Articles by James Militzer
-
Thursday
August 7
2014Watch the Replay of our Google Hangout with Margot Kane: A Q&A with Calvert Foundation’s VP of Strategic Initiatives
Margot Kane is VP of Strategic Initiatives at Calvert Foundation. She manages strategy development, fundraising and implementation of new investment initiatives and portfolios that target key impact areas like the revitalization of iconic cities. We discussed these initiatives and other impact investing topics in this live interview.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Investing
- Tags
- impact investing
-
Guest Articles
Friday
August 1
2014The Best-Kept Secret in Impact Investing: A little-known legal tool lets businesses tap mainstream investor capital – so why don’t more social enterprises use it?
A common complaint in impact investing is the lack of options for non-wealthy investors. Many feel that this hamstrings both mainstream investors and the social enterprises that could use their capital. But as Jenny Kassan, CEO of Cutting Edge Capital, describes it in part 4 of our Impact Investing Insights series, a solution to this problem already exists.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Tags
- impact investing
-
Saturday
July 19
2014Weekly Roundup – 7/19/14: Can’t we all just get along?
In a week marked by conflict and tragedy on the global stage, the financial world experienced its share of both. And though this was balanced with a fair amount of good news, even the positive developments sparked discord. We explore these issues in this weekly roundup.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Wednesday
July 9
2014A Really Inconvenient Truth: The documentary “Spent” raises awareness of low-income Americans’ financial plight – but are banks really to blame?
To help spark a national dialogue about improving financial services, American Express sponsored the documentary "Spent: Looking for Change." Produced by the director of "An Inconvenient Truth," the film profiles struggling Americans who are ill-served by the financial industry. But it also illustrates another hard truth: our choices can impact our financial health more than our banks can.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Guest Articles
Saturday
June 28
2014Weekly Roundup – 6/28/14: “A New Day” for Impact Investing?
On June 25, the Obama White House hosted a roundtable on impact investing, at which over 20 corporations, banks, foundations, and individuals committed to invest more than $1.5 billion in new capital into companies and funds focused on social impact. Some hailed it as a turning point for the sector - but will it be enough? We discuss these developments in this week’s Roundup.
- Categories
- Investing
-
Friday
June 20
2014Start Small, Stay Small: Can better finance help Latin America’s microenterprises take the next step?
According to the World Bank, 60 percent of Latin America employees work for businesses with five or fewer employees. And its new companies grow at a much slower rate than similar businesses in other middle-income regions. In part 3 of our Impact Investing Insights series, we speak with Venture South’s managing director George Petty about how better finance can help.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
-
Guest Articles
Tuesday
June 17
2014The Impact of Inclusion: CGAP report looks at recent evidence of how financial inclusion can help the poor
There’s a strong consensus that access to suitable financial services can help poor households improve their lives, while spurring economic activity. But what is the evidence for these positive impacts? CGAP tackled that topic in a recent Focus Note, and we spoke with Nina Holle, an associate microfinance analyst at CGAP, and a co-author of the report.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
-
Monday
June 16
2014NexThought Monday – Financial Innovation Moves Away from the Dark Side
After innovations like subprime securities helped crash the global economy in 2008, former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker famously asserted that the only financial innovation that has improved society is the ATM machine. It’s an opinion that many still share - but the recent EMERGE conference showed otherwise. We explore six ways the U.S. financial industry is innovating to actually help low-income consumers.
- Categories
- Uncategorized