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How these Portland residents got to own a piece of their neighborhood

Oscar Perry Abello

August 14, 2018 |

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Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Portland, Oregon

A unique financial set up in Portland has led to the creation of the East Portland Community Investment Trust, in which residents in four local zip codes can invest small amounts of money into local projects, specifically shares of a shopping center. To invest, community members need to take a short financial literacy class. So far, the average investment is just $80, but that still pays annual dividends that are meaningful to its investors.

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Financial Empowerment Centers Help City Residents Improve Their Fiscal Health

Oscar Perry Abello

August 06, 2018 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Financial Empowerment Centers work with clients to help them build savings, improve credit scores, and take full advance of assistance programs. While the daily demands of poverty often create an inability to plan for the future, the Center's clients have found that counseling has provided a path to engage with these issues and a trusted helper to improve their financial health.

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Global Investors Find Value in a Small Bank in the Deep South

Oscar Perry Abello

July 11, 2018 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Little Rock, Arkansas

Southern Bancorp is a regional bank based in Little Rock, Arkansas and is a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values. Founded after the financial crisis in 2009, the Alliance shows that values-based banks, especially those that are putting a higher proportion of funds toward loans in their own communities, outperformed more traditional large banks. Southern Bancorp is doing just that by investing in loans for local business owners and municipal bonds to benefit the cities in which they operate.

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Moving Community Foundation Dollars from Wall Street to Main Street

Oscar Perry Abello

June 25, 2018 |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Fresno, California

Community foundations have a new way to invest their funds: they can opt to invest in community projects, such as credit unions, as opposed to more traditional financial investments. The Self-Help Federal Credit Union has benefitted from this shift. A $2.6 million investment from Central Valley Community Foundation has helped the credit union provide over 1000 loans to predominately low-income families in the region.

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Chester Artists Revitalizing Corridor on Their Own Terms

Oscar Perry Abello

June 05, 2018 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chester, Pennsylvania

Investment from large foundations can often compromise an organization's vision or tie an organization up in debt. In working with major funders, organizers in Chester, Pennsylvania were careful to select funders that shared their vision and established relationships that would eliminate the need for funders rather than create long-term dependency.

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These Planners Stepped Away From the Spreadsheets and Into the Community

Oscar Perry Abello

December 06, 2017 |

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Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New York

The Regional Plan Association is a research and urban planning organization. They are deeply influential in the urban planning in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut metropolitan area. The regional planning process has historically represented the needs of mostly white, affluent people, so this time RPA partnered with eight grassroots organizations, and involved immigrants from Long Island to take part in the regional planning process through focus groups, surveys, and discussions. As many as 1,600 people were engaged.

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Chicago's Pullman Park Continues to Build, Create Jobs

Oscar Perry Abello

September 06, 2017 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

At the old site of Pullman railroad cars, Chicago has found some creative ways to foster development. A community bank created Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, which uses neighborhood input to decide which projects to pursue. Emphasis is placed on projects with aligned values, such as Method, a B Corporation that manufactures soaps. Projects also aim to hire local and invest in local businesses.

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Designing Dignity in Housing for Chicago's Most Vulnerable

Oscar Perry Abello

June 21, 2017 |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, like other cities, there is a shortage of services and housing for homeless youth. One developer is addressing the problem by building permanent supportive housing with comprehensive services for those between the ages of 18-25.

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You Can Invest Directly Into Building Bike Paths, Better Schools

Oscar Perry Abello

April 25, 2017 |

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Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

The startup Neighborly is making municipal bonds feel relevant. Rather than investing in a “muni” bond indirectly through a retirement fund, individuals can now directly purchase these bonds and target the money to areas they feel passionate about, whether that is building bike lanes in Vermont or investing in schools in Massachusetts. Neighborly is building renewed interest in the municipal bond market while generating more funding for important infrastructure projects.

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Help Is on the Way for Low-Income Co-op Buildings in NYC

Oscar Perry Abello

March 01, 2017 |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Habitat for Humanity, best known for its work building houses, is now working to become a Community Development Financial Institution in New York. The city has a history of buildings owned as cooperatives. However, a specific type of municipal debt negatively impacts many of these buildings. Habitat for Humanity’s New York chapter is working to provide loans to help cooperative owners pay off this debt. It will help individuals, while also marking a turning point in what the large nonprofit provides as a service.

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