News

Reinvestment Fund applauds news this week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it will invest more than $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains in the food system. Part of the Biden Administration’s  Build Back Better initiative, the new effort will strengthen the food system, create new market opportunities, tackle the climate crisis, help communities that have been left behind, and support good-paying jobs throughout the supply chain.

“COVID-19 shined a light on the need for stronger local food supply infrastructure, as grocery stores and food producers became essential businesses and lifelines for families,” said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. “We commend the Administration and the USDA for this transformational investment that recognizes the food system as essential infrastructure for local and regional economies.”

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the Reinvestment Fund announced today the release of a pathbreaking research brief that proposes the use of fair housing law to work toward the end of segregation. The report, “An ‘All-Out’ Effort to Achieve Desegregation and Equality of Opportunity: Assessment of Fair Housing 2.0.,” reminds that the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) provision of the Fair Housing Act is an obligation that attaches to all Executive Branch agencies, not just the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. It recommends that a revised Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH), a planning tool created by the Obama Administration that helps implement the AFFH, can be constructively used as a framework to significantly increase racial justice through a coordinated approach to racial and economic integration in American communities.

Reinvestment Fund announced Kareem Thomas as its new Managing Director of Credit. In this role, Kareem leads all credit review and approval functions for Reinvestment Fund’s lending and investing, and plays a critical part in helping advance the organization’s mission.

Regardless of race, class or income, communities everywhere want to make things better for generations to come. The use of safe, clean, locally-made energy from the sun is a way to ensure the well-being of future generations while also helping homeowners invest in their homes. PosiGen is a residential solar developer that works primarily with low- to moderate-income households and in communities of color. The firm pioneered a unique approach to assessing credit risk of customers focusing on utility bill payment history instead of credit scores, and also developed an “out of the box” system design that reduced installation costs compared to the “design to fit” systems more prevalent in the industry. Supported by these two innovations, the firm has installed over 17,000 systems to date, with over 70% of its customers being low- to moderate-income households.

Wells Fargo selects Community First Fund, The Enterprise Center, Entrepreneur Works, Reinvestment Fund and Women’s Opportunity Resource Center to receive grants from its Open for Business Fund

Wells Fargo has selected Community First Fund, The Enterprise Center, Entrepreneur Works, The Reinvestment Fund, and Women’s Opportunity Resource Center  to receive grants from its Open for Business Fund (OFB), a nationwide small business recovery effort. The $8.35 million in new funding to these organizations will help underserved small businesses stay open, preserve jobs through short- and long-term COVID-19 resiliency efforts, and support businesses impacted by the civil unrest that took place last summer. The grants were announced today at a small business roundtable in Philadelphia hosted by Wells Fargo and The Hill.

We at Reinvestment Fund hope that this moment of accountability will blossom to create a just future where all of us can truly thrive. A future where everyone is safe and protected, regardless of skin color or identity.

Today’s guilty verdict is an inflection point for our country as we begin to heal the wounds of injustice and violence perpetrated against Black communities for generations.

Reinvestment Fund announced that Steve Chung is its new Senior Director for Clean Energy and Sustainability. Steve was formerly with the Green Climate Fund, which was established in 2010 through the United Nations to invest in transformational climate projects in the developing world. In his new role at Reinvestment Fund, Steve is primarily responsible for growing Reinvestment Fund’s clean energy lending portfolio and managing its dedicated clean energy funding sources.

The initiative has awarded over $620,000 in grants in the last two years to advance community-driven solutions to historic food injustice

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health and the Reinvestment Fund have awarded more than $443,500 to fund several innovative initiatives to create more healthy food options. This is part of an effort to find and fund community-driven solutions to historic food injustice.

The Health Department’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention and the Reinvestment Fund announced nine new awards as part of the Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative (PFJI). In total, the initiative has provided over $620,000 in grants over two rounds since its launch in 2019.

We continue to see the deadly results of white supremacy in America. Greater Atlanta was the site of a horrific set of racially-motivated murders – hate crimes aimed mainly at Asian American women and their co-workers. Eight are dead. A 21-year-old white male with a gun is in custody.

Our hearts go out to those affected by this violence and the Asian American community. The rise in anti-Asian violence is heartbreaking and unacceptable. Asians have faced a rise in hate crimes since the onset of the pandemic. Major U.S. cities have reported triple digit surges in hate crimes against Asians.

Reinvestment Fund has been selected by ImpactAssets to the ImpactAssets 50 2021 (IA 50), a free online database for impact investors, family offices, financial advisors and institutional investors that features a diversified listing of private capital fund managers delivering social and environmental impact as well as financial returns.

“We are honored to be recognized with so many of our peers in the CDFI industry as part of the IA 50,” shared Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. “Thank you to ImpactAssets for shining a light on the work of CDFIs and the vital role they play in our financing ecosystem.”

This year marks the tenth edition of the IA 50, and despite a tumultuous year, total assets under management (AUM) among selected fund managers jumped to a record $228 billion in 2020, up from $181 billion in 2019. Thirteen managers selected in this year’s showcase reported assets exceeding $1 billion. By comparison, in the IA 50’s inaugural year, assets totaled just $6.8 billion.