Transform
Finance
Investor
Network
Launches
With
Pledge
of
$556 million “Transformative”
Investments
at
White
House
Event
A
group
of
leading
private
sector
investors,
at
a
high‐level
roundtable
on
impact
investing
convened
by
the
White
House,
has
pledged
$556
million
to
a
range
of
social
investments
using
a
novel
investment
approach
centered
on
social
justice
and
community
value
creation.
On
June
25,
2014,
the
White
House
hosted
a
round table
on
impact
investing,
during
which
some
20
new
private
sector
commitments
were
made
to
drive
more
than
$1.5
billion
into
investments
that
intentionally
generate
measurable
social
or
environmental
impact
as
well
as
financial
return.
The
group
of
investors
convened
by
the
Transform
Finance
Investor
Network,
concerned
about
a
trend
in
impact
investing
that
stops
short
of
truly
transformative
impact,
pledged
to
invest
in
alignment
with
the
transformative
finance
principles
of:
(1)
engaging
communities
in
the
design,
governance,
and
ownership
of
projects
(2)
creating
more
value
for
c ommunities
than
is
extracted
by
investors
(3)
fairly
allocating
risks
and
rewards
between
investors,
entrepreneurs,
and
communities
The
group
of
Transform
Finance
Investor
Network
investors
includes
Pi
Investments,
Blue
Haven
Initiative,
New
Belgium
Family
Foundation,
ReInventure
Capital,
and
The
Working
World.
These
members
will
invest
across
asset
classes,
geographies,
and
verticals.
“This
is
a
novel
approach
that
puts
capital
at
the
service
of
community
needs.
We
hope
that
through
our
participation
in
the
Transform
Finance
Investor
Network,
we
can
help
build
a
vibrant
community
of
sophisticated
investors
who
deeply
believe
in
empowerment
and
intend
to
consider
and
prioritize
community
benefit
in
every
investment
we
make,”
said
Brendan
Martin,
President
of
The
Working
World.
Investments
may
span
from
debt
funds
that
finance
conversion
of
corporations
into
worker‐owned
cooperatives,
to
renewable
energy
projects
that
are
locally
owned
by
and
benefit
indigenous
communities.
Andrea
Armeni,
Executive
Director
of
Transform
Finance,
convened
the
group,
which
has
grown
to
include
impact
investment
leaders
such
as
Calvert
Foundation
and
RSF
Social
Finance.
“Impact
investment
is
at
the
tipping
point
to
scale,
and
hence
it’s
a
crucial
time
to
ensure
community
accountability
and
engagement
becomes
common
practice.
We
appreciate
the
White
House’s
commitment
to
real
impact,
and
look
forward
to
engaging
with
our
investor
peers,
both
public
and
private,
to
put
the
transform
finance
principles
into
action,”
said
Morgan
Simon,
managing
director
of
Pi
Investments
and
founder
of
Transform
Finance.
For
more
information
contact
Andrea
Armeni,
Executive
Director
of
Transform
Finance,
at
(415)
265‐0035
or
andrea@transformfinance.org