RSF Social Finance Monthly - August 2011

New Loan Activity

July was a busy month for our Core Lending program. We are pleased to welcome two new borrowers to the RSF Community - Estancia Beef and the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh. Follow the links below to read more in the RSF newsroom.   Estancia Beef
Waldorf School of Pittsburgh   Global Impact Rating System for Companies & Funds Now Available! B Lab publicly launched the Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS) for Companies & Funds, a project to drive capital to social enterprises here and the world over. Starting today, any fund or company can receive a rating of its environmental and social performance from GIIRS. To learn more about GIIRS check out this HuffPost article or visit the GIIRS website.   New Benchmarks of Fiduciary Practice Both the legal and financial responsibilities lend themselves to this constrictive interpretation, especially when acted on as separate from, or without full consideration of, the broader umbrella of an organization’s mission, purpose, and espoused values. The purpose of this essay is to recast the fiduciary function in the context of this broad umbrella and reframe how an organization practices its values in all its decisions and actions...Read the full post on the Reimagine Money blog.
Public School to Open in East Oakland, Inspired by Waldorf Education The Community School for Creative Education will open in the East Oakland, CA, in September 2011.  It will be the first multi-lingual Waldorf-inspired, non-profit, urban public school in the nation...Read more in the RSF newsroom.   RSF Borrower Nutiva Featured on Forbes.com An RSF borrower since 2007, Nutiva is thriving in its work to produce high quality organic "superfoods", and a recent interview featured on Forbes.com spotlights how the company has been shaking up the food wolrd and challenging "industry Goliaths". Founder and CEO John Roulac discusses social media, branding, and what's behind Nutiva's robust annual growth rate. Specializing in coconut oil, hemp and chia, Nutiva has made quiate a name for itself in the consumer packaged goods industry. We're happy to see their success and enjoyed reading about the creative tactics they've used:

http://blogs.forbes.com/marketshare/2011/07/20/organic-packaged-foods-brand-takes-on-industry-goliaths/

  RSF Borrower Workforce Inc. Granted $5.5M from the US Department of Labor This grant was authorized by the 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act, a measure supported by Andre Carson, the Congressman representing Indianapolis.  Eighty organizations across the country applied for funds, and Workforce was one of seven ultimately selected...Read more in the RSF newsroom.   Building Lasting Relationships Through Social Finance With a strengthening brand, and the launch of a new canned maté line, the company’s sales have grown 25%, to $12 million in 2010. As Guayaki has matured as an organization, their financing needs have changed as well. We at RSF are pleased to continue this journey with them and recently closed a second loan to Guayaki, this time from the RSF Social Investment Fund. As a more established organization, Guayaki is now ready for senior debt and we are proud to provide them with a line of credit to support their continued path to success...Read the full post on the Reimagine Money blog.   RSF Seed Fund Grantee Provides Smart and Compassionate Delivery What does a sustainable city look like? That is the question B-Line has set about to answer for the city of Portland, Oregon. B-Line is a founding B-Corporation and seeks to rigorously measure not only financial success, but the social and environmental impact of their business activities. B-Line is a delivery company serving Portland’s downtown core with zero-emission vehicles.

The company’s B-share program, also leverages the sunken costs of their existing delivery routes to pick up and deliver surplus food to agencies providing food assistance at a cost of 50% or less than existing food assistance networks...Read the full post on the Reimagine Money blog.

Upcoming Events September 6 - SOCAP11 - San Francisco, CA
September 25 - Rudolf Steiner Festival - San Francisco, CA - Details to Come
October 2 - SRI in the Rockies - New Orleans, LA
October 10 - Opportunity Green - Los Angeles, CA
October 12 - Slow Money 2011 - San Francisco, CA
October 14 - Bioneers - San Rafael, CA
October 26 - Investors' Circle - Philadelphia, PA
October 27 - SVN Fall 2011 - Philadelphia, PA   RSF16004