The Roots of Impact Are Local
A CDFI Leader's Perspective: Leveraging Dynamic Partnerships for Positive Change
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Amir Kirkwood, President and CEO of Virginia Community Capital (VCC)
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Impact Investing, especially at the local level, is an evolving field that thrives off of innovative partnerships in pursuit of systemic change. Amir Kirkwood, President and CEO of Virginia Community Capital (VCC), has spent his entire career at the nexus of these kinds of collaborations, from his early days in the banking sector, to his tenure at Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), all the way to his current role as leader of Virginia Community Capital (VCC), a nationally recognized CDFI. This month, we interview Amir about his perspective on impact investing and how various stakeholders can come together to bring the practice to a more meaningful, grounded place.
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LOCUS Focus
Fulfilling the Promise of Impact Investing
A New Resource from the Community Philanthropy Investor Circle
In 2020, we launched the Community Philanthropy Investor Circle, a series of convenings between community foundation local impact investors to network, share stories, and strengthen local impact investing practices. We have been creating freely available resources to support actors in the field, the latest of which, Fulfilling Impact Investing’s Promise of Community Impact, is now available in draft form.
Across the country, more impact investors are looking to do good while still earning a return on their capital. However, many practitioners remain disconnected from truly catalytic investments. The practice has yet to broadly reach its change-making potential as a result. In our latest resource from the Community Philanthropy Investor Circle, we reflect on the promise offered by impact investing and share ways the field of community philanthropy can fulfill it. We welcome any and all feedback on the valuable work informed by the circle, so click here to download a preliminary copy of the document.
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Going Public or Laying Low
Community Foundation Approaches to Talking About Local Impact Investing
3/16 | 12-2:00PM ET
In other Community Philanthropy Investor Circle news, registration is now open for the first convening of 2022. In this discussion, participants will share how they talk (or don’t talk) about their impact investing identity in their community and with their partners. What motivates the different approaches? What successes have they found with certain messages? What strategies have they learned to avoid? Community foundation local impact investing practitioners can register for the conversation here.
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More Than a Moment
2022 Learning Exchange Series
3/1 | 10-11:30AM ET
The LOCUS and VCC teams are committed to movements, not moments. We’re taking what we’ve learned since 2020 and forging ahead to find new ways to support communities across the country. During our revamped quarterly Learning Exchange series, More Than a Moment, LOCUS, VCC, and our partners will discuss the need for sustaining and building on the fighting spirit we’ve all embraced in the pursuit of more equitable communities.
Check out the first event in this series, A Collective Voice: The Community Development Finance Movement. This interactive conversation will be led by VCC Director of Community Innovation Leah Fremouw, who will engage panelists in a discussion about the past, present, and future of CDFIs. Register here for this free virtual event.
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