Capital for Good

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Nick Turner, the president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice, where he has spearheaded the organization's work over the last decade to end overcriminalization and mass incarceration in the United States. Turner is one of the nation's most visible and important leaders on criminal legal reform – and on a broader set of equity and justice issues.

We begin with some of the formative experiences that would shape Turner's lifelong commitment to justice, fairness, and understanding "how things work — or don't work — for people." The son of Black and Filipina parents, Turner grew up in Washington, DC, attended a Quaker school with a deep service ethos — and would return to Washington after college to work with court-involved, homeless, and disconnected young people at Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a youth services organization. After Sasha Bruce, Turner says he could never "unsee" the glaring underinvestment in that community and in the potential of its young people — and would go on to pursue a career focused on the structural changes necessary to address these inequities.

We discuss the complex issue of mass incarceration; the politics of fear that drive excessive policing, charging, and sentencing; the criminalization of poverty; and the deeply racial disparities and underpinnings of a legal and carceral system that would grow 700 percent between 1972 and 2009, when 2.5 million people in the United States were behind bars and half of all American families have had an immediate family member incarcerated. Turner reminds us, and the data show, that incarceration in the United States is often counterproductive. The severe disruptions and trauma that come with time behind bars can lead to a vicious cycle of instability, poverty, crime, and reincarceration. Although we have made significant progress — the number of people incarcerated is down 25 percent from 2009 — we find ourselves again in a moment when fears about crime and public safety have dampened support for important and evidenced-based criminal justice reforms.

In addition to some of the better known and proven reforms (i.e., those related to bail and sentencing), Turner describes alternatives to conventional policing and incarceration — responding to mental health, housing, or substance use crises with trained specialists instead of police, community violence intervention programs — that reduce crime, deliver safety and accountability, and help shrink the jail and prison populations. We also touch on important rehabilitative efforts to improve conditions behind bars (such as education and restorative housing pilots) and ways the private sector — through changes to hiring and housing policies — can improve opportunities for people to be successful once they are released.

Turner notes that despite the polarizing politics of public safety, most Americans are now "smarter" about the harmful costs of mass incarceration — younger generations particularly so — and support change. "It is possible to have public safety and justice," he says. "People want safety, they also want solutions."

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Mentioned in this episode

• Ending Mass Incarceration, (Vera Institute of Justice)
• The Prison Paradox: More Incarceration Will Not Make Us Safer, (Vera Institute of Justice)
• Nearly Half of Americans Have Had a Family Member Jailed, Imprisoned, (Cornell University, 2019)

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Andrea Jung, the president and CEO of Grameen America, the fastest growing microfinance organization in the United States. Jung is the former chairman and CEO of Avon Products Inc, where she was the longest serving female CEO in the Fortune 500, and a stalwart champion of women's economic empowerment in the United States and across the globe. Jung has been widely recognized as one of the most influential women in business, and in forging public-private partnerships that end violence against women, support women's health, and vastly expand economic inclusion. Since 2014, under Jung's leadership, Grameen America has expanded to serve more than 179,000 women in 25 cities across the United States, with plans to continue to increase the organization's impact over the next decade.

Over the course of this conversation, Jung explains how a multi-decade career at Avon, where she began in a mid-level marketing role and would serve as the first woman CEO from 1999 through 2012 (and chairman from 2001 to 2012), was inspired and shaped by the company's longstanding mission to empower women via a pathway to economic independence and equal opportunity. Jung explains that by giving Avon "ladies," the company's direct to consumer sales force, personal earning power, it allows them to change the lives of their families and communities. Founded in 1886 — more than thirty years before women's suffrage in the United States — Avon's commitment to women's economic empowerment has been the foundational DNA of the company, linking its purpose and commercial success. As CEO, Jung was responsible for significant global growth, expanding economic earnings (approximately $3 billion) and opportunities for over six million women in more than 100 countries.

Jung explains how this experience in women's economic empowerment at Avon naturally led her to Grameen America. Founded by Muhammad Yunus, the economist and Nobel Laureate who pioneered microlending in Bangladesh, Grameen America sought to extend this model to the United States. Today, Grameen America's 179,000 members, primarily Black and Latina women with 99.8 percent repayment rates on $3.5 billion in loans to date, have proven the case. Through a combination of new partnerships, technological innovations and a greater visibility of the success of its financial inclusion model — to new borrowers, policy makers, and donors and lenders — Grameen America is poised for "breakout" growth and scale.

Thanks for Listening!

Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• Impact Report (Grameen America)
• MDRC Evaluation of Grameen America Microfinance Model (Grameen America, March 2022)
• "Women are Limitless: Unlocking the Financial Power of Future Leaders," (Grameen America Annual Report, 2022)

We find ourselves at a moment of great challenge – and opportunity. In this season of Capital for Good, we'll explore how the world's political, economic, and climate crises have compelled us to reimagine how leaders across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors champion social and environmental change in ways that truly advance shared prosperity and a sustainable future. This season host Georgia Levenson Keohane will speak with a dynamic line-up of leaders, including business and nonprofit leader Andrea Jung, the former CEO of Avon and current president and CEO of Grameen America; Nick Turner, the president of the Vera Institute of Justice; Pulitzer prize winner, New York Times writer, and author David Leonhardt; Sonal Shah, the CEO of the Texas Tribune; political strategist and arts and civic leader Luis Miranda; corporate and sustainability pioneer Audrey Choi; Shaun Donovan, government leader and current Enterprise Community Partners CEO; and Suzanne Nossel, CEO of PEN America, the leading human rights and free expression organization; and more!

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Scott Rechler, the chairman and CEO of RXR, a leading real estate owner, investor, operator, and developer committed to building socially, economically, and environmentally responsible communities.

In this conversation, Rechler draws on his extensive business and civic leadership experience to assess the state of New York's recovery from the pandemic. In addition to running one of the region's largest real estate development and infrastructure firms, he also serves or has served on the boards of the Port Authority, the MTA, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Regional Plan Association, and played various roles in helping to rebuild lower Manhattan in the wake of the September 11 attacks. These different vantage points inform Rechler's view that we have entered a "great recalibration." Our recovery, he notes, has occurred faster than we would have expected in the depths of the pandemic: "the most important barometer of the health of our city is the talent, the people," he says, "and we've seen an incredible rebound." At the same time, he cautions that the public, private, and nonprofit sectors still need to adjust to the significant structural changes that have occurred in how and where people live and work — and what this means for our commercial corridors, residential communities, the infrastructure that connects and supports them, and "sustainable, equitable growth" going forward.

We also discuss what responsible business looks like in the context of real estate. Rechler explains that his firm's motto, "doing good and doing well means doing better," is about building more sustainable, socially responsible, and equitable communities. In addition to a focus on clean energy and decarbonization goals, RXR forges partnerships with local government, civic, religious, and labor organizations, and small businesses as part of every business plan and project.

We end with a discussion of New York's future. Gone are the days of "winners and losers" and "city versus suburb," Rechler says. New York's status as a "superstar city," depends on a healthy and symbiotic relationship with a "superstar region."

Thanks for listening! Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• RXR ESG Report
• "Signs of Progress: NYC's Economic Recovery," (Partnership for New York City, 2022)
• Recalibrate Reality With Scott Rechler

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Liz Luckett, the managing partner of The Social Entrepreneurs' Fund, and a co-founder of Maycomb Capital. A pioneer impact investor who has blazed the trail, and set a very high bar, for the billions of dollars and many new entrants to the field, Luckett shows us how to build a world with greater access, opportunity, and shared prosperity.

In this conversation, Luckett describes how a career as an entrepreneur — building and growing several businesses around predictive modeling and analytics — and a deep commitment to solving problems, particularly for the underserved, led to the creation of The Social Entrepreneurs' Fund (TSEF). Now on its third fund, TSEF has shown that investing in companies that put the needs of low- to moderate-income Americans first is more than a moral imperative — it's a compelling business opportunity. Today, TSEF invests in fintech, health care, and the future of work, and Luckett tells us about several compelling enterprises: fintech companies focused on financial health and well-being that make consumer finance more transparent, easy to use, and responsible; and health care companies that improve health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities, while also reducing costs for overburdened health systems. Cushion, for example, has automated negotiation of overdraft fees — a $9 billion business for large banks — and is now working on a product that would help people smooth and manage their bills to avoid future fees; Petal uses historical payment information to extend credit, upending the traditional credit score model; Finhabits helps build wealth through retirement savings, small business 401k, and access to health insurance. Targeting health, and the social determinants of health, Findhelp is an online platform that enables care coordinators to connect individuals with the social services they need; Clínicas del Azúcar, one of TSEF's first investments, has reinvented low-cost diabetes care in Mexico, and will soon be moving into US markets. Luckett also speaks about why venture is the right asset class for impact, as its illiquidity and long-time horizon allows entrepreneurs to hone their models over time — particularly when it comes to keeping costs down and access high, preserving the "humanity" of products and services while bringing them to scale.

Thanks for listening! Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• The Social Entrepreneurs Fund
• TSEF on the Future of Consumer Finance
• "Small Data for Big Impact," Liz Luckett (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2018)
• Cushion
• Petal
• Finhabits
• Findhelp
• Clínicas del Azúcar

In this episode of Capital for Good, we speak with Samantha Tweedy, the inaugural president of the Black Economic Alliance Foundation, the nation's leading organization harnessing the collective expertise and influence of Black business leaders and allies to build generational wealth and economic prosperity for the Black community. Tweedy has spent her career building and leading transformative racial and economic justice initiatives at the intersection of the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, showing how equitable and inclusive growth creates a more prosperous country, and future, for all Americans.

In this conversation, Tweedy begins with personal history, explaining how her commitment to issues of equity and justice — for using the opportunities afforded her to create opportunities for others — comes via "osmosis," as she follows in the footsteps of grandparent trailblazers in the fight for civil rights and racial and economic justice. Tweedy describes how her early career in educational equity and access, as a litigator and school leader, gave her a deeper understanding of structural and multigenerational disparities. At the Robin Hood Foundation, she saw many uncomfortable but important truths in the data: the persistent black and white wealth gap in communities Robin Hood served and the fact that, despite increases in overall philanthropy, only 10 percent went to organizations led by people of color trying to solve problems of poverty racial and economic disparity in the first place. Accordingly, Tweedy launched Robin Hood's nearly $20 million Power Fund to invest in and elevate nonprofit leaders of color focused on increasing mobility from poverty and addressing specifically, through the expertise and understanding of proximity and lived experience, the interplay of racial and economic injustice through their work. In many ways, this effort connects directly to the Foundation Tweedy is building and leading at the Black Economic Alliance — an organization committed to driving progress for the Black community, with a particular focus on improving economic outcomes in work, wages, and wealth. Only a few months into her new role, Tweedy is directing a range of policy, advocacy, and business and government engagement initiatives. She walks us through a few of these, including the new Center for Black Entrepreneurship, a partnership with Spelman and Morehouse Colleges, and the Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund.

Thanks for listening!Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• "Racial Equity and Philanthropy: Disparities in Funding for Leaders of Color Leave Impact on the Table," Cheryl Dorsey, Jeff Bradach, and Peter Kim (The Bridgespan Group and Echoing Green Report, 2020)
• The Power Fund
• Black Economic Alliance
• Black Economic Alliance Foundation
• Center for Black Entrepreneurship
• Black Economic Alliance Entrepreneurs Fund

In this episode of Capital for Good, we speak with Stephen Grimaldi, the executive director of New York Common Pantry, and John MacDonald and Scott Crawford, the chief marketing and chief merchandising officers of FreshDirect, about the extraordinary partnership these two organizations forged in the height of the pandemic.

In this conversation, we learn how New York Common Pantry — founded in 1980 to reduce hunger, and promote dignity, health and self-sufficiency — and FreshDirect — a pioneer of online grocery — came together in a moment of crisis. In the early days of the pandemic, both organizations faced a surge in demand. In the case of FreshDirect, this came from the millions of New Yorkers who looked to online shopping and delivery for nourishment. For NYCP, food insecurity doubled early on in the pandemic, just when the Pantry's volunteer base could no longer pack or serve meals. Building off an initial relationship between the organizations' leaders, FreshDirect provided support in numerous forms, including sourcing, packing, and delivering food, marketing, events, and perhaps most "transformational," according to Grimaldi: an easy way for grocery shoppers to donate directly to Common Pantry. With New York Common Pantry donations listed as a product SKU on the FreshDirect website, the online grocer's customers have contributed more than $4 million dollars, which equates to more than 3 million meals, since the start of the pandemic. According to MacDonald and Crawford, the collaboration has been a "shining star" for the company internally. They also believe that by making community engagement easy for their customers, the partnership has reinforced loyalty to a brand and company with deep stakeholder commitment. We end with a discussion of the partnership going forward — and as a potential model for others.

Thanks for listening!Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• New York Common Pantry-FreshDirect Partnership featured on CBS News, (2020)
• New York Common Pantry as FreshDirect product SKU
• "FreshDirect and NY Common Pantry Reimagine the Pantry Model with Launch of New Mobile Pantry," (Bronx Times, 2021)

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Donnel Baird '13, one of the country's most innovative entrepreneurs leading our transition to a low carbon and more inclusive economy. Baird is the founder and CEO of BlocPower, a clean tech startup based in New York City that develops portfolios of clean energy retrofit opportunities in underserved communities and connects those opportunities to investors seeking social, environmental, and financial returns.

In this conversation, we discuss the early days of BlocPower and Baird's decision to seek financial backing from mainstream investors who believe squarely in the commercial model of greening urban real estate, rather than from so-called impact investors. Baird notes that although his investors, who now include Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund, Goldman Sachs, Prosperity Capital, Apple, Andressen Horowitz, Kapor Capital, and others, appreciate the social and environmental benefits that BlocPower creates — decarbonizing buildings in low-income communities reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improve health, and creates jobs — it's the commercial power of the model that will bring it to scale. Baird says "There are 125 million buildings in the United States; they account for 30 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions. If you can figure out how to decarbonize a building and move a building entirely off fossil fuels, then you can do all of the buildings on a city block, and if you can decarbonize all of the buildings on one city block, then you can decarbonize all the buildings in a city." BlocPower is partnering with Ithaca, New York, the first city in the world to commit to green all its buildings by 2030, to decarbonize its full real estate stock. BlocPower has several other cities in the pipeline and ultimately intends to open source its approach; to become a "decarbonization platform" to supply the data, workforce, project finance, and model for others to follow suit.

Thanks for listening!Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• "Making Buildings Green May Take a Chunk Out of Climate Change," Soujourner Elleby (Bloomberg, 2022)
• BlocPower Is Turning Every Home Into the Equivalent of a Tesla, Ainsley Harris (Fast Company, 2022)
• Green Banks Target the Funding Gap for New York Energy Startups, Lee Harris (Financial Times, 2021)
• This US City Just Voted to Decarbonize Every Single Building, Tik Rook (Washington Post, 2021)
• Brooklyn-based Clean Tech Startup Bringing Rooftop WiFi to 100,000 Bronx Residents, Sharon Udasin (The Hill, 2021)
• Block by Block, He Aims to Fight Injustice and Save the Planet, Sarah Kaplan (Washington Post, 2021)

In this episode of Capital for Good, we speak with Jonathan Soros, chief executive officer of JS Capital Management LLC and co‐founder of Athletes Unlimited, a new model of professional sports and a reimagination of the way business can — and should — show up in the world. In this wide-ranging conversation, Soros explains how his lifelong commitment to public policy and public interest work — with experience in government, politics, the nonprofit sector, and finance — has led to the launch of Athletes Unlimited, a reimagination of a professional sports company and a new approach to social enterprise. We discuss the state of impact investing and the advances of innovations like public benefit corporations and the limits to scale and impact that motivated Soros to experiment with "mission equity," the novel capital structure at the heart of Athletes Unlimited. We learn about the rapid growth of this new company —premised on the business case for investing in female athletes and sports — and showcasing a range of responsible and player-led business practices, such as athlete participation in governance and ownership, an enlightened approach to employee health and well-being, racial equity, climate change, and the championing of athlete and fan civic engagement and leadership off the field. We also explore how this business model could be expanded to any number of companies and sectors. Thanks for listening!Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected]. Mentioned in this Episode · "Unpacking the Impact in Impact Investing," Paul Brest and Kelly Born (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2013) · "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase its Profits," Milton Friedman (New York Times Magazine, 1970) · "The Friedman Doctrine Revisited," Jonathan Soros (Democracy, 2020) · B Lab, B Corps, and Public Benefit Corporations · Public Benefit Corporation Report (Athletes Unlimited, 2022) · "Women's Basketball Players Get a New Lifeline, Close to Home," Tamryn Spruill (New York Times, 2022) · "Athletes Unlimited Is Bringing Women Athletes – and Couples – Together," Aimee Crawford (Sports Illustrated, 2022) · "Athletes Unlimited Set to Operate First Carbon-neutral Pro Sports Leagues in the US Via Massive New Deal," Meredith Cash (Business Insider, 2021) · "What if Pro Sports Leagues Were Controlled by Their Players," Louisa Thomas (The New Yorker, 2021) · "A New Way to Scale Social Enterprise," Jonathan Soros (Harvard Business Review, 2021) · "New Pro Sports Venture Puts Women's Sports in the Players' Hands," Talya Minsberg (New York Times, 2020)

In this episode of Capital for Good we speak with Kathryn Wylde, one of New York and the country's preeminent leaders when it comes to robust, cross sector partnerships. As president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, New York's leading business organization, Wylde has been a key liaison between the city's public and private sectors in the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery.

In this wide-ranging conversation, we begin with Wylde's early career in community and economic development and revitalization in Brooklyn. We learn about the first days of the Partnership for New York City, founded in 1981 by David Rockefeller, as an effort to enlist the business community to help rebuild neighborhoods across New York. Wylde, who has lived and worked through numerous crises in the city's history, notes that some of the challenges of the pandemic recall the 1970s fiscal crisis — in that in both eras, crises accelerated significant secular trends already under way. In the 1970s, it was a tumultuous shift from manufacturing to a service based economy; in the last two years, we have seen a rapid acceleration in our transition to a technology-based and digital economy. Wylde explains that because the economic impacts of the pandemic, particularly job loss, have been highly concentrated in industries like tourism and hospitality, retail, restaurants, or other small businesses, we will need to ensure that New Yorkers have the digital economy skills demanded by today's job market. "If we're going to stay a global center of talent, which is what we have to do in order to keep headquarters, companies and jobs and business here, we're going to have to upskill our workforce, and that's a big investment, it's a top priority," she tells us. We also discuss other areas of public-private collaboration, including health, education, transportation, and public safety. Wylde ends with a positive and hopeful outlook on the city: "I'm very enthusiastic about the future of New York," she says.

Thanks for listening!Subscribe to Capital for Good on Apple, Amazon, Google, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in this Episode

• Office of the New York City Mayor, Rebuild, Renew, Reinvent: a Blueprint for New York City's Economic Recovery (2022)
• Partnership for New York City, Return to Office Survey Results (2022)
• Partnership for New York City, Signs of Progress: NYC's Economic Recovery (2022)
• Partnership for New York City, A Call for Action and Collaboration (2020)
• Partnership for New York City, Survey: COVID-19 Impact (2020)