National and local faith leaders gathered in New Orleans May 15th to launch the first national interfaith funds for long-term domestic disaster recovery. The funds, known as the Isaiah Funds, are sponsored by Catholic, Jewish, Mennonite, and Baptist institutions, and will focus initial efforts on Gulf Coast redevelopment. The Isaiah Funds will make at least $4.5 million in loans and grants to Gulf Coast organizations by early next year.

Calvert Foundation played a role in the planning and design of these funds, and will be responsible for ongoing administration and management. Calvert Foundation’s Community Investment Partners team, led by Lori Scott, worked with the Isaiah Funds' leadership to design the lending and investor programs from the ground up.

There are two components of the Isaiah Funds: a loan fund expected to reach $10 million by the end of 2009 and a grants fund expected to reach $1 million. Jeffrey Dekro, Senior Vice President of the Jewish Funds for Justice, which is hosting The Isaiah Funds, said that the funds would play a crucial role in the Gulf Coast recovery process as it entered its final phase. Though much of the Gulf Coast has regained the appearance of normalcy, low- and moderate-income communities are still very much in need of patient, low-cost capital to rebuild their neighborhoods and businesses, he said. The Isaiah Funds will serve as a vehicle for faith-based institutional investors who seek to express their values by providing patient capital where it is needed most. (Dekro is pictured above with Michaele Birdsall, Treasurer and CFO of National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA.)

The Isaiah Funds’ first loan, of $500,000, will be made to Gulf Coast Housing Partnership. The Isaiah Funds will also make deposits with the community development financial institutions ASI Federal Credit Union, Hope Community Credit Union and Liberty Bank. These funds are structured to be able to respond rapidly to future disasters in the United States.

The Idaho-Nevada Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) was founded in 1999 to provide community development finance for affordable housing projects and small business ventures. The Idaho-Nevada CDFI offers products to invest in areas such as small businesses, affordable housing loans, affordable housing site acquisition, and other affordable housing projects. Typically affordable housing is available for those who make 80 percent of the country's median. However, the Idaho-Nevada CDFI targets lower-income individuals, focusing on people who make 60 percent – or in some cases 40 percent – of the country's median income. The small business ventures that the Idaho-Nevada CDFI finances represent a variety of businesses such as restaurants and furniture manufacturing.

The Idaho-Nevada CDFI also finances a variety of projects to help many different organizations. Some current projects the Idaho-Nevada CDFI finances include Syringa House, Silver Sage, Pacific Pines II, Bonanza Homes, and Autumn Village. These projects aid various groups of people. The Syringa House provides residential treatment and education opportunities for teenage girls, while Silver Sage is a senior housing project. Although the Idaho-Nevada CDFI focuses on affordable housing projects and small business ventures, it allows investors to provide input and suggest new projects that interest the investor.

"A Small Loan Can Make a Big Difference to a Family"

An insider conference call for Calvert Foundation investors

Tuesday, June 17th 2 pm EST/11 am PST

Microfinance is an effective and flexible strategy in the fight against global poverty. Calvert Foundation investors are at the forefront of this critical movement. We invite you to join us for an insider conference call on the current state of the microfinance industry, and the growing importance of investors to its success. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from – and ask questions to – leading microfinance experts. Join the conversation!

Receive dial-in information by registering online or by emailing Elizabeth Sessler.

> Register online for the microfinance conference call.

The 2007 Report on Socially Responsible Investing Trends in the United States, published bi-annually by the Social Investment Forum, discusses the critical role faith-based investors have played in both the development of the SRI industry, as well as community investment. Their leadership – over the past few centuries – has changed the way we think about ethical considerations for making and using money.

We are so pleased to be a part of the launch of the newly formed, interfaith-sponsored Isaiah Funds (see story above), which underscore the commitment of people and organizations of various faiths to helping underserved communities. The people behind these funds recognize that some of the most difficult work in rebuilding the Gulf Coast still lies ahead, and that providing flexible and affordable loans is the best way to support long-term renewal efforts.

Earlier this year, in February, Calvert Foundation and the Jewish Funds for Justice (JFSJ) also launched the JFSJ Community Investment Initiative, which will allow individuals to make investments of $1K or more in a Community Investment Note, providing affordable capital to low-income communities across the United States. The Initiative aims to encourage American Jewish investment and involvement in the work of revitalizing and rebuilding healthy low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, honoring the Jewish tradition of free loan societies, which helped the first American Jews start small businesses, attend college, and achieve economic security. Calvert Foundation and JFSF are hoping that through this new Initiative, we can help others make this same journey.

This year, we were also privileged to receive a $10 million investment in the Note from Catholic Health Initiatives, which followed in the wake of industry peers Trinity Health and Catholic Healthcare West, both of which have invested millions in underserved communities through the Note over the past three years.

Through these investments, these faith-based organizations have demonstrated the importance of investing in communities. Our investors demonstrate a broader, long-term view that strengthening underserved communities in the long run helps us all. And even more so, helping others is an integral part of their beliefs.

> Ask Shari a question.