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Gust Hosts Early Stage Investment Conference: Venture Forward
Gust hosts the preeminent conference on early stage investing, Venture Forward. It's the only conference exclusive to accredited angel investors and VCs. This is not your standard pitch-fest and fluffy content: we address the practical issues facing early stage investors that impact their investing strategy and returns. The conference is June 18th at the TriBeCa Rooftop. CDVCA Member Discount: CDVCA members can register directly on the site and enter the discount code "CDVCA" www.ventureforwardconference.com.
SJF Ventures Raises its Third Fund with $90 Million
SJF Ventures conducted the final closing on its third fund with more than $90MM in capital commitments, tripling the size of the previous $28MM second fund. The target for SJF Ventures III was $75MM and the fund was substantially oversubscribed at its final April closing. “We are honored that so many investors choose to join our partnership,” said David Kirkpatrick, SJF Managing Director and Co‐Founder. “We are particularly excited that a wide variety of bank, insurance, foundation, family office, pension, mutual fund, and individual investors have recognized that SJF’s impact investing strategy can yield above market financial and mission results.” SJF’s current, second fund is performing in the top quartile all US venture capital funds of its vintage year. SJF Ventures invests in high growth, positive impact companies seeking expansion capital rounds of $1MM to $10MM. SJF has invested in 36 portfolio companies over the last decade. “We realize SJF’s success is due to the exceptional results achieved by our portfolio companies such as Aseptia, BioSurplus, CleanScapes, Community Energy, eRecyclingCorps, Fieldview, Optoro, MediaMath, MedPage Today, and ServiceChannel,” said David Griest, SJF Managing Director. “We are eager to find the next set of great entrepreneurs for our third fund.” SJF Third Fund Press Release
State Budgets Overcome Deficits through Major Cuts, But Have No Plans for Reinvestment?
A National Public Radio Broadcast by Greg Allen highlights the bait-and-switch technique of massive budget cuts used only for further tax cuts (Michigan, Ohio), though some states (e.g. Florida) with upcoming gubernatorial elections plan politically strategic investments. Paul Beck, a professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University, says that meant less money for schools and local government. "They were pretty massive cuts," Beck says. "Local governments and school districts were basically having to tighten their belts considerably. There was a substantial downturn in government jobs in Ohio, particularly at the local level." Now that Ohio has a budget surplus, the discussions between Kasich and lawmakers aren't about restoring spending to schools and local governments. Most of the money is earmarked for tax cuts. Florida — like many states — is putting much of the surplus into education. After cutting education spending by more than a billion dollars in his first year, Gov. Scott is proposing a $2,500 across-the-board raise for teachers. Scott, by the way, is running for re-election next year. To read or hear the full article: http://www.npr.org/2013/04/29/179762891/after-belt-tightening-some-states-are-back-in-the-black?ft=3&f=127088100&sc=nl&cc=ph-20130501
Nineteen Senators Request $225M Appropriation for CDFI Fund FY ’14
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and eighteen of his Senate colleagues signed a letter to the Senate Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Committee today asking that $224.9 be provided for the CDFI Fund in the Fiscal 2014 Appropriations bill. The letter was submitted to the Appropriations Committee today with the following Senators signed on: Menendez (D-NJ); Gillibrand (D-NY); Schumer (D-NY); King (I-ME); Sanders (I-VT); Hagan (D-NC); Johnson (D-SD); Stabenow (D-MI); Wyden (D-OR); Tester (D-MT); Baucus (D-MT); Landrieu (D-LA); Franken (D-MN); Klobuchar (D-MN); Durbin (D-IL); Schatz (D-HI); Reed (D-RI); Boxer (D-CA); Merkley (D-OR). Read the full letter here: http://www.cdfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/FY14-CDFI-Fund-letter-Menendez-plus-18.pdf
Community Development Investment Review Highlights New Social Impact Bonds – “Pay for Success”
Social Impact Bonds (Pay for Success) offer an attractive alternative to the status quo of paying for programs instead of results. Despite our best efforts, the poverty rate today is roughly what it was when the War on Poverty began in 1964. We are winning important battles but losing the war. A new social policy paradigm is needed. Pay for Success financing has the potential to improve the social sector’s effectiveness by rewarding programs that work, encouraging innovation, validating progress, and attracting private capital to the anti-poverty cause. As George Overholser and Caroline Whistler write in the latest issue of The Community Development Investment Review, it would “redirect and refocus our abundant resources, relentlessly, toward the innovations that demonstrate an ever-improving ability to deliver the results our communities need.” Certainly, important questions remain about Pay for Success. Equally important, however, is can we afford to pay for anything less? For full content: http://www.frbsf.org/publications/community/review/vol9_issue1/index.html
