NEW YORK– Inclusiv, the national network of community development credit unions, has launched the Inclusiv Impact Deposits Fund to raise and deploy $100 million of social impact deposits in CDCUs to “grow and deepen their impact in historically redlined and other excluded communities.”
Inclusiv launched the new initiative during its annual conference here, where some of the early investors were on hand, including the Kataly Foundation and Bank of America. The organization said $84 million has been committed to date.
“Inclusiv will use the Impact Deposits Fund to demonstrate the opportunity for social impact investors, corporations and philanthropy to deploy deposits through its social impact deposit platform,” Inclusiv said.
The Fund will provide needed liquidity to credit unions working to meet their communities’ credit needs on terms designed to support mission-driven, affordable lending in historically redlined and under-resourced communities, Inclusiv added.
“The Inclusiv Impact Deposits Fund builds upon Inclusiv’s experience - now five decades long - of channeling investment to communities that have historically experienced under- and disinvestment,” President and CEO Cathie Mahon said in a statement. “We are thrilled to commemorate our 50 years of history with this partnership with the Kataly Foundation, Bank of America, and other investors as we look forward to building prosperity and opportunities through meaningful investments in CDCUs that are advancing financial inclusion and equity in their communities.”
‘Key Vehicle’
Added Lynne Hoey, chief investment officer with the Kataly Foundation, "The Kataly Foundation is proud to invest $65 million with Inclusiv into social impact deposits. Given Inclusiv’s extensive and long-standing relationship with so many credit unions and cooperatives that serve our communities, we saw this fund as a key vehicle to invest 25% of Kataly’s unrestricted reserve. By placing funds at an interest rate of 65 basis points, we acknowledge how investment practices extract from Black and Indigenous communities and all communities of color and seek to do better. Because we recognize that climate justice, economic justice, and social justice are intertwined, we appreciate Inclusiv for directing us to those credit unions doing work at the intersection of these issues."