Build on the Love People Have for Where They Live

ON June 28, 2016

In Chicago, foundations, donors and individuals are coming together to benefit the city they love. Benefit Chicago is the latest example of extreme collaboration in which good people come together to not just meet, but to get something done. They aim to put $100 million to work in the community to fill the unmet need for financial capital in the social sector. 

What happens when foundations and others collaborate? 

Minnesota is proof that collaboration between local organizations and foundations can generate groundbreaking change. Our own Central Corridor Funders Collaborative has been incredibly successful in using the creation of the Green Line light rail to drive neighborhood development. The Northside Funders Group leverages its collaborators’ diverse perspectives and depth of knowledge in order to maximize their social impact in North Minneapolis.

In Chicago, the visionaries who run the MacArthur FoundationChicago Community Trust and Calvert Foundation came together over years of planning to create a unique partnership allowing individuals and institutions to give back to their own community through as little as a $20 investment. 

The positive side of Minnesota Nice is we already know how to work together. Congrats to our friends in the windy city. Tweet or email me with your ideas for what can work here!

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What I'm doing now

Hope in the new year is our favorite team gratitude today and despite the very real challenges we face as humans, I’m positive about our future. People and place: they came up over and over again in our Investing for Positive Impact across the Midwest study and events. We care about where we live, whether that’s in a small town in Iowa or a major city like Chicago. We care about the people who live there. Imagine if impact investing in people and place was the norm. How different would our places look? My place is Minnesota and I care deeply that all our people have a chance to find their healthy place here. What’s your place? Who do you care about? Do your investments match? If not, there’s plenty of chances to invest. As one my colleagues said today, “it’s 2025: let’s thrive”.