May. 2020 Newsletter

Recovery and Resiliency Community Philanthropy and the Challenges Ahead

Communities across the country continue to face challenges resulting from COVID-19, even as they shift their focus from immediately responding to recovering and rebuilding. This month, LOCUS Senior Vice President Deb Markley discusses where philanthropy fits into that recovery as well as our efforts to collect resources for foundations considering their next steps. . ... . READ MORE ON OUR BLOG

LOCUS Focus

LOCUS Partners Respond to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit impact borrowers and nonprofits hard across the country. Impact and mission investors, however, have been stepping in to fill capital gaps and provide relief to their clients. Below, we've highlighted some of the amazing work our asset servicing partners are doing to see their borrowers through difficult times. The Kresge Foundation took steps to waive six months of interest for all of its borrowers. LOCUS will continue working alongside Kresge to adapt loan reporting and onboarding to meet the needs of the present landscape. The City of Norfolk Economic Development Agency re-tooled an existing small business revolving loan fund to respond to COVID-19 in their deployment area. LOCUS has worked with the agency to develop a streamlined onboarding process to deploy new transactions quickly. Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) began offering borrowers in good standing interest payment deferrals up to 90 days. The Candide Group's Olamina Fund launched a program offering new and current borrowers up to six-month interest deferral periods. LOCUS is proud to support our partners as they address head-on the challenges facing the communities and people they care about. Stay tuned to LOCUS in the coming months for updates on their work.

A Balanced Discussion on Aligning the Endowment with Mission

The 2020 Mission Investors Exchange National Conference is going digital. This year, mission-driven and place-based impact investing practitioners and experts will convene virtually in a time when innovative strategies in support of under-resourced communities have never been more important. One of the plenary sessions moderated by Kresge Foundation CIO Rob Manilla, " Why, What, and When: A Balanced Discussion on Aligning the Endowment with Mission," will take a deep dive into steps philanthropy can take to leverage more of their resources for impact. As foundations recognize the latent potential of their endowments, they are increasingly exploring opportunities and tactics like guarantees, targeted impact investments, and shareholder activism to align more of their assets with mission. Click here to check out the entire agenda.

Opportunity Zone Updates

The IRS issued a broad filing extension for trusts, estates, corporations, and other non-corporate tax filers until July 5. While the new guidelines do not explicitly reference Opportunity Zones, OZ investors and like-kind exchanges likely fall under the criteria qualifying for the extension. The National Law Review has compiled COVID-19 information for Opportunity Zone investments here.

News from the Field A new report from Toniic's T100 focuses on how foundations are deploying capital towards positive net impact across asset classes. An Intentional Endowments Network study shows sustainable investments performing as well or better than traditional investing. Prudential Financial will allocate net proceeds from a $500 million green bond toward investments with environmental benefits. Morgan Stanley builds on its $800 million impact investing platform by closing a fund focused on climate solutions.

Where You'll Find LOCUS Since COVID-19 has upended so many practitioners' travel, please see below a list of helpful virtual gatherings and learnings... VCC: Resources for Our Communities Webinar Series Apr. - May | Virtual Session VCC will host weekly updates for VA's small business community. Rebuilding Our Economy Post-COVID-19: Guarantees May 6 | Virtual Session Teri Lovelace will participate in a Toniic webinar on the role of guarantees in rebuilding post-COVID-19 (Toniic members only). MIE Amplifying Impact Virtual National Conference May 7-22 | Virtual Convening This year, MIE will host a digital version of its 2020 convening.

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