Lately, many family foundation members have asked me about the best way to get started in impact investing.
An easy, no-risk way to start is to park your investable cash (up to $250,000 is federally insured) in a “do good” bank. Be careful though, some banks claim to do good, but they don’t.
You need to find an “It’s a Wonderful Life” bank, the kind that accepts deposits and invests the money in the local community. Avoid a bank that functions as a huge vacuum cleaner, sucking up community members’ assets and sending the money to Wall Street.
If you’re not sure if your local bank qualifies as a “do good” bank, contact the National Community Investment Fund (NCIF) to see how your bank rates.
Or, try one of the 11 Minnesota banks that meet NCIF social-impact standards. For example, the locally owned and operated Sunrise Community Banks is a B-corp and community development financial institution (CDFI) that caters to diverse urban customers and lends to them as well. This video says it all.
Full disclosure, I’m such a fan that I serve on the Sunrise Community Advisory Board. Sunrise Banks is also an MCF member.
I would love to hear how you got started in impact investing. Tweet or email me your story.
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”.
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