Catholic Health Initiatives, the nation’s second-largest faith-based health care system, is making a $10 million investment in Calvert Foundation's Community Investment Note. This major initiative underscores the health care system’s long-term commitment of going beyond quality health care to promoting the health of communities.

Catholic Health Initiatives follows on the heels of previous Community Investment Note investments by other health care systems, including Trinity Health and Catholic Healthcare West, both of which have invested millions in underserved communities through Calvert Foundation over the past three years. These groups are part of a growing number of institutions working with Calvert Foundation to express their values through community investment.

The investment by Catholic Health Initiatives is a major boost for Calvert Foundation, which, in the wake of the investment, has over $175 million in assets. To date, this is the largest investment by a faith-based organization in the Community Investment Note program.

> Read the press release

In the sleepy West Virginian town of Berkeley Springs, Joe and Linda Lillard are hard at work running their business Homeopathy Works, a homeopathic medicine manufacturer and store.  This business offers low-cost, self-administered medical treatments for both people and animals, and has a strong following in the international medical community.  After a recent mention on megastar Oprah Winfrey's talk show, increased consumer demand has kept Joe and Linda busy filling orders and adding new employees. 

Thanks to a loan from Natural Capital Investment Fund (NCIF), a Calvert Foundation portfolio partner, Homeopathy Works recently added a warehouse location in addition to their downtown storefront to better handle the more than 20% growth they’ve experienced in recent years.  The Lillards are thankful for their partnership with NCIF, which has not only provided them with the expansion capital necessary to keep up with increasing orders from around the world, but also with important training sessions that helped their business get up to speed with international shipping requirements.  Thanks to NCIF support, Joe and Linda are in the process of applying for a second loan to further increase their capacity, making Homeopathy Works both a global business and one that the local community can count on.

> Learn more about the small businesses supported by our portfolio

Can Online Investing End Poverty?

Panel Presentation featuring MicroPlace
Wednesday, March 19th 4 pm EDT

Join us virtually by clicking here the day of the event
OR
Join us in person at the Reagan Building Rotunda in DC

"Invest Wisely. End Poverty." This is the goal of eBay's new online microfinance investment marketplace, MicroPlace. While online microlending has been growing more popular with peer-to-peer offerings such as the nonprofit Kiva.org, MicroPlace is charting a whole new course in the microfinance industry, offering socially-minded Americans a new way to offer microloans to entrepreneurs in the developing world. As the only broker-dealer in the microfinance arena, MicroPlace is the first and only online service offering a way for investors to invest in the working poor, and earn both a social and financial return on the investment. The panel will discuss MicroPlace's potential to reach everyday investors in the United States, as well as the opportunity to help people in developing countries. The event will also touch on the larger themes of microfinance policy and fighting poverty, including how loans provided by microfinance institutions can help the working poor come out of poverty and begin to realize the possibilities of longer-term assets such as a thriving business, home, and nest-egg for retirement, as well as the systemic and institutional challenges the microfinance industry faces in reaching the world's poor.

Wine reception to follow. Click here for directions to the Ronald Reagan Building.

NOTE: This event will be webcast live. To view it from your computer and participate remotely, click here at 4pm EDT on March 19.

> Find out more on our website

We get this question a lot around tax time! Investment Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are a great way to take advantage of special tax considerations in preparing for retirement, but many of our investors also want their retirement money to have an impact before they might need to use it.  

The good news is that you can make community investment a part of self-directed IRAs, meaning IRA accounts where you choose (or direct) the account’s holdings. Your investment will finance affordable homes, fund small and micro-businesses, and create essential community services in disadvantaged communities around the world. The borrowers in Calvert Foundation’s portfolio use common sense and compassion to provide the capital people need to work themselves out of poverty.

The best place to start is with your financial advisor if you use one. Talk to them about whether it makes sense to invest in the Community Investment Note as part of your self-directed IRA account. The Community Investment Note can be an appropriate addition to a conservative IRA portfolio since it offers a steady income stream in a volatile market, while helping to create economic opportunities where they are needed most. If you do not use a financial advisor, a number of brokerage IRA custodians will allow you to make the purchase in your account using a special code, called a CUSIP, from the latest offerings available. These offerings and related CUSIPs are listed on our financial advisor website, but I encourage you to call our customer service line at 800.248.0337 with any questions.  Please remember that we cannot offer investment advice, but are more than happy to help you or your advisor learn about the Community Investment Note and how to make a purchase. 

> Ask Shari a question.