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Unlocking Tribal economic growth: Sara Barbour and Lauren Grattan on how the Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship is supporting self-determination

Unlocking Tribal economic growth: Sara Barbour and Lauren Grattan on how the Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship is supporting self-determination

Jan 16, 2025

In this conversation between Sara Barbour, the executive director of The Alliance CDFI—a Native community development financial institution chartered under the Yurok Tribe—and Lauren Grattan, the co-founder and chief community officer of Mission Driven Finance®, we explore how Tribal SSBCI funds and the Indigenous Futures Fund are unlocking opportunities in Native communities.

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Letters from Lauren: December 2024

Letters from Lauren: December 2024

Dec 19, 2024

Mission Driven Finance is entering a new era—we are at an exciting inflection point on the path to mobilizing $1 billion of assets into community and cannot wait to fill you in with more details in the new year.

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Care Access Real Estate® celebrates 20 homes for child care providers

Care Access Real Estate® celebrates 20 homes for child care providers

Dec 17, 2024

Care Access Real Estate® (CARE) has acquired its 20th property! This means 20 thoughtfully renovated child care hubs in neighborhoods, 20 houses for child care providers to live in with their families, 20 stable locations for women entrepreneurs to grow a child care business, and 244 more slots of quality child care.

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Asset Funders Network webinar: Investing in Home-Based Childcare Entrepreneurs to Stabilize Their Businesses, Expand Childcare, and Build Wealth Through Homeownership

Asset Funders Network webinar: Investing in Home-Based Childcare Entrepreneurs to Stabilize Their Businesses, Expand Childcare, and Build Wealth Through Homeownership

Nov 16, 2024

Asset Funders Network held a webinar about innovative work happening to address asset building for home-based childcare entrepreneurs. The panel explored main barriers these entrepreneurs are facing; ways groups are attempting to remove those barriers; policy opportunities to create systemic change; and ways philanthropy can be supportive.

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Letters from Lauren: October 2024

Letters from Lauren: October 2024

Oct 30, 2024

Launching an investment fund is expensive and time-consuming; especially for first-time fund managers who don’t come from communities where wealth has historically been concentrated. Inspired by our experiences bringing new funds to market and supporting aspiring managers, we devised a solution called MDF Capital Partners, designed to alleviate common fundraising challenges that impact funds and projects face, particularly gaps in proof, size, and timing.

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Letters from Lauren: July 2024

Letters from Lauren: July 2024

Jul 23, 2024

Our team has had the privilege of presenting at roughly 20 convenings this year on topics as varied as public-private investment, access to capital for small businesses, investing in Indigenous economic development, innovative legal structures to activate philanthropic capital, financing community climate infrastructure, and the future of the care economy. This is what co-creating an inclusive economy looks like!

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Letters from Lauren: April 2024

Letters from Lauren: April 2024

Apr 10, 2024

Across recent projects, our goal remains the same: Getting capital into the hands of social impact-minded businesses, nonprofits, and initiatives that don’t usually qualify for conventional capital. In other words—flowing capital where it doesn’t, but should.

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