Greater Green Bay Community Foundation launches Impact Investing Fund

Housing investment initiates a cycle of returns for continuous impact

High school students in the Bridges Construction and Renovation program earn college credit and gain hands-on experience building a home in partnership with NeighborWorks Green Bay, with support from community investors.

High school students in the Bridges Construction and Renovation program earn college credit and gain hands-on experience building a home in partnership with NeighborWorks Green Bay, with support from the Impact Investing Fund and other community investors. (Image Courtesy NeighborWorks Green Bay)

October 9, 2024 – The Greater Green Bay Community Foundation is breaking new ground with an investment in affordable housing through its new Impact Investing program. The first of its kind in Northeast Wisconsin, the initial investment supports the construction of a home at 929 N. Broadway in Green Bay in partnership with NeighborWorks Green Bay. The initiative not only addresses housing needs but will launch a sustainable cycle of community reinvestment, with returns fueling future community projects.

Impact investments generate both financial returns and social benefits, serving as a powerful addition to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation’s philanthropic toolbox alongside traditional grants. By using philanthropic dollars as impact investments, the returns can be reinvested into future initiatives, amplifying their long-term impact. In collaboration with Forward Community Investments, a Wisconsin based and focused Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Community Foundation will help bring projects to life when they may not fit conventional investment criteria.

The Community Foundation’s investments will focus on generating positive social impact in four intersecting areas – creating more affordable housing, improving access to quality healthcare, building educational pathways, and opening economic opportunities to meet the community’s evolving needs.

“Impact investing plays an indispensable role in making important projects possible. By improving access to needed capital the Foundation and its donors will have new opportunities to address critical needs,” said Dennis Buehler, President and CEO. “This is a testament to our community’s continued collaboration and innovative approach to creating solutions.”

NeighborWorks Green Bay partners with Green Bay Area Public Schools, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and local trades organizations through the Bridges Construction and Renovation Program, to give local high school students hands-on experience in homebuilding. The home that is being built with support from the Impact Investing Fund will be the 16th built or renovated by the program and NeighborWorks Green Bay’s 464th home.

“Through our work to develop and provide housing we see significant opportunities to leverage philanthropy,” said Noel Halvorsen, President & CEO of NeighborWorks Green Bay. “Impact Investment, where foundations and other donors can lend to charities for an economic return while directly effecting change in the community, represents a fundamental change in the community’s tool chest. We’re excited to be the first borrower under this program.”

Other partners in the construction at 929 N. Broadway include the City of Green Bay and GLC Minerals.

For more information about Impact Investment opportunities or to contribute to the Impact Investment Fund, visit ggbcf.org/impact-investing.

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