SDG #1: No Poverty. Capital Good Fund is working to eliminate poverty by disbursing financial tools and technical assistance to individuals who use those in life-changing ways. Andy Posner, Sherlie Martinez and Jay Lipman help Liz and Steve describe the challenges of eliminating poverty and the importance of doing so. Covid-19 threatens to drag 40 million to 60 million people back into poverty after decades of declining rates, making this mission more important than ever. Helping individuals and communities emerge from extreme poverty requires solutions that attack the problem from many angles. Impact investing is a tool that's unlocking human potential and creating pathways out of poverty
In this episode you'll hear about:
• How poverty can't be overcome without addressing dire environmental and economic situations in comunities.
• Ways the pandemic has exacerbated extreme poverty.
• What it takes to create upward mobility.
• Andy Posner describes how small personal loans and financial coaching from Capital Good Fund are helping individuals escape poverty in 12 states.
• Describes range of ESG investing strategies from exclusionary stock picking to shareholder activism.
Related story: Using this philanthropic giving tool for impact investing
United Nations SDG #1 Information
Guest bios:
Andy Posner is founder and CEO of Capital Good Fund and he believes equitable financial services can unlock the potential of the poor. He started the fund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2009 to use financial tools like loans and education to target endemic poverty — first in Rhode Island, then around the rest of the nation.
Jay Lipman is CEO of Ethic, a tech-driven asset management firm he created in 2015 to simplify and popularize the creation of sustainable investment portfolios. Ethic builds separately managed accounts that are optimized to track the market, align with a client’s investment allocation and outperform chosen sustainability criteria. Lipman’s firm also guides clients in developing a personal mission statement.
Sherlie Martinez of Providence, Rhode Island, is a client of the Capital Good Fund.
Urban Institute paper on 2021 Poverty Projections
S&P Global Market Intelligence ESG Fund Performance
Stern NYU: ESG and Financial Performance