Georgia Small Business Capital Fund: Leveraging Unrestricted Grant Dollars for Greater Impact

November 8, 2021

 

Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) is a Georgia 501(c)(3) nonprofit and community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides capital, coaching, & connections to help borrowers create & grow businesses.

Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC) is a community development financial institution (CDFI) that invests in new, existing and expanding businesses that have created or retained jobs, providing a positive economic impact within their community.

Georgia Power Foundation is a Georgia 501(c)(3) private foundation, and the charitable arm of Georgia Power Company.  The foundation focuses on improving education equity, environment and empowering communities across Georgia.

 

Partnership History: The Georgia Small Business Capital Fund was capitalized during the height of the pandemic in 2020 when three (3) CDFIs from across Georgia – Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC) and Albany Community Together! (ACT!) – had a conversation with Georgia Power Foundation about ways that they could collectively make an impact at scale across the state. Between the three CDFI partners, they touch or represent all 152 counties in Georgia.

Georgia Power Foundation made a $500,000 state-wide investment into the Georgia Small Business Capital Fund to enable $1 million in lending and technical support to 75 small businesses, and operational support to the three (3) aforementioned CDFIs, catalyzing collective impact for over 1,000 small businesses in Georgia. Sixty eight (68) percent of these investments supported minority and women-owned small businesses, and the entire investment supported underserved communities and populations.

 

Q&A: The following is a Q&A with Sydney Hulebak, Director of the Georgia Social Impact Collaborative (GSIC); Rita Breen, Executive Director of the Georgia Power Foundation (GPF); Martina Edwards, Chief of Strategic Partnerships for Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) and Victoria Saxton, Chief Financial Officer for Small Business Assistance Corporation (SBAC).

 

Sydney (GSIC): Rita, can you share a little bit about Georgia Power Foundation’s history in funding CDFIs and CDFI capacity across Georgia?

Rita (GPF): Georgia Power Foundation supported ACE for a number of years, and they really helped us see how effective and impactful a CDFI can be in a community. Our funding footprint is statewide, and knowing that when you move outside of Metro Atlanta, funding and funders become more scarce, we saw this as an opportunity to further explore the CDFI ecosystem across Georgia.

Our foundation focuses on education, environment and empowering communities – and part of empowering communities is empowering small businesses. When diverse small businesses thrive, they create wealth for the owner(s) and also create jobs for others in the community.

Sydney (GSIC): Why did Georgia Power Foundation decide to support a coalition like the Georgia Small Business Capital Fund as opposed to funding each CDFI independently?

Rita (GPF): There were two main reasons: 1) geography – we wanted to bolster diverse, small businesses across the entire state and 2) partnership – we encourage nonprofits to partner, share dollars, resources and best practices to amplify impact.

The Georgia Power Foundation and Georgia Power’s Community and Economic Development conducted a joint virtual listening tour with local and national funds and non-profits. When we learned about the Georgia Small Business Capital Fund, we were excited because these three CDFIs were already working together with a formed fund that just hadn’t been utilized yet. Funding a coalition of support across the state presented a chance to foster greater impact and matched our mission to work across urban and rural Georgia.

Sydney (GSIC): Many foundations begin their impact investing journeys by considering program-related investments (PRIs) into local CDFIs. Rita, can you share why Georgia Power Foundation favored capacity-building grants and how those grant dollars helped the CDFIs leverage additional capital?

Rita (GPF): During COVID we learned that CDFIs had a great opportunity to access lending capital through PPP and other federal dollars. We also discovered that CDFIs did not have the funding required for the human capital needed to administer a larger loan portfolio as well as to provide more technical services to small businesses in crisis due to the pandemic.

We listened to those needs and encouraged fund partners to leverage the unrestricted dollars we provided in a way that allowed each CDFI to best deploy dollars into the community.

Additionally, due to the challenges COVID presented for small businesses, the CDFIs shared with us that the entrepreneurs they worked with needed more technical assistance, training and consulting, which also pointed to the need for grant dollars to support capacity and optimize the loan portfolios.

Ultimately, this arrangement made sense for the outcomes that were best for the CDFIs and Georgia’s communities.

Sydney (GSIC): Martina and Victoria, can you both speak to the value of receiving unrestricted grant dollars in partnership with those investment dollars, and how this example of Georgia Power Foundation’s support of the Georgia Small Business Capital Fund can serve as a case study for other impact-oriented funders?

Martina (ACE): The funding from Georgia Power Foundation’s grant was instrumental in bringing these three CDFI partners together, allowing each of us to reach our respective markets in a way we felt would best suit businesses that needed help on the ground.

For ACE, that is Metro Atlanta and rural north Georgia. While the pandemic has cut across all of these counties, resources in communities are not created equal. The flexible capital provided by Georgia Power Foundation allowed each of us to utilize those dollars in different ways based on client needs. ACE, for instance, used our $165,000 to create a cash reserve, allowing us to draw down additional capital from the Small Business Association (SBA), which requires a 15% reserve as a risk mitigant.

This grant also helped build up our capacity. For example, in 2019, we made 91 loans totaling $13.1 million, which was a breakout year for ACE. Then, the pandemic hit, and we saw 400% more loan clients in 2020 representing just over $25 million in lending.

Despite all this growth, we had the same size team. This pool of dollars allowed us to draw down more lending dollars and use other grant capital for capacity building on both the human capital and infrastructure side. Between 2020 and 2021, ACE hired fourteen (14) additional staff members so that we could continue to not just serve as a lender, but also provide the wraparound services – coaching and connections – that differentiate CDFIs from banks. We were also able to hire four (4) financial advisors on our business advisory team to work with every single loan client, providing guidance on how to pivot their business models to ensure they emerged from the pandemic more resilient than before.

Victoria (SBAC): SBAC found ourselves in a similar situation to ACE. We were used to doing 60 loans a year, but once the pandemic hit, we saw a 100+ increase. In order for SBAC to continue our model of providing advisory services in addition to lending for all borrowers – regardless of whether it was a $10,000 loan or a $10 million loan – we needed unrestricted capital.

CDFIs tend to get a lot of federal dollars; however, these tend to come with a specific purpose and required output attached. With unrestricted capital, we have the ability to leverage that capital where we see the greatest need for both lending and internal operations.

For SBAC, that meant bringing on new staff. This is often a challenge for CDFIs because we tend to compete with banks for talent. While the services we offer and time spent with clients is typically the same for both CDFIs and traditional lenders, nonprofit CDFIs often work more with small-dollar clients, making it so that we have a smaller budget to attract talent.

And the right talent is important for our portfolio management given the business advisory services we offer that help the small businesses we support thrive. This includes a variety of scholarships and training programs that you often don’t find when working with a banking partner.

Martina (ACE):  Leveraging this flexible capital looked so different for each party involved. As mentioned, ACE used it for a cash reserve and SBAC was able to use a portion for operations. However, our third CDFI partner, Albany Community Together! (ACT!), utilized the grant dollars for innovative flexible capital, focusing on small businesses in hard hit sectors like the medical industry.

Despite the attention on healthcare, many medical businesses, particularly those that focused on elective surgeries, had to close or had a customer base that was too fearful to come in for services during COVID. ACT! created a pool of dollars for debt payment relief, allowing those businesses the opportunity to move forward unanchored by debt obligations and focus instead on how to respond once mandates were lifted. This included paying for some of the protective mechanisms that allowed customers to comfortably re-enter their doors.

In addition, internally, CDFI margins were squeezed during the early pandemic. CDFI earnings traditionally come from their loan products. However, during COVID, many offered PPP, providing 1% loans to clients, even though our cost of capital was not less than 1%. Therefore, CDFIs had to determine how to offer PPP and still have a sustainable business model.

Funders like Georgia Power Foundation stood in this gap with us as we leveraged other options like credit enhancements and interest rate buydowns. Unrestricted grants like this served as a subsidy in this low interest rate environment, allowing CDFIs to continue to offer competitively low rates to clients while managing cost of capital, which helped with the squeeze of earnings and net interest margins.

Sydney (GSIC): Martina and Victoria, can either of you share more about the typical client that a CDFI serves in Georgia, and why their needs were compounded during COVID?

Martina (ACE): As a CDFI, we can lend to anyone, but each organization in this collaborative focuses on diverse, low to moderate income, women-owned businesses. And we know that these communities, especially in rural areas, have been more challenged when you layer on the health crisis of the pandemic. This is due to the fact that these business owners are already operating on smaller, thinner margins and have more limited access to credit given the institutionalized policies that limit the ability of BIPOC (Black and indigenous people of color) individuals to gain access to capital or create wealth in the first place.

Sweet Joy Ice Cream Bar, LLC based in Lawrenceville, Georgia is an example of an ACE client.

 

Sydney (GSIC): In many ways, CDFIs are the original impact investor. And, right now, they are undergoing a moment of national attention and increased funding. Given that the work of CDFIs will continue to be important beyond COVID recovery, what does it look like for you all to have the support you need in the long-run and how can impact investors be a part of the conversation?

Victoria (SBAC): If a small business owner can’t get to a bank, CDFIs are still the only option for capital access aside from hard money lenders that require outrageous interest rates. So, it is great that CDFIs are getting more attention and that more potential partners better understand what we do and what we can provide.

SBAC is now being approached by colleges and universities, and even new development authorities are reaching out to collaborate. These entities don’t have the ability to do lending and compliance and are looking to CDFIs to perform these operations. However, for CDFIs like ours to operate at the desired output required by these partners while still building intentional communities across the state, we need impact-oriented investors.

Impact investors can help bring lending capital to the table, as well as provide operating grants to grow both staffing and technology in a way that allows us to continue to increase capacity and deliver good customer service to clients. SBAC considers itself a high tech and a high touch organization. If you contact us, we want to ensure that you are connected with a live person that can determine how best to meet your needs.

Impact investment and accompanying unrestricted grant capital can serve as a bridge to help CDFIs meet this continuous need across Georgia moving forward.

Martina (ACE): Agreed. Impact investing is helping to increase the innovative and proven strategies of CDFIs. ACE is in its 21st year and we have a track record of great work that has only continued to accelerate in this time period. And we are like a small business ourselves. As we grow and scale, we encounter new pain points. Flexible capital provides us with the capacity to invest back in our organization while providing visibility to the small business owners on the ground doing their work. With this in mind, a pairing of both unrestricted grant capital for operations and PRI investments for greater lending creates a successful recipe for CDFIs.

It is helpful for impact investors to understand that CDFIs can be a solution for impact investing while also providing reliable returns from a PRI perspective, which is a great way to continue to do good.

CDFIs create collective prosperity through the fact that underserved business owners are able to get the support they need to grow their assets, grow their businesses and increase their overall revenue, which in turn, allows them to hire more people. This job creation is an economic opportunity for Georgia, providing more families with financial stability and leading to healthier and thriving communities.

Sydney (GSIC): Rita, do you have any advice for foundations that have never worked with intermediaries like CDFIs before? How should they consider getting started?

Rita (GPF): The trend in philanthropy has been to report on impact/ROI, which best lends itself to funding programs.  However, as funders during an unprecedented time, we need to listen, collaborate and be supportive of nonprofit partners’ needs. If we help our CDFI partners accomplish their objectives of serving small, diverse businesses, we also achieve our goals.

Sydney (GSIC): Finally, Rita, has Georgia Power Foundation’s investment in this collaborative inspired you to look at more investments in CDFIs? What does this mean for your strategy moving forward?

Rita (GPF): Strategically, since this investment in mid-2020, Georgia Power, along with the Georgia Power Foundation, has committed to invest $87 million throughout 2021-25 to continue advancing racial equity and social justice efforts in Georgia. This funding will support initiatives focused on education equity, criminal justice equity, economic empowerment, and energy justice.

This coalition of three CDFIs – ACE, SBAC and ACT! – exceeded our expectations, which was very encouraging for us as a funder. It was exciting to see what they did to support over one thousand diverse small businesses across the state. That type of result makes us want to do more, and we have.  Georgia Power Foundation has funded additional CDFIs, including some outside of this coalition. We have seen how powerful these investments can be for economic empowerment and look forward to continuing our support of diverse small businesses.

 

CDFIs are Once Again “Stepping into the Breach”

October 29, 2021

 

By Mandy Eidson, Senior Manager, ANDP Loan Fund

 

In 2014, a report by the Carsey School of Public Policy highlighted how Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, had “stepped into the breach” in the wake of the 2008 foreclosure crisis by providing financial products and services to groups that were being underserved by mainstream lenders. In spite of the challenging economic climate, CDFIs extended credit to high-poverty, low-income, and minority borrowers at rates much higher than conventional lenders, and even grew as an industry at a time when many banks were faltering or shutting their doors completely. 

Today, over a year and a half after COVID-19 hit the U.S. with full force – disrupting people’s everyday routines and business operations – a similar story appears to be unfolding. In the pandemic’s aftermath, CDFIs have stepped up where traditional banks have withdrawn, propelled by a growing tide of support from the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. Bipartisan support for the U.S. Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund has mushroomed, leading to new and increased funding opportunities, while groups as diverse as Starbucks, Google, Wells Fargo, and Twitter have made pledges to the CDFI industry – leading some to call this a “watershed moment” for CDFIs nationwide. Local and national foundations have also deepened their engagement, including the Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s recent commitments to groups like ANDP, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, and Carver State Bank. 

This outpouring of support is fueling CDFIs to do what they do best: deliver innovative, flexible, high-touch financial products and services to those who need them most. Since the pandemic, CDFIs have delivered more than $7.5 billion in PPP loans to small businesses and have continued to outperform expectations by growing their loan portfolios, minimizing delinquencies and defaults, and increasing their earnings. With low-income residents and people of color comprising the majority of CDFI beneficiaries, CDFIs are reaching groups that have been most severely impacted by the pandemic’s immediate and longer-term impacts. 

The Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership (ANDP) has been fortunate to benefit from the recent groundswell of support for CDFIs. ANDP’s CDFI Loan Fund, which provides financing for developers of affordable and mixed-income housing, is on track to grow its total assets from $10 million to over $16 million thanks to recent commitments from Renasant Bank, Woodforest Bank, the CDFI Fund, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and Opportunity Finance Network’s Finance Justice Fund. With support from its CDFI partner Reinvestment Fund, ANDP anticipates approving $5 million or more in new lending by year-end for affordable single-family and multi-family housing, with a focus on serving minority-owned developers and communities of color. Growing its Loan Fund is part of ANDP’s five-year plan to create or preserve at least 2,000 units of affordable housing in metro Atlanta, where the COVID pandemic has exacerbated existing housing disparities, affordability challenges, and growing homeownership and wealth gaps.

Urban Oasis Development is one of the many minority-led developers supported with project financing by the ANDP Loan Fund. As stated by Joel Dixon, Principal of Urban Oasis: “Access to capital remains a significant hurdle for black-owned businesses like Urban Oasis Development. While everyone continues to do surveys and studies about the problem, ANDP’s loans have been a great example of just doing the simple SOLUTION right now by providing lower cost loans and providing small minority developers a launchpad. We can do the rest!”

 

In Georgia, despite the recent influx in federal funding there is a strong need for new and sustainable capital and capacity-building sources for CDFIs. Ever since the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund was first established in 1994, Georgia has been chronically underserved by CDFI investments, with Georgia-based CDFIs in the bottom quartile for CDFI Fund Financial Assistance grants received per capita. Although Georgia’s CDFI ecosystem has grown in recent years through new entrants; collaborations such as the CDFI Coalition Revolving Fund; and increased membership of CDFIs in the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, Georgia’s CDFIs need greater support to meet the growing needs of impoverished residents and neighborhoods across our state. 

If there’s been one silver lining of the COVID pandemic, it’s that the important work of serving underfinanced and under-resourced communities is now clearer than ever. With ongoing support from mission-driven investors, CDFIs can and will continue to chip away at the credit needs and related disparities facing our region’s most vulnerable residents and communities. CDFIs have done it before, and they’ll do it again; the question is, who will join us?

 

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ABOUT ANDP: 

Established in 1991, ANDP is a leading advocate for the development and preservation of affordable housing in the greater metropolitan Atlanta region. The ANDP Loan Fund provides predevelopment, acquisition, construction, and bridge financing to nonprofit and for-profit housing developers of affordable housing, mixed-income, and mixed-use developments.

Since inception, The ANDP Loan Fund has loaned over $52 million to help finance more than 6,000 units of affordable or mixed-income single-family and multi-family housing. The majority of funded units target families earning 80% of Area Median Income or less, providing a tremendous opportunity to uplift low– and moderate-income families.

For a description of Georgia-based CDFIs and their missions, services, goals, and needs, click here.

 

BestFit, Inc. Selected for Google for Startups Black Founders Fund

September 21, 2021

 

Asha Owens, is one of 50 founders selected for Google for Startups program focused on high potential startups from Black entrepreneurs based in the U.S. 

BestFit, Inc., an early-stage startup addressing basic needs insecurity among college students, today announced it was selected to join the second cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund, a $10 million initiative designed for Black founders, who are building great companies yet are often locked out of access to the funding that is critical to their success. 

Last year, Google for Startups gave 76 Black-led startups up to $100,000 in non-dilutive funding, helping them keep their doors open, pay their employees, and focus on building their businesses. With this second $5 million investment in the U.S. Black Founders Fund, 50 more founders across the United States will receive $100,000 in non-dilutive capital, meaning founders do not give up any ownership in their company in exchange for funding. The fund also includes technical support from tools and teams across Google, including as much as $120,000 in donated search Ads from Google.org and up to $100,000 in Google Cloud credits. Last year, founders who received awards went on to raise more than $50M in capital and 80% of recipients used the funding to create jobs. 

BestFit, an online platform where college students connect with basic need resources, like food, tech, and housing, is one of a select few high potential startups that the Google for Startups team has selected for this year’s nationwide cohort. 

“After participating in Google for Startups’ Founder Academy, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to apply for the Black Founders Fund. Google’s curriculum, guidance and mentorship made a huge difference in the trajectory of our company and helped us craft a stronger business strategy, improve our operations, and increase revenue,” says Asha Owens, founder, BestFit. “This support from Google for Startups comes at a critical time for our growth—allowing us to make key hires and critical product improvements. Ultimately, this enables us to scale our work in the wake of COVID-19 and ensure that thousands of students have access to programs, services, and benefits that will help them meet their academic goals, graduate, and go on to create generational wealth.” 

“The Google for Startups Black Founders Fund embodies our mission of helping underrepresented founders grow their businesses. We are excited to continue the fund and contribute funding to Black founders, with no strings attached. Black founders currently receive less than 1 percent of total VC funding,” says Jewel Burks Solomon, Head of Google for Startups US. “We heard loud and clear from the 2020 fund recipients that Google for Startups and Goodie Nation have been crucial to their success not only through funding, but through community, mentorship, network connections and technical expertise.” 

“Our advisors will be working with the founders to discuss business pain points, offer introductions to customers and investors and provide regular therapy sessions and forums to support recipients emotionally and professionally,” says Joey Womack, CEO of Goodie Nation.

BestFit uses behavioral science, cognitive science, and equity-centered design to create products that remove the burden of finding help for college students. We provide technology to colleges & nonprofits looking to address basic needs insecurity on campus and in their communities, and we work with mission-driven companies looking to create sustainable, scalable social impact. In the coming months, our goal is to increase the number of social services and programs our platform screens for, expand our network of college and nonprofit customers, and engage more corporate clients. 

 

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ABOUT BESTFIT 

BestFit is on a mission to remove non-academic barriers for students at risk of dropping out because they cannot afford to meet their basic needs like, tech, housing, and food. We empower students to build their own support systems by connecting them to on-campus, community, philanthropic, and corporate resources. In 2021 alone, we’ve connected Georgia college students to over $100,000 in tech resources and helped students determine their eligibility for ~$500,000 in benefits and social services. The team’s nationally-recognized work is funded by organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation , Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator powered by Techstars, and Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta. To learn more, please visit best-fit.app. 

ABOUT GOOGLE FOR STARTUPS 

Google for Startups works to level the playing field for startup founders and communities to succeed by bringing the best of Google’s products, connections, and best practices to startups. Paired with a deep commitment to create diverse startup communities, many of our offerings are designed specifically to provide underrepresented founders with access to resources and opportunities. We support startups everywhere to build something better. Because when startups succeed, we all succeed.

Love is Love Cooperative Farm Scales Up Local, Organic Production, Expanding to 70 Acres in Mansfield Ga.

September 7, 2021

 

As the demand for locally grown food increases, one local organic farm is stepping up to provide the supply. Love is Love Farm, a 13-year-old organic farm serving the metro Atlanta area, has converted to a worker-owned cooperative and is scaling up operations to grow produce for institutional buyers such as Common Market SE, Emory University and Georgia Tech. The farm will also provide produce to individuals through their Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA), as well as grow flowers and vegetable seedlings for home gardeners.

To date, few local organic farms have been able to scale up to supply both institutional and individual customers. There are three dominant barriers to scaling a farm operation: 1) access to skilled labor, 2) affordable land near markets and 3) capital for infrastructure and equipment. Love is Love Cooperative Farm is addressing these challenges with some innovative approaches and partnerships.

By converting to a worker-owned cooperative structure, the farm is able to coalesce a group of experienced farmers to share in the risks, rewards and work-load and to create opportunities in the future for additional farmers to join. Officially formed in 2020, Love is Love Cooperative Farm is the vision and work of five farmers: Demetrius Milling, Monica Ponce, Russell Honderd, Judith Winfrey and Joe Reynolds. It is a unique collective of first generation farmers: multigenerational, multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-class who understand that they are stronger working together to grow food, plants and flowers at scale for wholesale markets and direct to consumers. The group hopes to on-board new worker-owners as soon as 2025. Through the planning and conversion process, the group worked closely with the Georgia Cooperative Development Center to develop their legal and governance structures.

Love is Love Cooperative Farm is the first farm in the nation to participate in The Conservation Fund’s Working Farms Fund. This program assists farmers in gaining access to affordable farmland near markets. The farmers worked with The Working Farms Fund to identify and acquire a farm site that suited the farm’s needs — 70 acres in Newton County, Ga. The farmers will lease land for five years during which time the farmland is put under permanent conservation and the farmers are able to operationalize the new farm. At the end of the five years the farmers purchase the permanently conserved land at a significant discount. 

With challenges of affordable land and the skilled labor addressed, the farmers are now offering preferred shares in the Co-op to help raise the necessary capital for startup — everything from seeds to tractors to greenhouses. Using the Invest Georgia Exemption, the farmers are selling shares to Georgia Residents with up to 8% in annual dividends..  

Through these creative new approaches and innovative programs and partnerships, the worker-owners of Love is Love Cooperative Farm envision that they are not only standing up a resilient, equitable, worker-owned cooperative farm to provide produce, plants and flowers to major Metro Atlanta Markets; but they also may be creating solutions useful to other farms that want to scale operations to serve growing markets. Together with their shareholders, The Conservation Fund and The Georgia Cooperative Development Center, the Love is Love Cooperative Farmers intend to build a structure and system that will outlast any one individual and serve our local food- and eco- systems for generations to come.  

To learn more about Love is Love Cooperative Farm, becoming a shareholder or their upcoming plant sales and CSA sessions, visit their website.

 

Contact:

Judith Winfrey

404-964-5233

[email protected]

 

Photo credits: Addison Hill Photography

Atlanta-Based Roots Real Estate Investment Fund Empowers Residents to Build Cash Equity While They Rent

Imagine being able to invest in a diverse portfolio of residential real estate properties around Atlanta’s rapidly growing market that not only delivers a great return, but also empowers the people in the properties that you’re invested in to improve their lives, both financially and personally. Atlanta-based ROOTS Real Estate Exchange Fund is the first commercially motivated, community inspired Real Estate Investment Fund that focuses on investing in people through properties, not the other way around. 

ROOTS, formed in 2020 by a team of local, experienced industry experts and established executives, offers its members a residential real estate investment opportunity that is delivering excellent returns and creating new found wealth for the people who create those returns; the residents. As Daniel Dorfman, Root’s Founder says “The residents paying the rent are the ones actually paying the bills and generating the income. Don’t they deserve a seat at the table?”.

For now, Roots is a fund for “accredited investors” who want to invest with their hearts, as well as their wallets. By early next year, the fund expects to be able to allow “non-accredited” investors to participate as well, INCLUDING THE RESIDENTS who rent the properties. Until then, they’ve created very unique way for the residents to participate and build equity from the very first day they move in. 

 

 

“How does that work?”:

Roots’ exclusive “Live in it like you own it” program invites residents to treat the property as if it were their own. In exchange, the resident earns interest on their security deposit, and rental rebates for taking care of the property and fulfilling the partnership guidelines.

By doing so, their security deposit becomes a savings account that earns 5% interest as long as they live there. They will also receive rental rebates ranging between $50-$100/month that go into their ROOTS savings account, which also accrues 5% compounding interest throughout their rent cycle. 

A recent report by Prosperity Now shows that on average, a renter in the state of Georgia has only $650 in the bank. They are living on the edge of homelessness. They are one issue with their car or one medical issue not covered by insurance away from not being able to pay rent. These are working people, who are trying to succeed and making a good effort, but are stuck in the grind of living day to day, month to month. Until now, they have had very little chance of building a cushion of savings, much less owning real estate. They have both when they rent with Roots. Additionally, the Roots Member Platform will be providing additional benefits to the resident members like personal financial education courses, leveraged pricing on things like internet, cell phones, health insurance and more. 

ROOTS provides its residents the opportunity to not only make money, but to learn to save it; and eventually to invest it. 

For investors, this shift in making the resident a partner, rather than just another “tenant” is a big win as well. It helps to protect the asset, minimize turnover costs and lower vacancy rates. A few notable highlights about the fund:

  • ROOTS focuses on single and multi-family properties in growing communities throughout the city of Atlanta that will achieve healthy rental returns and have promising appreciation outlooks. 
  • All properties go into the fund fully curated and tenanted, so the return on investment is already established.
  • The properties are not subject to maintenance and repair costs, those are covered by the Managing Partners, which allows for even more consistent returns

Visit www.investwithroots.com or email the team at [email protected] to learn more about ROOTS.

Building Healthy Soil and a Healthy Business

Profile Summary:

  • Entrepreneur Name(s): Steven & Hannah Simms
  • Venture Name: The Rural Urban Connection (TRUC)
  • Impact Focus Area(s): Local Food, Regenerative Agriculture, Rural Economic Development
  • Business Stage: Startup in July 2020
  • Business Type: For-Profit, Holistic Management
  • Headquarters: Dunwoody, Georgia

 

The Issue

Worldwide, soils have been degraded by poor farming practices causing heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides to prop up crop yields. A large amount of grain crops grown are used for feeding livestock. Most beef consumed is raised in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) with a host of negative animal welfare and environmental impacts. 100% grass-fed beef eliminates the need for CAFOs and grain-fed livestock. Using holistic management practices on our farms will eliminate the need for chemical supports while enabling the environment to create new topsoil and capture carbon in the soil. We are only able to do this with the support of our Atlanta neighbors who want to eat our healthy, local, 100% grass-fed beef.  

 

Your Journey

Steven grew up on one of the farms we lease and has discussed this idea off and on for some time. COVID’s impact on the economy and food supply chains inspired me to start testing and pursuing this idea seriously. We have been blessed with great advice from the UGA Small Business Development Center and Start It Up Georgia, as well as from family and friends.

In April 2021, 9 months after beginning planning and researching efforts, we had our first beef ready for sale. We leased two farms, secured USDA financing, and began selling online and at the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs Farmers Markets. We are currently working on getting the word out about our local, grass-fed beef, balancing supply and demand, and moving both farms to fully regenerative agricultural practices. Our steaks have been incredibly popular, and right now we are looking for consumers and a few select restaurant and food truck clients who want to use all the cuts from our beef.

As we mature and grow, we want to scale our business to be able to create more healthy soils, preserve farmland, and raise delicious grass-fed beef all while providing quality employment opportunities.

 

Why Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem Matters

The Social Impact Ecosystem is crucial for encouraging more social entrepreneurship in Georgia. Building connections between the Social Impact Ecosystem and the traditional startup ecosystem may be one of the most important elements in this journey. Many new entrepreneurs may not classify themselves as social enterprises but have the desire and intent to grow a company that focuses on more than the financial bottom line. All companies have a social impact and our goal as social impact community members should be to encourage all companies to ensure this impact is positive and build a better future.

 

For more, please visit:

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Plateful.ly: Pay-What-You-Can Meal Kit Delivery Service Eyes Atlanta-Area Expansion

By: Franzene Minott

 

Home-delivered meal kit services are exploding, and it’s no wonder. The now $10 Billion global industry combines the advantages of “fast food” and “slow food” by delivering easy-to-make, healthy and delicious meals to customers’ doorsteps.

For low-income families short on time to prepare dinner and a long way from fresh, healthy ingredients, a meal kit service would be a godsend—if only it was made affordable. One Atlanta-area social venture is doing just that, by inviting customers to pay only what they can.

“We know food insecurity affects millions, especially those living in food deserts without access to fresh fruits and vegetables,” says co-founder Ali Yadollahi, “we wanted to create a system where all customers received the same high quality meal kits—regardless of income levels—by making them more affordable and accessible to those who need it.”

Plateful.ly’s mission quickly resonated with the hundreds of Atlantans they have served since launching earlier this year. With a mouth-watering selection of entrees from salmon and quinoa to sirloin steak fajitas to vegetarian options like penne primavera, the customer buzz has only amplified across Yelp! and other review sites.

The American Heart Association Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund has also taken notice of the innovative service and awarded Plateful.ly a generous grant. The Fund supports local entrepreneurs and organizations that are breaking down the social and economic barriers to health equity, and they saw Plateful.ly’s pay-what-you-can meal delivery model as a great way to reach underserved communities.

When asked about the new meal kit delivery service, Portfolio Manager of the Tyson Impact Fund Max Gritzuks stated, “Plateful.ly has taken a model that has traditionally been reserved for market-rate consumers and reinvented it in an inclusive and scalable manner that increases access to affordable, healthy food for all.”

 

“Pay-What-You-Can”: Reimagining the Food Service Industry

How is Plateful.ly innovating the food service industry and attracting such a diverse customer base? 

For starters, they have no set menu prices, only a suggested price, which allows customers to pay what they can for service. This community-style service model means that paying for your meal helps pay for someone else’s. 

Their “pay-what-you-can” system provides the financial break many need to remain afloat on restricted budgets. For some, the added flexibility means paying only a few dollars—or even nothing at all—for meal kits. 

And the model has proven to be remarkably successful and self-sustaining. Despite early concerns that people may take advantage, the founders proudly share that the overwhelming majority of patrons use their services as intended without exploiting it.

“Pay-what-you-can is working and my faith in humanity, and in our Atlanta community, has been rewarded,” says co-founder Chef Hoss Yazdi. “We have been able to provide everyone who orders a wholesome, delicious meal that can usually be on the dinner table within ten minutes.”

The team believes their system works because of the value alignment between their mission and that of their customers. Their kitchens are a resource that enable people who care about helping others to make a difference. This commitment to a shared goal makes them sustainable.

 

 

Plans for Expansion

Plateful.ly is preparing to give even more Atlantans access to its kits by expanding from its Metro Atlanta service area. Since their model relies heavily on community support to be effective, they are actively sharing their mission with people, organizations, and businesses in target locations to help identify potential hot spots.

Thanks to the initial support, the social venture can continue to expand across Atlanta and serve as many communities as possible.

 

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Interested in learning more or supporting Plateful.ly expansion efforts, please visit:

Email: [email protected]

 

Healthcare Georgia Foundation Announces Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE) as Recipient of Strategic Health Impact Investment Funding

Healthcare Georgia Foundation is pleased to announce that Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE) has been awarded $250,000 in Strategic Health Impact Investment funding. The Foundation is thrilled to establish this partnership with ACE, and applauds their attitude of service for small businesses and their surrounding communities. 

Martina Edwards, ACE’s Chief of Strategic Partnerships notes that “because both wealth and income influence health, small business is a key element in the advancement of health equity. Communities with strong small business sectors often experience better economic outcomes because they are more economically and socially engaged with and invested in its well-being. ACE is excited to partner alongside the Healthcare Georgia Foundation to help fuel not only small businesses, but also community resiliency during this extended recovery period, particularly for women, people of color, and low-income persons.”

Dr. Gary Nelson, President of Healthcare Georgia Foundation, commented on ACE’s funding, “At Healthcare Georgia Foundation, we highly value and cherish the opportunity to partner with organizations such as ACE who are working so diligently to assist communities in a myriad of ways.” Nelson continued, “ACE has proven time and again that they are committed to service that is rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we are greatly looking forward to the incredible work they will do with this investment.”

Edwards acknowledged, “Like ACE, the Healthcare Georgia Foundation has been around for just over two decades supporting critical work in the state. Small business funding remains hard to obtain. This catalytic patient capital will allow us to meet underserved and diverse owned small businesses where they are, under the current conditions. Ultimately, it will aid our vision to create a ripple effect that not only has a positive impact on the individuals ACE serves directly, but also on their families, employees and communities through economic empowerment and equitable wealth creation.”

 

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About Healthcare Georgia Foundation

Healthcare Georgia Foundation is a statewide, charitable organization with a vision of health equity in Georgia where all people attain their fullest potential for health and well-being. Through strategic grantmaking, our mission is to enable, improve, and advance the health and well-being of all Georgians. For more information, visit healthcaregeorgia.org. 

Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE)

ACE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides loans and business consulting services to help borrowers throughout Metro Atlanta and North Georgia create and grow stable businesses that generate jobs. Since 2000, ACE has loaned more than $100 million to over 1,400 entrepreneurs, who have created or saved more than 12,000 jobs in Georgia. ACE’s hallmark service is its combination of capital, coaching and connections. ACE is supported by grants and other forms of funding from banks, foundations, government entities and corporations to assist in its mission to help underserved business owners. ACE has offices in Westside Atlanta, Dalton, Rome and Cleveland, Ga., and our ACE Women’s Business Centers in Norcross and Savannah, Ga. For more information, visit https://aceloans.org/.

 

For Healthcare Georgia Foundation

CONTACT: Rachael Dempsey

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 404.653.0990

 

For Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE)

CONTACT: Martina Edwards

Email:  [email protected]

Phone: 470.615.1279

Healthcare Georgia Foundation Announces Carver State Bank as Recipient of Strategic Health Impact Investment Funding

Healthcare Georgia Foundation is pleased to announce Carver State Bank as a recipient of the Foundation’s recent Strategic Health Impact Investment funding in the amount of $100,000. Since 2019, the Foundation has worked to identify organizations that are addressing the social determinants of health in a wide variety of ways, and has actively pursued Program Related Investments (PRIs) targeted towards the “causes of the causes” with very encouraging results. With a strong commitment towards diversity, equity, and inclusion, Carver State Bank is an ideal partner for Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s Strategic Health Impact Investment efforts.

Founded in 1927 in Savannah, Georgia, Carver State Bank is one of only 18 Black-owned banks in the United States. As a Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Carver’s mission to provide underserved communities with the building blocks to financial freedom is directly related to Healthcare Georgia’s goal of addressing the social determinants of health disparities. Carver will use the funding provided by Healthcare Georgia’s investment to make new loans for small businesses and affordable housing in our community.

President of Healthcare Georgia Foundation, Dr. Gary Nelson, commented on Carver State Bank’s award, “The Foundation is thrilled for this partnership opportunity with Carver State Bank, and we have been greatly impressed over the years as we’ve observed their tireless efforts toward enriching the greater Savannah-Chatham community.” Dr. Nelson continued, “We are looking forward to the fruits of this effort joined with Carver State Bank, and we are excited to see the impact that will be created.”

“As a mission-driven financial institution, Carver is proud to work with Healthcare Georgia Foundation in their continued and innovative efforts to address inequalities in health outcomes.” said Robert James, President of Carver State Bank. “Their investments have a tangible impact on small business and job growth in our community, and we look forward to this continued partnership.”

With this recent award to Carver State Bank, Healthcare Georgia Foundation will exceed $1.1 million in Strategic Health Impact Investments geared towards addressing the Social Determinants of Health.

 

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About Healthcare Georgia Foundation

Healthcare Georgia Foundation is a statewide, charitable organization with a vision of health equity in Georgia where all people attain their fullest potential for health and well-being. Through strategic grantmaking, our mission is to enable, improve, and advance the health and well-being of all Georgians. For more information, visit healthcaregeorgia.org. 

About Carver State Bank

Carver State Bank is a member of the National Bankers Association and Georgia Bankers Association. Carver is the only bank headquartered in Savannah that is certified by the United States Treasury Department as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and is currently one of only 18 African- American-owned commercial banks in the United States. Carver’s mission is to provide our community with the building blocks to financial freedom. As the only bank in Savannah headquartered in one of the area’s five low-income census tracts, the bank highlights the need to improve the lives of low-income individuals and residents of distressed communities.

 

For Healthcare Georgia Foundation

CONTACT: Rachael Dempsey

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 404.653.0990

 

For Carver State Bank

CONTACT: Rachelle Gregory

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 310.621.5349

Healthcare Georgia Foundation Combats Health Inequities through Affordable Housing Financing

The Foundation is working with the ANDP Loan Fund to address health and housing disparities across Georgia 


Healthcare Georgia Foundation has made a $250,000 program-related investment in the ANDP Loan Fund to expand access to quality, healthy affordable housing — benefiting persons of color, low-income households, seniors, and other vulnerable groups across metropolitan Atlanta and Georgia. ANDP develops, finances and advocates for affordable housing at scale that promotes racial equity and healthy communities where families thrive.

“Healthcare Georgia Foundation is pleased to partner with ANDP in this investment that will address one of the key social determinants of health (housing) in such a strategic and impactful way,” said Foundation President, Dr. Gary Nelson. He continued, “ANDP has proven time and again their commitment towards equitably advancing metro Atlanta’s affordable housing options, and their unwavering desire to improve the lives of Georgia’s residents.”

The Foundation’s vision is “health equity across Georgia”, where all people attain their fullest potential for health and well-being. Healthcare Georgia Foundation looks to address health disparities, expand access to affordable, high-quality, and integrated services, promote health and prevent disease, and strengthen health nonprofit organizations, programs, and workforces. 

Investments like the funding for ANDP are made to financial intermediaries serving communities across Georgia that are certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and as such, have a primary mission of providing financial products and services to low-wealth communities.

Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s low cost capital funding will be leveraged by ANDP to help finance over 1,500 units of affordable housing, and provide more than 500 future homebuyers with down payment assistance (DPA) loans over the next five years. The majority of ANDP’s lending will benefit minority households and households earning 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) or less. ANDP’s efforts will play a critical role in addressing systemic housing disparities that compound health inequities among communities of color and low-income populations. 

“Safe, affordable housing is a paramount social determinant of health. We seek to address health inequities by financing quality, affordable housing that provides a platform of stability for people to thrive,” says ANDP President & CEO, John O’Callaghan. “Funds and capital provided by community health leaders like the Healthcare Georgia Foundation empower us to provide safer, healthier affordable housing options for our communities.” 

The ANDP Loan Fund is U.S. Treasury certified and provides much needed capital to metro Atlanta’s nonprofit and for-profit developers of affordable housing and other facilities. ALF’s financing has resulted in the renovation of over 750 formerly vacant homes since 2008, financing 6,107 housing units since inception, lending $51.3 million to projects valued at $510 million, and serving 90% of families at 80% AMI or less.  In the past three years, ANDP has more than doubled its Loan Fund’s portfolio, grown its total assets by 36% (now $10.2 million), and deployed over $10 million to multi-family, single-family, and community facilities developers in metro Atlanta.

Since 2019, Healthcare Georgia Foundation’s Strategic Health Impact Investment funding efforts have sought to identify and create partnerships with Community Development Financial Institutions who are working to address the social determinants of health. The Foundation looks forward to achieving impactful outcomes of this partnership with ANDP, an applauds their proven track record towards addressing disparities in housing.

 

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ABOUT HEALTHCARE GEORGIA FOUNDATION: Healthcare Georgia Foundation is a statewide, charitable organization with a vision of health equity in Georgia where all people attain their fullest potential for health and well-being. Through strategic grantmaking, our mission is to enable, improve, and advance the health and well-being of all Georgians. For more information, visit healthcaregeorgia.org.

ABOUT ANDP: A chartered member of NeighborWorks, Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership is a nonprofit organization that develops, finances and advocates for affordable housing at a scale that promotes racial equity and healthy communities where families thrive. Now in its 30th year, the organization aims to further reduce the Black homeownership gap and increase access to affordable rentals with its “Closing the Gap: 2,000 units by 2025” campaign. Connect at www.andpi.org.

 

For ANDP

Contact: George Burgan
678-358-4427, [email protected]

For Healthcare Georgia Foundation

Contact: Rachael Dempsey
Phone: 404.653.0990, [email protected]