FLINT, Mich. - The Ruth Mott Foundation has announced a new $5-million allocation for impact investments in Flint.
The funds are intended to provide capital or guarantees to entities doing business in Flint.
The foundation hopes the funds will generate positive social change and financial returns.
To kick off the initial $5-million commitment, the Foundation has so far made two impact investments:
- $1 million to ELGA Credit Union, a Community Development Financial Institution, to expand its loan program supporting small businesses and homebuyers in north Flint.
- A loan of $302,000 to the organization operating the Flint Development Center, Evergreen Community Development Initiative, to pay off and consolidate bank loans.
“We are excited to go beyond traditional grantmaking in service of our mission to advocate, stimulate, and support community vitality in Flint,” said Charlie Meynet, trustee and chair of the Foundation’s impact investing subcommittee. “For over 20 years the Foundation has awarded grants to local organizations doing important work, and now we’ve developed a responsible framework for employing even more of our resources in the Flint community.”
The funds will be deployed through program-related investments or mission-related investments intended to have high social returns that benefit Flint and real financial returns that are at or below the market rate. The financial returns will go back into the impact investing fund for future investments.
The $5 million set aside for impact investing is in addition to and will not reduce the Foundation’s annual grantmaking budget.
“We see impact investing as yet another lever to move north Flint residents’ priorities forward and nurture our long-term commitment to the community,” Ruth Mott Foundation President Raquel Thueme said. “We intend for our impact investments to achieve measurable impact and work in concert with our grantmaking to achieve better outcomes than grantmaking alone.”
The Foundation will seek impact investment proposals that advance racial equity and address at least one of the four priorities identified with the north Flint community during the Foundation’s strategic planning process: youth, public safety, economic opportunity and neighborhoods.