Category: Center for Impact Finance

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.

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.

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.

Business owners seeking to start or expand a small business have limited options for financing. They can go to a bank for a loan, but they may have trouble qualifying for the loan due to the age of the business, absence of collateral, lack of equity in the business, thin margins, or other factors. While online business lenders may offer faster response times and lower underwriting hurdles, they often do so in exchange for exorbitant rates and reduced ability to customize their financing or add broader value to the business beyond the money. Business owners could try going to venture capitalists for equity, but venture capitalists and angel investors will demand some control over the company and need an exit strategy, generally requiring that the company be sold. The company might also not have a fast enough growth curve to interest a venture capitalist. Raising money through a crowdfunding platform, such as Kickstarter, is another option. But until recently, crowdfunding has been limited to raising donations, not investments, through such strategies.

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.

In CDFIs Stepping Into the Breach: An Impact Evaluation Summary Report, published with the U.S. Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, authors Michael Swack, Eric Hangen and Jack Northrup analyze the impact of financial assistance awards and recipients of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program.

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.

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.

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 recommend public investments and policy changes that could help scale the provision of equitable solar finance.