Today @twitter is investing $100 million from our balance sheet in Black, Latinx and other underserved communities in the US, and we made it easy for other companies to do the same. Here’s how we did it - send this to the CFO and Treasurer at your company so you can join us!
We talked to many with similar goals, and are grateful for @Google, @Netflix, @PayPal, @Square, and others that have announced unique investments and inspired our journey. We talked to nonprofits, investors, banks, and regulators to explore how we could have impact at scale.
Quickly we realized it was harder to invest in underserved communities than it should be, and we decided we would take our time but would create a blueprint so others wouldn't meet the same challenges we did. Together we can have much more impact!
We learned about CDFIs: Community Development Financial Institutions... private entities that put money into projects that might have difficulty accessing capital, and operate in all 50 states. You can read more here. These are where we wanted our money to go to work.
We wanted a non-profit partner that knew the needs of a company (preservation of capital, controls, predictable return), had deep ties with foundations, and knew the institutions that would borrow our $ and put it to its best use. This was not an expertise we wanted to duplicate.
Enter Opportunity Finance Network, @oppfinance. They’re starting the Finance Justice Fund; we are the founding investor. Together we can put $1 billion into communities that need it most.
Together with OFN we created terms to ensure our money went to CDFIs and that OFN can support their work. Any company can apply to invest at our terms - $100M in the fund, a $1M grant, a $1M placement fee, and a small return on investment from interest on the loans from the fund.
To complement the Fund’s impact, we partnered with @OperationHope. They’re focused on financial dignity and inclusion, and through HOPE Inside have 150+ financial coaches in banks in underserved communities to help people navigate the services to which they need access.
We’re funding 5 more HOPE Inside coaching centers. This last part closes the loop, getting right to the people that should benefit from our $100 million investment.
Our capital can be recycled, much of our profit will be reinvested to further support these communities, and we are working with trusted partners that are experts at what they do so we can stick to our work @twitter!
I am proud to work at a purpose-driven company that stands by the communities it serves and uses its balance sheet to do good while still preserving capital. Encourage others to join us by passing this on or having your finance team reach out to us @twitter or directly to OFN.
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