Reinvestment Fund got some global props for its impact capital asset management

Reinvestment Fund, the Philly nonprofit that provides loans for local community development, just got some global recognition.

The community development finance institution, or CDFI, which operates in nine other states and D.C., was recently given the the “Asset Manager of the Year” award by the Global Social Impact Investment Steering Group (GSG), an international organization that oversees national advisory boards focused on impact investing.

.@Don_HB @reinvestfund wins #GSGHonors at #GSGsummit! @ImpactAlpha #impinv #socinn #socent #CDFI pic.twitter.com/aintLTZNiZ

— GSG Impact (@GSGImpact) July 10, 2017

Selected out of more than 150 total nominations from around the world, Reinvestment Fund was recognized primarily for its accomplishment this past May when it accessed the municipal bond market to raise $50 million, which was then used to provide loans to childcare centers, grocery stores, schools and more.

As the Philadelphia Inquirer reported in May, Reinvestment Fund was the second-ever CDFI to access such a public bond offering, after Local Initiatives Support Corporation, a New York-based CDFI.

Don Hinkle-Brown, CEO of Reinvestment Fund, was at GSG’s Impact Summit event in Chicago from July 9 to 12 to receive the award, where four other winners from around the world were recognized for their work opening access to capital for social impact.

Those winners, selected out of more than 150 nominations by a panel of judges led by Sir Ronald Cohen, chair of the GSG, were:

• Entrepreneur of the Year — Rajeev Kher, CEO and founder of 3S India
• Asset Owner of the Year — Christian Super, a small pension fund based in Australia
• Field Builders of the Year — Intellecap, a Mumbai-based firm that provides business solutions to social impact businesses; and Impact Investment Exchange, a Singapore-based facilitator of social impact investment capital

Since its founding in 1985, Reinvestment Fund has supported local childhood education and the like through its innovative funding practices. For instance, it lent more than $350 million in facility financing to K-12 education as well as $20 million to early childhood education as of last year.

And this global recognition for Reinvestment Fund moving toward making more nontraditional moves in this industry is something Hinkle-Brown is excited to see, as validation for the nonprofit’s work so far.

“It also recognizes our successful bond issuance as a pioneering effort in bridging the private bond markets to community development in low-income communities,” Hinkle-Brown said in an email. “We also appreciate that the global impact investing community shows with this award that CDFIs are central to domestic impact investing and home to innovations, which will scale the field.”