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Thursday, September 12,2024
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Graustein Memorial Fund Partners with ConnCORP to Make Landmark Changes to Philanthropy: $10M Economic Funding to Lead in Equity-Centered Development
New Haven, CT (September 12, 2024) - In a landmark move reshaping traditional philanthropic investment models, ConnCORP has received a groundbreaking $10 million mission investment from the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund into ConnCAT Place on Dixwell.
“There’s a very real tension between traditional investing, which seeks to maximize returns – sometimes at all costs – and protecting the good of the community,” said Sheena Strawter-Anthony, Director of Impact Investment Strategy for the Memorial Fund. “While prudence demands that we preserve our endowment for future giving by making sound investments – including this one – we were very intentional about structuring this loan in a way that avoids extracting from the Dixwell community.”
The investment, which was agreed upon at the start of the year, is in the form of a series of loans that will follow a ladder structure of repayments with different maturities and interest payments over 15 years. These coincide with ConnCORP’s cash flow projections in a way that is most supportive of the development’s long-term viability.
The ConnCAT Place on Dixwell project aims to create a dynamic hub for education, arts, entrepreneurship, and community engagement in the heart of New Haven’s Dixwell neighborhood and the agreement is part of the Memorial Fund’s commitment to directing its investments toward mission-aligned opportunities, rather than traditional, systematic methods of wealth accumulation that consider only financial return.
Faced with barriers when seeking funding for this project including the pervasive perceived risk of investing in BIPOC-led entities, ConnCORP attributes the success of this partnership to mission alignment and a deep relationship fueled by moral clarity.
“No doubt this deal owes its success as much to stubborn, good faith mutual commitment to see past false obstacles as it does to financial acumen,” said Erik Clemons, CEO of ConnCORP. “What we hope we’ve shown is that investing prudently and ethically in Black-led community organizations can be done. You just have to have the will to see it through.”
The Memorial Fund and ConnCORP plan to share the details of this strategic partnership with other philanthropic foundations seeking to align their endowment investments to the same standards and impact as that of their grantmaking.
“We are excited and honored to partner with ConnCORP and the Dixwell Community in the economic and social revitalization of the neighborhood,” said Bill Graustein, a trustee of the Memorial Fund. “We also hope that this investment provides both inspiration and a roadmap for other foundations to align their endowments with their mission.”
ABOUT THE CONNECTICUT COMMUNITY OUTREACH REVITALIZATION PROJECT
ConnCORP seeks to drive economic development in the Dixwell and Newhallville sections of New Haven by investing in local commercial and residential real estate. The objective is to deliver well-planned multi-use real estate investment, which can help stabilize the local economy, provide affordable goods and services, and create local jobs.
ABOUT THE WILLIAM CASPER GRAUSTEIN MEMORIAL FUND
The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is dedicated to achieving equity in education by working with those affected and inspiring all to end racism and poverty. The Fund envisions education systems throughout Connecticut that are just, respect, value, and equip everyone to build thriving, liberated, and equitable communities. The mission of the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund is to achieve equity in education by working with those affected and inspiring all to end racism and poverty.
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