The status quo is stupid, expensive and unfair. 

That’s the first line of David Erickson’s book, “The Fifth Freedom,” which makes the case for good schools, well-funded libraries, safe streets and public spaces, quality health care, spiritual refuges and accessible transportation to help kids and communities thrive.

Erickson joins David Bank on this episode of Agents of Impact. His team at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have turned such ideas into Making Missing Markets, an initiative to connect the builders of health, wealth and vibrant communities with the “buyers,” including hospitals,  insurers and corporations as well as government agencies, such as Medicaid. He says such collaborations could finance “upstream” interventions that deliver such outcomes at far lower cost than downstream remediation.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Highlights from this week’s Agents of Impact Call on Shaping the Algorithm for good AI; how regional housing finance agencies in California are leveraging public funding to crowd private capital into affordable housing (12:20); and the emergence of local guarantee facilities for local investors in infrastructure in Africa and Asia (17:20).

Story links:

• Call roundup
• “Building regional engines for affordable housing in California,” by Andrew Fremier, Ryan Johnson and Cody Petterson
• “Local guarantees for local investors in infrastructure projects in Africa and Asia,” by Lucy Ngige

Dimitry Gershenson and Erin Davis of Enduring Planet join David Bank to discuss how their working capital loans help early-stage climate startups meet the milestones need to unlock other financing – and pay them back. They discuss the current state of climate tech, technology-enabled lending, catalytic guarantees and even corporate beekeeping.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with Jessica Pothering, Dennis Price and Roodgally Senatus. Up this week: Jessica reports from Cape Town on how Africa’s mining industry is leveraging global demand for critical minerals; Dennis shares takeaways from his panel at the Urban Institute on what’s next for place-based investing (12:15); and, Roody reports from Philadelphia on Kensington residents are fostering neighborhood revival without gentrification and displacement (20:15).

Story links:

• "Demand for critical minerals creates new opportunities to put Africa first," by Jessica Pothering
• Dennis' Urban Institute panel.
• "In Philadelphia, Kensington Corridor Trust demonstrates a neighborhood-led model of revival without displacement,” by Roodgally Senatus

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: How patient capital built India’s booming affordable home lending market; Nippon Life Insurance’s step-up to system-level investing in Japan (07:15); and, the push and pull behind growing interest in climate adaptation (13:20).

Story links:

• "Key to India’s booming affordable home lending market: Patient capital," by Shefali Anand
• “With 'people x planet', Nippon Life Insurance steps up to system-level investing,” by Erik Stein.
• “Rising risks and returns on resilience are the push and pull for climate adaptation,” by David Bank.

SHIFT Capital, Aedera Companies and Lafayette Square are teaming up to bet on some of the most overlooked corners of the US housing market: Federally subsidized housing in mid-sized cities and rural communities on the east coast, and in the rust belt and midwest.

SHIFT's Brian Murray and Aedera's Alison Carey join David Bank to discuss their new fund's strategy of preserving, and improving, affordable housing in underserved markets.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: How some LPs are going ‘beyond the check’ to help their GP impact managers survive the fundraising drought; enabling US retail investors to back solar projects in Africa and Latin America (8:05); and, at “He for She,” recognizing men who champion women in asset management (13:40).

Check out this week's stories:

• “Ten ways LPs are going ‘beyond the check’ to help impact managers survive the fundraising drought,” by Erik Stein.
• “Solar projects in Africa and Latin America pay dividends to US retail investors,” by Lucy Ngige.
• Listen to "Women Changing Finance"

The lyrics to Kat Taylor's re-write of "The Times They Are A-Changin'":

Come gather around people wherever you roam
and admit that the dangers around you have grown
and accept it that soon you'll be cut to the bone
if your time isn't spent saving,
we better start swimming or we'll sink like a storm
for the times they are changin'.
Investments they come and investments they go
without purpose of fixing the mean status quo
until voices left out become voices we know
at the ballot the lectern on Wall Street's beggars row
take back your impact through your almighty toll
For investors, they are changin'.
Come Senators, Congressmen, please heed the call.
Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall.
For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled.
But that outside it is raging
will soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
for the times they are changin'.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: Highlights from this week's star-studded call on the real returns of impact-first managers; why some investors are raising permanent capital to keep affordable housing affordable, permanently (10:00); and, how Lendable is showing that asset-backed financing in emerging markets can have institutional appeal (17:10).

Story links:

• "These fund managers are finding novel solutions by seeking impact first," by David Bank, Dennis Price and Isaac Silk
• "Raising permanent capital to keep housing affordable, permanently," by Roodgally Senatus and David Bank
• "Lendable returns to asset-backed lending for the green transition," by Jessica Pothering and David Bank
  

Former New York City Deputy Mayor and Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group head Alicia Glen joins David Bank to unpack how MSquared is using private capital to tackle America’s affordable housing crisis.

Glen shares why mixed-income, mixed-use projects are better for investors and communities, how tools like tax credits and land use policy make the numbers work, and why transit-oriented, green buildings and diverse developers are central to her thesis.

Host Brian Walsh takes up ImpactAlpha’s top stories with editor David Bank. Up this week: In an impact fundraising drought, novel strategies and private credit stand out and, yes, size matters. Joseph Blasi's strategy to give workers a stake in AI’s upside through state and federal ‘permanent funds’ (10:45). And, the social-impact of popular movies and television (17:00).

• “In impact fundraising drought, novel strategies and private credit stand out and, yes, size matters,” by Jessica Pothering and Lucy Ngige.

• “Joseph Blasi: Give workers a stake in AI’s upside through state and federal ‘permanent funds',” by Roodgally Senatus and Amy Cortese.

• “Making, and measuring, a family dinner as an impact investment,” by Dmitriy Ioselevich.

Watch the Nonnas trailer.

BTNewsroom story on Roosevelt High School walkout