial experience.  I’d like to think that we have started what will be a life long pursuit – sharing what we have with those in need.

Happy Holidays! And thank you as always for all that you do to support communities.

> Ask Shari a question.