Doing Well by Doing Good: Innovative Foundation Investments In Place-Based Smart Growth Development

Funders’ Network’s Real Estate Finance and Smart Growth Project announced its release of a new Working Paper. Doing Well by Doing Good: Innovative Foundation Investments In Place-Based Smart Growth Development explores ways foundations can get involved in financially supporting innovative real estate projects and provides six case studies of foundations that are actively engaging in real estate efforts that “do well by doing good.”

This Working Paper is the first of two papers that will be released by the Network to frame the issues and programs that are the focus of the project’s October 15th Real Estate Finance and Smart Growth meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information regarding this paper or the Albuquerque meeting, visit www.fundersnetwork.org.

Produced with the assistance of project partners, the Congress for the New Urbanism and Strategic Economics, the Working Paper summarizes current literature on the viability of financing mixed-use, walkable, mixed-income projects. The paper recommends that foundations look into investing principal in this type of real estate development, as the unique financial needs and rewards in these projects’ often match some foundations’ investment goals.

The Network’s Real Estate Finance and Smart Growth Project undertakes research and convenings to improve the understanding by foundation staff and partners of the realities of real estate markets, to develop strategies for reducing barriers to smart growth stemming from the financing sector, and to access needed leadership and expertise by expanding the involvement of foundation investment portfolio managers in this conversation.