Conference Happenings: Presentation Summaries

UNDERSTANDING CHANGE
Pre-conference Workshop

Presenters:
Timothy Hower, Associate Director
Krista Rux, Program Manager
Social System Design Lab
Brown School of Social Work
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Mo.

Participants were introduced to system dynamics/systems thinking as a way to understand the changes in household economic security, banking, check cashing, payday loans, etc.
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THE HOUSING POLICY REVOLUTION: NETWORKS AND NEIGHBORHOODS
Pre-conference Reading Supper Circle

Author:
David J. Erickson
Manager, Center for Community Development Investments
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
San Francisco, Calif.
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STRIVING TO SAVE: CREATING POLICIES FOR FINANCIAL SECURITY OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Pre-conference Reading Supper Circle

Author:
Margaret Sherrard Sherraden
Professor of Social Work
University of Missouri-St. Louis;
Research Professor
Center for Social Development
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Mo.
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TEN9EIGHT: SHOOT FOR THE MOON
Film Viewing

This documentary, nominated as a finalist for VH1's Do Something Award, follows inner-city teens in New York from Harlem to Compton and all points in between as they compete in an annual business-plan competition run by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship—a program that not only keeps potential drop-outs in school, but engages them in such a way as to put them on a path to a different future.
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Retail Products and Services

CHANGING SAVINGS BEHAVIOR WITH WORKPLACE LOANS AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL COACHING: A SUSTAINABLE, SCALABLE SOLUTION
Breakout Session

Presenter:
Jonathan Harrison
Chief Executive Officer
Emerge Workplace Solutions
San Francisco, Calif.

Attendees learned new strategies aimed at changing savings behavior among low-income, underbanked workers. By assisting them during a time of crisis, financial institutions can help transition LMI workers to savings and mainstream bank products. Session participants learned how to tap into the underbanked LMI market by providing products and services that meet the needs of this community while meeting the primary purpose of CRA.
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INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNITY INVESTING: MAKE YOUR MONEY MATTER
Breakout Session

Presenter:
David C. Reiling
Chief Executive Officer
Sunrise Community Banks
St. Paul, Minn.

From local to national to possibly global? Session participants learned how Sunrise Community Banks has leveraged technology to work with unbanked and underbanked individuals and families. Now armed with a portfolio of prepaid products, Sunrise is better positioned to promote financial services to individuals looking for an alternative to a traditional bank account as well as businesses looking for ways to reduce costs related to payroll, commission or incentive payments.
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The Green Economy

No theory here—just real-world examples of how individual investors and CDFIs are supporting environmentally sustainable initiatives: affordable green buildings, green jobs and the green economy.

GREEN FIXED-INCOME INVESTING
Breakout Session

Presenter:
Barbara R. VanScoy
Founder, Chair and Senior Portfolio Manager
Community Capital Management
Charlotte, N.C.

Barbara VanScoy illustrated some of the research, best practices and opportunities currently available in green fixed-income investing and how investors can utilize their fixed-income portfolio to invest in bonds that finance or support green projects.
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THE NEXT LOGICAL STEP: GREEN SMALL BUSINESS
Breakout Session

Presenter:
Jason Friedman
Principal
Friedman Associates
Iowa City, Iowa

Jason Friedman, representing Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) and Friedman Associates, focused on the emerging efforts of microlenders working with their low-income clients to create green businesses, increase profits, decrease costs and tap new markets. Session participants learned the key aspects of designing a green business program.
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GREEN GROWS UP: EXTENDING THE REACH OF GREEN CRA STRATEGIES

During this session, top experts in the field reviewed state-of-the-art strategies for green community development. They explored what's working, what obstacles exist and new initiatives, such as green new markets tax credit financing, green venture capital and green philanthropy as tools for community building. This session also explored how green and CRA can work together.

Presenters:

David Arfin
Vice President, Strategy
SolarCity
San Mateo, Calif.
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Zack Carter
Organizer
South Bay Communities Alliance
Coden, Ala.
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Nancy E. Pfund
Managing Partner
DBL Investors
San Francisco, Calif.
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Lena Robinson
Regional Manager: Northern California
Community Development
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
San Francisco, Calif.
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Carrie Van Syckel
Vice President
Urban Investment Group
Goldman Sachs
New York, N.Y.
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Investments and Equity

HOW A NONPROFIT LEVERAGED PRIVATE AND PUBLIC INVESTMENT ALONG WITH SOCIAL STRATEGIES TO CHANGE THE FACE OF A DEVASTATED NEIGHBORHOOD
Breakout Session

Presenter:
Mary Keefe
Executive Director
Hope Community
Minneapolis, Minn.

Session participants took a journey with Mary Keefe from Hope Community, a place-based CDC, as a devastated neighborhood was revitalized using novel approaches. Participants were enlightened with the elements of the story—the plan, the opportunity fund, overall project funding, community engagement strategy and funding, stabilization of older property, and the role of asset management. Keefe described interrelated aspects of these different elements, as well as the impact of growth and increasing visibility.
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DEVELOPING THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN COMMUNITIES IN POVERTY: THE MONTANA INDIAN EQUITY FUND MODEL
Breakout Session

Presenter:
Philip G. Belangie
Entrepreneur Development Program Manager
Montana Indian Equity Fund
Montana Department of Commerce
Missoula, Mont.

This session described the Montana Indian Equity Fund as a model for developing private-sector business in communities in poverty. It is a state-funded program administered by the Montana Department of Commerce. Eligible recipients can receive up to $7,000 each in grants to fund either a business start-up or to grow their business. Each recipient has to provide a dollar-for-dollar match, in the form of cash, collateral or loans. It is exclusively for tribally enrolled members in Montana.
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Financing Comprehensive Community Development

THE LIVING CITIES INTEGRATION INITIATIVE
Breakout Session

Presenter:
Robin Hacke
Director of Capital Formation
Living Cities
Washington, D.C.

Participants learned about the Living Cities Integration Initiative, which will provide up to $80 million to five urban regions to create game-changing innovations addressing problems long considered intractable. The Initiative demonstrates a new approach to both philanthropy and systemic change, providing financial packages that include grants, loans and Program-Related Investments to each of the regions. The public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit sectors have agreed to work as partners to address a variety of community issues. Goals of the Initiative include creating a new framework for solving complex problems, challenging obsolete conventional wisdom, driving the private market to work on behalf of low-income people, and creating a "new normal."
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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCE COMPETITION
Breakout Session

Students from the partnering Federal Reserve districts submitted academic research papers before the conference with recommendations to advance the New Markets Tax Credit program. During this session, three students with the best proposals presented their recommendations as a panel. Following are summaries of the presentations.

Transforming the New Markets Tax Credit Program Through Leverage of its Real Estate Bias
Presenter:
Katie Codey
Student
Department of Public Administration, University of Georgia
Athens, Ga.
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New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program: Opportunity for Improvements
Presenter:
Guncha Jumakuliyeva
Student
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Mankato, Minn.
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New Markets Tax Credit Program: Introducing Contingent Capital (CoCos)
Presenter:
Nahoko Sato
Student / MBA Candidate
Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, Mo.
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The views expressed on this page are those of Exploring Innovation 2011 attendees and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas and Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System.