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Meet Tysh Billingsley, The Cancer Survivor Who Brought Her Dream Business To Life
Before Tysh Billingsley was an entrepreneur, she was a dreamer. Literally. Tysh’s idea for her business, Finale, a popup wine and food experience centered around local art and music, came to her in a dream. According to Tysh, her dream was so vivid and full of sights and sounds that as soon as she woke…
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Positive and Negative Investment Screening Explained
If you have explored socially responsible investing (SRI), then you might also be familiar with the concept of investment screening. Socially responsible investing, a form of impact investing, is a strategy used to align investments with social goals. Investors understand that their money can produce positive outcomes in more than just a financial sense by…
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Making an Impact: How to Invest in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
Large banks and foundations have been investing in community development financial institutions (CDFIs) for decades. But until recently, investing in CDFIs was challenging and usually limited to all but experienced large banks, foundations, and some high-net-worth investors. Now technology platforms like CNote are allowing investors of all types to easily deploy capital across a diverse…
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Change Makers Interview: Leslie Goldman of The Artemis Fund
Change Makers Interview: Leslie Goldman of The Artemis Fund Slowly but surely, Leslie Goldman is helping to change the face of Venture Capital (VC). After more than 25 years as a corporate lawyer and three years recruiting C-suite legal executives, Goldman started The Artemis Fund with Diana Murakhovskaya and Stephanie Campbell. It’s one of a…
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CNote’s Q3 2019 Impact Metrics
We know one of the main reasons you invest with CNote, is because of the impact your investment has. We’re proud to share our Q3 2019 impact data. In Q3 2019, our members helped create/maintain 324 jobs! Over half of all invested capital was deployed with minority-led businesses. If you’d like to see our annual impact…
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Investing locally for a global impact: An Introduction to How CDFIs are Addressing the Climate Crisis
CDFIs have a strong history of providing economic resources to financially under-served communities across America, helping to create jobs, fund small businesses, and support affordable housing development among other great projects. With international attention and demand for action around the climate crisis, what role do CDFIs have in addressing this enormous challenge facing communities across…
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Meet April Westman, The Entrepreneur Tackling Her Community’s Child Care Shortage
If April Westman was going to start a small business anywhere in the world, it was always going to be in Duluth, Minnesota: the city on Lake Superior where she grew up. Of course, she didn’t always know that. After high school, April followed her dreams to be a banker in Southern California, but a…
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Change Makers Interview: Emily Sipfle of FUND Consulting
Emily Sipfle’s interest in CDFIs came out of her time as an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer working with an affordable housing organization in Chicago. Emily ended her service with a growing interest in community development projects, particularly the funding aspect of those projects, and went on to receive a masters degree in urban planning and policy…
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Meet Jamar Kirk, The Entrepreneurial Life Coach Breaking The Cycle Of Poverty In His Community
Jamar Kirk didn’t have to think too hard about what to name his new business, which provides consulting, coaching, mentoring, and resources to often marginalized and at-risk demographics of his community — a community that struggles with violence, drug use, and a 50 percent high school attrition rate for minority students. After all, that’s just…
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Meet Rebecca Biesenbach, The Ice Cream-Loving Entrepreneur Behind Grandma B’s Sweet Treats
If there’s one thing that Rebecca Biesenbach loves, it’s Blue Bell’s old-fashioned ice cream. And it’s not just the company’s 66 unique flavors and deep Texas roots that she appreciates: Rebecca loves how Blue Bell’s ice cream brings people together. That’s what led her to open her own ice cream shop in Rockport, Texas, in…
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Where finance meets impact.