Calvert Impact

We are excited to share our 2024 Community Investment Note® Impact Report, Taking Action for Communities and Climate. This report includes an overview of our impact and investing philosophy, and dives into each of our Community Investment Note® portfolio sectors. Our Community Investment Note® finances organizations creating positive social and environmental impact in communities around the world. The Note is invested across nine sectors, with an emphasis on climate solutions like renewable energy and environmental sustainability.  We’ve chosen in this year’s report to explore these nine sectors through the lenses of community and climate, but as Catherine Godschalk, Justin Conway, and Jennifer Pryce write in their introduction to the Impact Report:  “We know that impact doesn’t sit neatly in silos but is multi-dimensional and interconnected. Our climate work is essential to gender equity; our commitment to racial equity means a commitment to a deep understanding of affordable housing, small business finance, community development, and more. We embrace this complexity, knowing that real change doesn't happen in a vacuum.” As we enter our 30th year of operations, we want to especially thank our investors who enable us to change the lives of millions of people across the globe, and work towards positive impact every day.  A thank you from Calvert Impact leadership: “Your decision to invest in the Community Investment Note® sets in motion a powerful ripple effect that reaches beyond your portfolio – and ours. Without you, none of our work would be possible. So, from our entire team, thank you for believing in our vision, for fueling our mission, and for all you do for people and planet.”  You can read the entire 2024 Community Investment Note® Impact Report on our website here: https://bit.ly/4fe6vsX #ImpactReport #ImpactInvesting #ClimateSolutions #CommunityInvestment #AffordableHousing 

What does it mean to consider the effect of an investment exit on sustained impact? This used to be one of the hottest topics of debate whenever I discussed the Impact Principles with peers or potential signatories. But thanks to some of these common and emerging practices 👇, we're actually getting a much clearer picture of concrete, actionable strategies that #impactinvestors can use to optimize impact even after an exit - and some of that starts before the investment is even made, especially in a debt transaction. One of my favorite and frankly most complex parts of my job at Calvert Impact is understanding impact after an exit, especially if we've been lending to a portfolio partner for over a decade. How can you possibly capture the impact of a lending relationship that lasted 10, 15, 20, or even 25 years, when both parties have weathered two or more financial crises and who knows how much staff turnover? We started conducting exit interviews nearly 5 years ago to see if we could answer this question, and we publish the most compelling insights we've gleaned at calvertimpact.org/success. Interviewing our former portfolio partners has not only helped us reflect on the true impact of our work over decades, but also helped us understand how our lending might be even more impactful in the future. I would love for this to become a model for sharing exit insights across the industry.

Thanks to Impact for Breakfast a great discussion about gender lens investing earlier this week. My co-panelists Erin Harkless Moore, CFA, Ambassador Roya Rahmani, and Sylvia Megret provided examples of how Gender Lens Investing (GLI) is implemented across a diverse range of organizations today and great insight into where the practice is going in the future. In addition to the robust conversation surrounding GLI, I was struck by the depth and breadth of impact investing professionals in the audience. DC isn’t known as a hub for impact investing talent – but it should be. I’m looking forward to more engagement with the local impact investing community in the year to come.

We are excited to announce that Andrew Marino has been named chairman of the Calvert Impact Board of Directors. Marino, partner at Summa Equity and former vice-chair of the board, brings several decades of private market investment and corporate governance experience, including significant time in impact and climate-oriented investing. "We're in the process of creating a new strategic plan for Calvert Impact and I know it will benefit from Andrew's expertise and his energy as we begin implementing it," said Calvert Impact CEO Jennifer Pryce. Marino will take over for Bart Harvey, who served as chairman for a decade. Harvey is the former chairman and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit focused on creating access to decent affordable homes for millions of families in the U.S. Harvey helped Congress create the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which provides financing for the majority of affordable rental homes in the country. He also led Enterprise's launch of the Green Communities initiative – an unprecedented commitment to use sustainable development's benefits for low-income communities nationwide. "Bart has had a profound impact in shaping Calvert Impact into the innovative organization we are today, and we are tremendously grateful for his tenure as the board chair. His leadership has been instrumental in guiding Calvert Impact through immense growth over the last decade. His dedication and insight have been invaluable to our success." said Pryce. Read the full release here: https://bit.ly/4gcgOxT

#ICYMI: CEO Jennifer Pryce spoke to Sarah Murray at the Financial Times about the state of #ImpactInvesting, as well as the importance of distinguishing between different kinds of impact investors in the market: “Different impact investors have different types of profiles,” she says. “Some are longer-term, some shorter-term, some carry more risk and need a higher return, some take on lower risk so should carry a lower return.” 

We're excited to share that Calvert Impact's Chief Financial Officer Derek Strocher was elected to US SIF's Board of Directors for the 2025-2027 term.

Tomorrow, Justin Conway will join US SIF's webinar on the trends and strategies shaping the #SustainableInvestment industry. There's still time to register 👇

"The real game is getting more complex, more nuanced, and honestly, more interesting. The path forward isn’t about choosing between impact and returns –it’s about getting smarter about how we deliver both." I couldn’t agree more with this quote from Rehana Nathoo and Eric Stephenson, CAIA, CFP®. Read their excellent article in ImpactAlpha summing up what’s on the horizon for impact investing in the year to come: https://bit.ly/4j6DBhq

With nearly two decades of experience working with Calvert Impact’s partners to invest in women globally, CEO Jennifer Pryce understands the power of not only investing in women but also having women at the table making the investment decisions. In her recent piece for Green Money Journal, “How I Found My Way to Impact Investing & Why I Hope More Women Will Join Me”, she writes: “There are great opportunities emerging and we need leaders who can create a different ending to the typical story that accompanies extreme economic transition where wealth becomes more concentrated amongst a small number of winners. We need you to help us create a better future: join us.” https://bit.ly/4gbdMuG #ImpactInvesting #GenderEquity #GenderLens

Calvert Impact has had the privilege of working with Aeon, an #AffordableHousing developer and manager focused on strengthening the Minnesota communities they serve and providing quality affordable housing to their residents, primarily in the Twin Cities for over two decades. Their work highlights the importance of preserving and creating affordable housing units and engaging everyone, from residents to state governments, in finding solutions to housing instability. Aeon’s impact comes from its diverse programs and services, all designed to improve access to affordable homes, including: 1. Providing residents with eviction prevention, emergency assistance programs, and more through its Resident Connections staff. 2. Hosting a Speakers Program where residents have the opportunity to talk with local legislative leaders about their experiences living in affordable housing, developing their own voice to advocate for their communities. 3. Finding funding solutions to address the financing gap that resulted from the end of Minnesota’s statewide eviction moratorium in 2022. Learn more about Aeon’s work and what we can learn from its success: https://bit.ly/3DfMdlh #AffordableHousing #ImpactInvesting #SuccessStory