Publications

front cover of pdf version of perspectives brief on why the success of the greenhouse gas reduction fund hinges on customer service
Why the Success of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Hinges on Customer Service
September 24, 2024
In this perspectives brief, authors Eric Hangen and Jessica Luk-Li stress that while there is justifiable excitement over the new GGRF financing, success in deploying it to the right places and people will only happen if those involved get laser-focused on two words: customer service.
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Enhancing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
June 27, 2024
In this brief, authors Hannah Vargason, Eric Hangen, and Michael Swack discuss the ways foundations and other catalytic capital investors can fill gaps in and support the effective and equitable implementation of the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
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Practitioners' Guide to Community Lending for a Just and Equitable Energy Transition
December 15, 2023
In this guide, authors Curtis Probst, Tina Poole Johnson, and Hannah Vargason share a collection of key resources and references that provide an entry point to clean energy finance for community lending practitioners and to community development finance for green lenders.
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Advancing Decarbonization in Regulated Multifamily Affordable Housing
August 2, 2023
The policy levers contained in this working paper outline a series of steps that can be taken to advance decarbonization today, create sustainable systems change, and climate align housing for our future.
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A Path to Conventional Equity for CDFIs
June 26, 2023
In this report designed to serve the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) sector, authors Charles Tansey and Michael Swack describe a step-by-step blueprint for accessing private equity in Stage One and conventional equity in the public market in Stage Two through participating CDFIs.
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Aligning Investments to Improve Population Health
May 15, 2023
In this report, authors Michael Swack, Sarah Boege, and Kevin Barnett discuss the initiative to develop a statewide strategy to address the social determinants of health in New Hampshire.
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On The Road Lending Program Evaluation
April 19, 2023
In this report, Michael Swack, Jolan Rivera, and Sanjeev Sharma discuss the results of the On The Road Lending program evaluation.
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A Path to Conventional Equity for CDFIs
November 16, 2022
In this working paper, authors Charles Tansey and Michael Swack outline a path to conventional equity for CDFIs.
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Clean Energy Project Development for Low-Income Communities
February 16, 2022
Scaling clean energy in low-income communities through solar and deep efficiency retrofits presents financing challenges, but that is only part of the problem. Drawing on research conducted by the Carsey School’s Center for Impact Finance, this white paper outlines a road map depicting the ecosystem needed to deliver clean energy projects to underserved communities.
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Scaling Equitable Solar Finance
May 19, 2021
The U.S. solar photovoltaics industry has taken off over the past decade, but without deliberate action low- and moderate-income communities could be left behind in the transition to clean energy. Drawing on substantial literature related to multiple dimensions of low-income solar finance and interviews with key informants in the field, authors Eric Hangen, Rebecca Regan, and Sarah Boege…
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Bringing Solar Energy to Low- and Moderate-Income Communities
April 23, 2021
The U.S. solar photovoltaics industry has taken off over the past decade, but without deliberate action low- and moderate-income communities could be left behind.
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Behavioral Finance of Impact Investing
April 14, 2020
Donor-advised funds present a unique opportunity to promote impact investing into the local community, including Community Development Financial Institutions that serve their local communities.
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CDFIs Can Make the SBA PPP Loan Program Work for Smaller, Minority-Owned, and Women-Owned, Small Businesses
April 7, 2020
As currently being implemented by the Small Business Administration, the loans made available through the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, part of the CARES Act recently enacted to address the COVID-19 crisis, are likely to significantly bypass smaller small businesses and those that are minority- or women-owned.
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The Potential Role For CDFIs in the Opportunity Zones of the Investing in Opportunities Act (IIOA)
March 27, 2019
The Opportunity Zones legislation was designed to mobilize new levels of capital into low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities – areas that have historically been overlooked and underserved by mainstream capital markets. As longstanding financial partners to LMI communities, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), it would seem, are positioned to play a pivotal role in the…
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Financial Innovations Roundtable: Developing Practical Solutions to Scale up Integrated Community Development Strategies
April 1, 2009
Essays from national experts affiliated with the “think-do” tank , the Financial Innovations Roundtable, housed at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.
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Promise and Responsibility of Community Finance, The
January 1, 2009
Community development finance has played an important role in community revitalization over the past 30 years and may be even more important in the current financial climate. But today community development finance institutions (CDFIs), as well as many community banks and credit unions face significant funding stress. This brief highlights the importance of refocusing support of CDFIs to sustain…
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Capital Markets, CDFIs, and Organizational Credit Risk
October 13, 2010
Can Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) get unlimited amounts of low cost, unsecured, short- and long-term funding from the capital markets based on their organizational credit risk? Can they get pricing, flexibility, and procedural parity with for-profit corporations of equivalent credit risk?
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Scaling U.S. Community Investing
October 19, 2015
Scaling U.S. Community Investing: The Investor-Product Interface, an in-depth landscape study of the U.S. Community Investing (USCI) field. The full report includes a detailed analysis of the major types of USCI products, parameters that different investors use to evaluate investment opportunities, and the barriers and opportunities to increasing investment.
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The Impact of Financial Products and Services on Quality of Life
February 3, 2016
http://ncif.org/sites/default/files/free-publications/The%20Impact%20of%20Fin%20Products%20and%20Services%20on%20QOL%20-%20Secured.pdf
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CDFIs and Online Business Lending
November 10, 2016
In March 2015, the Center for Impact Finance at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire convened the 16th Annual Financial Innovations Roundtable at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC.