text: Neighborhood Funders Group and PRI Makers Network present Program Related Investments as a Bridge to the Capital Markets Panel Discussion Program-Related Investments (PRI) Conference January 19, 2006 Stanford University Palo Alto, California Facilitator: Jacqueline Khor, Associate Director, Program Venture Investments, The Rockefeller Foundation Panelists: Jed Emerson, Senior Fellow, Generation Foundation Frank Altman, President and CEO, Community Reinvestment Fund Shari Berenbach, Executive Director, Calvert Foundation Jackie Khor: Hello, everybody. This panel is entitled ―Program Related Investments as a Bridge to the Capital Markets.‖ The common themes that we are going to be reiterating in this panel are personified in the panel participants this afternoon: innovation, leverage and scale. And more specifically, how do program-related investments create systemic change by a leveraging or bridging to capitalism, actually, potentially. Here are examples of the types of products, the types of institutions that currently exist. They have a track record that either have scale or have the potential to create significant scale in terms of, not only aggregating investment dollars and putting them to work in underserved areas, in this country and globally. But also in terms of potential social outcomes in terms of improving access to jobs, improving access to affordable housing, improving access to credit. Let me first begin by introducing the panelists as they will appear. The first is a former local guy, Jed Emerson, and I'm sure that many of you know him. He was a former fellow here at Stanford, and also at the Hewlett Foundation. He was a co-founder of the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund. Before that, he was an Executive Director of the Larkin Street Youth Center. He is currently a senior fellow with Generation Investment Management in London. He was twice elected by the Non-Profit Times as one of the 50 most influential people. Needless to say, he's a thought leader in the sphere of blended-value investing. And then after Jed, Frank Altman is the President and CEO of the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF). Frank co-founded the CRF about 18 years ago. It is a pioneer and a leader in the development of a secondary market for community development, affordable housing loans and small business loans all over the United States. Prior to founding CRF, Frank served as the Assistant Commissioner for Financial Management at the Minnesota Department of Energy and Economic Development. He was recently recognized by Inc. as being one of the leading entrepreneurs of 2004. 1 And the third panelist will be Shari Berenbach from the Calvert Social Investment Foundation. Calvert is a ten-year old institution, an intermediary between non-profit sector and the capital markets through the issuance of its Calvert Community Investment notes. Shari brings more than two decades – although you wouldn't be able to tell it from looking at her – more than two decades of experience spanning micro credit and innovative approaches to social finance. Prior to joining Calvert, she had a career on Wall Street with Salomon Brothers and then with the IFC in Washington, D.C. We are going to start with Jed. Jed Emerson: So, let me be the first to observe that while the foundation community has a long way to go to achieve full diversity in terms of race and gender, our panel is doing everything we can to advance diversity in terms of neckwear!. I just wanted to point that out.... We had a conference call the other day to talk about what we wanted to do with our time. And the initial idea was that I would do a keynote kind of shtick and then they would do observational commentary and give specific examples and things like that. And as we were talking about it, we realized that the best part about bringing folks together for this type of conversation is to actually have a conversation. So what we've decided we're going to do is try to really kind of truncate our various schpiels and get really back into the conversation that we were starting to have this morning with specific issues and questions and debates around various aspects of this work, so that we can really make the most of this time that we have together today. This is an especially difficult challenge for me. Those of you who know me know that I'm unnaturally excited about this topic! And so every one of the different issues, and the idea that was kind of raised up earlier – I would really love to drill down into it and give you my perspective on it, and all of this kind of stuff. I'm actually going to try to go the other way and pick up on something that Frank DeGiovanni teed up for us last night, which is when I asked him at dinner, what he saw as the primary barriers to advancing this whole area of practice, he didn't say a lack of capital, he didn't say we don't know what we're doing. He said it's a question of will. And to my mind, in order to really drive forward the agenda that we're talking about here in terms of trying to maximize the impact of any of our lives and the assets that we have available to us, a complement to the idea of a will is that we have to have a vision. And we have to have a bigger and a better vision than the one that I feel most foundations currently operate within. As you can tell, we're going to leave the niceties of philanthropy and go right into the critique! The problem I have with philanthropy is that most people think of themselves as grant- makers. And if you think of yourself as a grant-maker, the tools that you have available to you to advance the mission of your institution are pretty much limited to making grants. And the reason that's a problem for me is that if you look at the capital flows in the non-profit sector, grants represent somewhere between two or three percent of the actual capital flows in that space. In the ‗90s, we kind of had this convergence in terms of our understanding of what it takes to help families move out of poverty. We kind of shifted from an orientation toward welfare and financial relief to one that said – yes, you need to have money, because we figured out after 30 years of policy and programs, that ―the problem‖ with poor people is that they don't have any 2 money! But almost more importantly or equally important is that people need to be able to build assets. Right? They need to be able to build personal financial assets and they need to be able to build personal assets in the form of skills and approaches. And in the same way that I would hope we would all agree that you can't really spend your way out of poverty, I think the idea that you can grant your way to success is equally flawed. The other part of this is from just a straight business proposition idea. If you think about it, what kind of a business venture would you want to invest in? If somebody came to you and said – ―Okay, for every dollar you give us, we're going to take a nickel and put that toward our business model. And we're going to take 95 percent and take it off the table.‖ Okay? You wouldn't go anywhere near that business. And yet, that is our business. We are basically taking 5 percent of our potential assets to drive 100 percent of our institutional mission and we're leaving 95 percent of our assets, at best, neutral to that mission. And I would argue that, in many cases, we're actually investing in the creation of the destruction that we're trying to address through our piddly 5 percent payout. So while I appreciate all of the discussion around how do you manage payout and should it be this much or that much. And how do you structure assets to make sure that the payout gets to this or that level, well, the problem is not the payout, okay? It just isn't. The problem is we are under-performing relative to the broad assets that we have available to us to advance to this cause. Now I think that again, maybe there was a time where we could just kind of say – well, it's okay. We can experiment with this and we can allow philanthropy to kind of slide over here or slide over there. Go from venture philanthropy to strategic philanthropy to whatever philanthropy, right? My problem is, we're running out of time. I mean, today, by the time we go to bed, another 25,000 kids are going to die from disease that is preventable by the age of four. We're still in a situation – what is it, where a third of the women in the United States can expect to be the victims of physical abuse by the time they are 40? We're looking at a time where today, polar bears are, number one, starving to death and number two, they are falling through the damn ice. I mean, things are starting to fall apart here. And I don't really think that a 5 percent payout is the issue that we should be focused on. So my whole thing, just one theme that I would kind of lift up from this morning's conversation is that we have got to develop and then execute, number one, a vision that is more holistic and that seeks to really draw upon every single damn thing we can throw at this stuff. And, number two, effective grant making is important, but it's just not enough. Because what we've done is we've basically bought into this whole idea of the bifurcation of value, right? That you can actually engage in it– you can rip it apart. That you can, as a business person, participate in rape, pillage and philanthropy and that somehow that is okay. And what I'm arguing is that, in fact, while this is the way the world is structured – you've got, at this end, grants and foundations and non-profits and they are creating social value. And at that end, you've got investment banking houses and mutual funds and market rate investing, and that creates economic value. And we've created a whole set of institutions along that investment plane, if you will, ranging from the one to the other. And my whole life has been spent there. It's a great life, but 3 the fact is, value is not a separation of these two elements. Value is found in the upper quadrant there because it's fundamentally whole – it's not indivisible. We create these strategies that are predicated on the idea that you can bifurcate value...and that's just wrong, right? If you listen to the conversations today, everything that people are talking about here is how do you drive financial performance and understand the maximization of social and environmental value at the same time? Right? Everybody understands intuitively that that is the task. And yet we start the conversation by framing ourselves in the legal confines that we've created based on this artificial bifurcation of value. It makes no sense. In order for us to advance forward, we have to have a vision of what the assets are that goes well beyond this idea that you make grants here and you make investments over there. It's all capital, it's all assets, it's all asset management strategies. We have to be engaged in total foundation asset management. Now the other thing I'd say is that, again, I'm slamming all this stuff into these very small things and I've got a whole bunch of different papers at www.blendedvalue.org that you can download – on foundation asset management and blended assets – all kinds of stuff. You've got to work your way through this. But I think the main thing you need to understand is that our financial assets are much more than grants. And that those assets are put into play wrapped in a whole set of non-financial assets that all of our institutions have and that the groups that we're putting money into are also leveraging. So this idea that it's either economic or social just doesn't make sense. If we just focus on the financial asset or the financial tools, I would argue that we have, again, that spectrum that Luther put up earlier. And that we need to really think about. How can we draw from and leverage each one of these instruments in a more concerted, unified investment way? And as Luther was talking about it, there are implications in terms of risk return across that spectrum. But the fact is, we need to pull from everything we can and put it into play. Now, I'm not saying that everyone should engage in socially responsible investing. I'm not saying even that everyone should do PRIs. As with any investment strategy, your actual experience and investment strategy will differ from others based on your investment objectives. What I am saying is that we need to be strategic. We need to be intentional. And we need to understand the options and the opportunities that are out there. Just as one quick example, I'm sure everyone here has their own examples, but I was talking to Sarah Horowitz the other day...Sarah is a MacArthur Genius Fellow Awardee. She basically decided that one of the biggest cross-cutting challenges is health insurance for this country, kind of a no-brainer. But she said that what we should do is offer people portable health insurance. And if we just have that as a strategy to offer employees in the United States, that will have an effect in terms of cultural arts programs, non-profits, high tech industry – across the board. Sarah created Working Today. And these folks, as a non-profit, had revenues of $38 million last year. They pretty much know what they are doing at this point. They've been working at this business strategy for about ten years and the folks that they're bringing into the insurance pool are, 46 percent are uninsured, 18 percent had intermittent access to insurance, 30 percent are 4 low-income. They are at a point now where they are creating a for-profit play off their non- profit institution. Again, this is a much longer conversation and you'll have to have it with her. But the thing that I love is that in this one deal, she's offering investors the opportunity to participate at a PRI level at like one to three percent. If that's what your comfort level is and you like this idea, you can go to bed with them at that level and you can play that game. They also have economically targeted investments that are going to be doing about six percent. And if you want to do more of a social venture, capital private equity play, you can do that there, too. And I guess the point is, so many of the things that we are doing, we approach it with the idea initially of how do we make a grant? Do you fall within that program category of a grant- maker? When, in fact, the issue should be – gosh, what are the different ways that we could actually move capital and equity into this deal and how do we think about that? And I think the way we need to think about it is as a unified investment strategy. So that when we think about the grants that we are putting out into play, we understand that each of these types of grants have different risk return ratios, as well in terms of the social value we are creating. And that the way we manage our corpus—and , again, the specifics up there are going to look different for different investors—But the idea is that we understand the totality of what it is that we are driving into the market and our ability to really leverage capital to advance, not only financial performance, but social and environmental value and impacts. And finally I think that, again, going back to Luther – I mean Heron is a really great example of what I'm describing. When you pull up their annual report, they don't have a report on financial performance of their corpus and then some list of grants that they awarded. They present a unified graphic that shows within it the grant-making practices and execution, the mainstream corpus and the value that it generated over this time period through their grants and their market-related investments and their PRIs. All their assets are a part of the single value proposition that this institution is advancing. So I think as we go to Frank and Shari, what we're talking about are different ways that we can look at new instruments and really building upon old instruments. But doing it in a unified approach to asset management in order to maximize the full value we have the potential to do, and not simply our grant-making capacity. Frank Altman: I have to talk fast, so I have to get through this and try to explain what I think is a pretty complicated topic in the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) world for banks. They get rewarded for investing in complex and innovative strategies, so here we go. I want to talk today about how the Community Reinvestment Fund uses PRIs. And PRIs are just one piece of a puzzle of capital that we put together. We use it for leverage, we were using them to build scale and we're using them, most importantly, to help our lending partners create impacts because that's really the reason we're all in business. Let me tell you a little bit about who we are. We are a national non-profit organization. We are actually technically a 501(c)(3) organization. We support a class of beneficiaries, including other non-profits and governmental lenders. So we are not out in the world buying the loans originating from banks for for-profit agencies. We're really trying to help non-depository 5 institutions, community development corporations (CDCs), community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and others get access to the capital markets. We buy economic development and affordable housing loans. And this is actually quite a range of loan assets, because every organization is focusing its unique needs in a particular neighborhood, community or city. And then we buy and pool these loans from organizations so they can make more loans. Now I'll talk a little bit about how we do this in a second. But the point is, we're trying to increase the velocity of money, increase the velocity of capital that is going through that pipeline. If you think about the traditional way that revolving loan funds, community development funds and others have been funded, it's been a grant, maybe from HUD, maybe from a foundation, or from some other source. And then that money is to be lent out and then, over time, as repayments come in, it revolves and it gets lent out again. We heard about Ben Franklin doing that this morning. Well, if you can revolve the money faster, you can make more loans, and so one of our ideas is to put that money through the pipe multiple times in the same timeframe. Our role is primarily to buy the capital to build the bridge between these local organizations and the capital market so that they can create impact. The community impacts that are created through CRS activities are really created by lending partners, local organizations at the community level. Our mission is to transform the community development finance system by accessing capital markets on behalf of local lending organization so they can increase their impacts on people and communities. So it's this approach of being in the middle and creating a highly specialized organization that can go to the scale that can transform how this industry is financed. And that is a big goal. But that is the vision that we are pursuing. And it's transforming not only what is going on in terms of community impact and making more community impact, addressing poverty and economic difficulties, but it's also helping transform how the individual organizations work. So they learn how to move from strictly relying on grants or portfolio management, to being able to access, to create loans that can be sold, that can have higher value. That can build the kind of value chain that we're hearing a little bit about from Jed earlier. Don't want to go through this in too much detail, but we've been at this now for about 18 years. We have provided more than half a billion dollars in capital to communities around the country. The yellow dots are lending partners and the red dots, which are too hard to see, are the locations of loans around the country. Just want to say one more thing. A lot of the information that you're hearing, you are probably wondering – how is this the case? Well, I want to echo what you heard yesterday from loan investment fund. Our loss ratio is also less than one half of one percent. So there is a tremendous amount of specialized expertise in the community development lending system at the community level, then combined with the efforts that we've been trying to do to develop good risk profiles. That can mean that the money that is put into a fund like this is money that is going to be available for recycling, available to repay PRIs down the road. I want to go back to that in a slightly different way, to that spectrum that you saw this morning. And that is, the spectrum between what I would say is purely charitable money and purely economic or market money. And there is a spectrum. 6 Now when I talk to people in Wall Street they say – wait a minute. It's either charity or it's business. Well, I don't think that's the case. So what we are trying to show here is what types of instruments move along this continuum from grants to social investments, PRIs and, a term that you may not have heard, EQ2s, Equity Equivalent Investments made by banks. They have a very similar role that they play. To the more market-driven activities – NDB is industrial development bonds, collaterized loan obligations, asset backed securities and others. Then who makes those? The government and foundations on the grant side, individuals through private philanthropy. To investors, foundations, religious institutions in the social investment world. And then obviously, national institutions, mutual funds and others in the market rate world. We see PRIs in this middle ground between the purely charitable and the purely economic. The returns for a PRI or a social investor are both financial. Obviously, investors want to get their money back, want to get some income. But also, social returns. And so we have to be able to show both of those to a PRI investor or the EQ2 investor. Just wanted to give you a list of some of the organizations that have invested in using PRIs or similar instruments in CRF. Many are in the room today. Our first investment of size, which was a $2 million PRI from the Ford Foundation, which was a little over ten years ago. In fact, we paid it off on December 30th, I believe, of this year, this past year. At that time, we had purchased $10 million in loans. And this PRI set us up to move to the next level, which we thought was going to be $20 million in loans. We moved beyond that and quickly began to find other partners, MacArthur Foundation, Prudential Social Investments (John Kinghhorn), Calvert Foundation, F.B. Heron and others that have really helped us move to a certain level of scale and continue to serve the needs of the lending partners that we are trying to address. Now I want to talk quickly about these three things – how a PRI works – leverage. They allow us to access the capital markets. And I'm going to talk briefly about the technology of asset securitization. This is the process of transforming a group of loans or other financial assets into a security. It divides risks into classes that can be sold to different investors with different risk tolerances, and perhaps with different social versus monetary return objectives. The issuer – in that case, community re-investment fund, has to take the risk of first loss. We're taking assets that we've accumulated from organizations around the country and we're bundling them and selling them to investors and investors say – well, if we're going to put the risk on us, we want to make sure that you're in the deal as well. So we take the risk of first loss, which is another word for credit enhancement. And we do that by using grants, PRIs, our own net worth to be able to fund that risk of first loss. And then we issue securities that are characterized by sequential claims on payments, on cash flow. So you take all of the payments for these underlying loans and you chop them up and say – there's going to be a group that is going to have the first right to the entire cash flow stream. And once they get paid, then the next group is going to get the right to the cash flow stream, and so forth. That is called the waterfall of payment. And that's a classic part of our structure that we use in the waterfall of payments. These payments cascade through what are called trounces [phonetic], different classes. And at some point, there is a traunch that we finance with PRIs and EQ2s. CRF sits at the bottom of that waterfall of payments. We are going to be pretty thirsty if there isn't enough – I love architecture, and here we have a classic waterfall. We're 7 going to get pretty thirsty if there isn't enough water coming down that waterfall to CRF. So we are intensely interested in seeing that these loans perform the way they are supposed to. Now let me talk a little bit about how PRIs leverage, and the powerful role that they play. We raise money across the spectrum, as I indicated. And we've raised a significant amount of money over 20 years from grant-makers. That money tends to be, as we do a securitization, it's about 2 percent of the capital that we need to do a securitization. That is sitting there in that bottom waterfall allowing us to take real risk and loss. This is four times our historic loss rate, so we can lose this money and everyone else is still getting paid. We're going to be pretty sick, but our investors are going to get paid. Then we combine that with the next tier, which are PRIs and social investments. And these are investments, you've heard structured, that generally come to CRF as unsecured investments. Our balance sheet is at risk, but there is no specific security. There is some variation in the way that we do this. And then we take that money and we use it to help us finance our position in the higher risk/lower return traunches. And those two together, two percent grants, about 18 percent PRIs, 20 percent generally was deeply subordinated in the traunches. They are unrated securities. We generally hold them and in some cases we find a partner that is willing to buy them. Prudential, Social Investments, has actually been a holder of some of these traunches in the past. And then others in PRI investors have moved into slightly higher, less risky, but still below senior grade traunches. Those two then allow us to bring 80 percent of the capital from private capital markets. This is the money that is coming in at market rates that is secured. Let me move fast, because I know that I can do this in ten minutes, and I've got about two left. Let me talk about scale - half a billion dollars so far. But the most important thing is we are now to the point where we have just crossed the threshold into the rated securitization world. In the last 18 months, we've issued $130 million in debt securities rated by Standard and Poors, an $84 million deal, rated AAA for housing, $63 million of that was rated AAA – these are the top traunches. $46 million business loan traunch focused on job creation, entrepreneurship. And that had $26 million rated AAA by S&P - never been done before. This was the first time that S&P had done this. And PRIs helped us move to scale where we could actually do deals that were big enough that we could support the costs of informing a rating agency about how these things performed. So we've added a tremendous amount of value to the industry. And then finally, we've been able to raise resources through a federal tax credit called New Markets Tax Credit. And I'm going to talk about that a little bit. Well, what is scale? As far as I'm concerned, the very threshold where we can go, together with PRI investors, the capital markets and judicious grant-making. Our vision of scale is a multi-billion dollar market, financed by a mix of life insurance companies, pension funds, banks and others, and foundations, both with their charitable purpose and their investing purpose. They can be program-related investments, it can be investments related to mission and the rated transactions. We have foundations that are involved in all of those. We need to increase liquidity for our investors. Right now, we privately place everything. Have to hold until maturity. As the market grows larger, it's going to be possible to see these things trade back and forth between investors. We need economies of scale. We're still at the very small end of this, but the PRI is a very 8 important tool for raising scale. And this is my dream before I die, volume sufficient to be having these traded in the public capital markets so that individuals can take their own social or investments and put them into things that work, either directly or through mutual funds, like Calvert and others. And then finally, a highly specialized network of development institutions that really work as a value chain, building value along the way as they make transactions. Better lives for people, stronger communities. Finally, I want to finish with impact. This is the reason we are here. I want to talk about Primitivo Morales in Minneapolis, an immigrant entrepreneur who transformed a former brothel on East Lake Street, an area that has been in trouble since the ‗60s, into a grocery store and a deli with six employees. It doesn't sound like much, but his family and others now live in rehabbed apartments above this deli, so he's got his economic livelihood and he is there with eyes on the street, improving things. This program was started with the City of Minneapolis, they came to us and said – we've got $500,000, how can we use that with secondary market? So they created something called the Capital Acquisition Fund. That fund gave Primitivo Morales what he needed to make his business into an economic engine. And that is just one example of sustained investments that have been done through this program in South Minneapolis, in the Lake Street corridor. Now 90 businesses in that corridor have received this kind of investment. Each one of these loans is a second lien behind a bank. So banks are being brought into the picture. Higher risk, they are all performing. And sustained value, sustained investment is great value for this community. Now can we multiply this around the country? Absolutely, and that's why PRI can be such an important tool. So I'm done, and thank you very much. Shari Berenbach: It's great to be with you here and talk a bit about Calvert Foundation and the different innovations that we have been involved with that reaches slightly different investor markets. We are great admirers and supporters of the community reinvestment fund. And much of what community rests upon is reaching an institutional investor. Calvert Foundation is really reaching much more to the individual investor, and I'll be glad to share that with you. Many of you have heard of the cause of the socially responsible investment, and you might be asking where does community investment fit into this picture? Typically, when people think about SRI or socially responsibility investment, they are thinking about screening of publicly traded stocks and bonds, and they might also be thinking about shareholder action. Some of you have heard the Calvert Social Investment Fund, the Calvert Mutual Fund Company. The Calvert Foundation is associated with the mutual fund company, but we are a separate, non-profit organization. And we are dedicated to the idea of taking investment dollars and not putting it into regular stocks and bonds through screening and shareholder action, but by actually using those dollars to invest in community organizations that work with and support girls like these. These happen to be two young women that were participants in a program in Baltimore. Saint Ambrose Housing Society has a program called Second Chance Homes. And by making capital available to organizations like Saint Ambrose in Baltimore, what we're doing is 9 really financing affordable housing and programs where young women can really start their lives on a much better footing. The foundation itself has three primary programs. And the first is the community investment program. And that's where – we've been at it for ten years. I think one of the themes that you might be noticing is the number of us who get up here and talk about the number of years of hard work it takes to build the markets that we've been dealing with. This was launched in 1995. And I want to say very much so that the Calvert Foundation was launched with the support of major foundations in this room. It was the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the Mott Foundation that really helped to launch the Foundation in 1995. We created a security called a community investment note, which we sell to the general public. And the dollars that are raised then go to the community organizations. Today, that program represents about $95 million in note sales, and we have about 2400 investors. Our second program is called community investment partners. Because Calvert Foundation's objective isn't just to have our own note program; it's really to paverize [phonetic] community investment as a new asset class. And therefore, what we've done is taken everything that we know how to do for ourselves and we make it available to others on a fee for service basis. When we do due diligence on an organization that we invest in, we then are very happy to make available those due diligence reports at a fee for service arrangement. We provide guidance and counseling to other foundations that are looking at entering into the community investment space, making PRIs, all part of our commitment to growing this broader field. And then finally, we also have a donor advice fund called the Calvert Giving Fund. And what's unique about Calvert Giving Fund is that donors can actually hold their assets in the community investment notes, or any program-related investment. We want to make sure that those assets, before they are ever given away, are having as much community impact as possible. Okay. When you think about just financial intermediation overall, is that you are looking at a range of different types of investors. And we work with individuals, as well as foundations, corporations, religious organizations. They will then channel their resources to a spectrum of different kinds of borrowers. And by channeling it through this intermediation, we reduce the risk to the investor, we provide greater transparency and professional management. So we make it much more possible for the average individual to get to the sector. Who do we have that are investors? It's interesting. While we do have a number of investors that are high net worth individuals, it's important to imagine that the majority of our investors earn $100,000 or less. Most of them are women or just the slight majority are women. And they really range across the spectrum in terms of their assets and their level in the socially responsible investment field. Because of groups we lend to, many of the kinds of groups you've heard about, banks and credit unions. Micro-finance has been a big field for us, social enterprise is a newer area. Community development corporations, loan finds. There really is a broad spectrum of institutions that are out there looking for this investment capital that we can channel it to. Our portfolio today is about $84 million, and it's really divided across these following sectors that you can see above. We're doing an increasing amount in the micro-finance field as more products become available. We're happy to say we're in collaboration with Ecologic and several others in the room. 10 We've been delving into the fair trade copy, cooperative area. Affordable housing is a big field. Alternate media is a new area that we've been collaborating with, the open society institution. So there is really a broad spectrum of demand for this softer capital that allows them to carry out their activities. The foundation has been growing step by step by step. I started in 1997 and we had $5 million in note sales. Excuse me, we had $1.2 million in note sales at the time. So you can imagine the sort of very steady progression of both notes raised and assets. What's most exciting for Calvert Foundation is, up until now, our community investment note has been handled as a paper transaction. It means it requires special handling. And as we talk to brokers about representing our product, it's been increasingly difficult for us to get brokers to really have much of an uptake. What we have finally been able to put in place, and it took us a good number of years, is an arrangement with the Bank of New York investment bank transaction company called In Capital. And that is allowing us to gain access to 400 broker/dealer firms across the country, that's 95 percent of the market. So we've been working closely with Schwab, who has been absolutely excellent. And our goals and objectives are really to make it so simple that anyone and everyone can go to their broker and simply receive the investments. The way that happens is we make issues. The issuers bring it, the money comes in. Then the money comes back to Calvert Foundation so we can lend it out. And then we subsequently repay the interest and principle. And what this whole institutional arrangement is doing is go much more broad and mainstream. So we're now looking at projections – and I think I have it here – we anticipate reaching a half billion or $500 million over the next five years. And this is possible, largely, because of all of this important groundwork to get plugged into these sales and distribution channels so we can, in fact, reach the broader marketplace. Moving forward, I just want to, perhaps, turn to some of the key points that I'm hoping that you all will be thinking about as you are deliberating over this conference. And that is, so much of what Frank has talked about and what I've talked about is all related to financial intermediation. There are so many organizations out there that are in community development or micro-finance. And many of the grantees that you work with on a regular basis. And often, foundations and philanthropists are used to dealing with a one-on-one kind of relationship. Each of you is looking for your individual group that you are going to be providing support to. But, in fact, as those relationships multiply, it becomes a very, actually relatively inefficient and costly way to deliver financial support to the very sectors you want to reach. And what we are so much committed to is creating a bit more effective structure. And you keep hearing about these wedding cakes, etc. Those wedding cakes is really this notion that some investors come in in the senior secured position and others specifically are willing to take on the added risk coming in in this much more subordinate position. And then that's being matched up with professional management, etc. This is, in essence, what we are trying to accomplish at Calvert Foundation. It's, in essence, some of what Frank has been doing. And we think that one of the ways that you will start to see more effective flows of capital is to the extent that we start using these different kinds of structures and frameworks. 11 The other thing that I'm hoping that you all start to recognize is something that I call the ecology of PRI opportunities. It used to be this very simple idea that there was the philanthropist and the project. And there were just these two on opposite ends. And what we see emerging, however, over time is different institutions with different levels of sophistication with somewhat different mandates. And each funder can really come to their own conclusion about where they feel it's most effective to intervene. Do they want to support individual entrepreneurs or projects? Do they want to support individual micro-finance funds or can it be a loan fund? Or do they want to begin to look at, what they call in the financial world, funds of funds? And different investors will have a different philanthropist and PRI makers will have different concepts about where they want to hit in this spectrum. But it's important to recognize that there really is a growingly sophisticated spectrum of investment opportunities. And that there is a lot of mutual reinforcing functions that is taking place across these different levels. And then my final slide is I want to end up with, some of the themes that we have discussed this morning, really for us become the why about community investment or PRIs. And that is, what we think about as our core values. There is a whole series of core values around community investment that mean it's not that one doesn't want to do grants, but one wants to compliment grant-making with other investment strategies for some of these following reasons. It's because of mutuality, the fact that it creates a relationship of mutual respect between the provider of capital and the user. It harnesses the power of enterprise to use that capital so that it can be repaid. It creates a greater sense of accountability and results for both the borrower and the investor. It fosters self-reliance, self-respect and ultimately a more sustainable strategy for philanthropy. Since the capital comes back, it can be used over and over again. Thank you very much. Q&A George McCarthy: I'm George McCarthy from the Ford Foundation. A lot of this discussion is still framed around the idea that investing in communities is really done on concessionary terms. I think that one of things that we should highlight as well is that very often, the kinds of investments we are doing are, for one reason or another, systematically overpriced in the market itself. Because for one reason or another, the market doesn't have the kind of information that we might have at our disposal to really accurately evaluate the risk. It's not always the case that we are really trading off social impact for financial impact. Very often, what we are able to do is see above average returns on many of the things that we are able to invest in, because we have better knowledge and we have a better connection with the processes that go on the ground. Very often, it's not as if there is – it's very often there's win- win kinds of opportunities out there that we should be very cognizant of and able to act on quickly. The other thing is very often, the market itself will also over-estimate the transaction costs of engaging in these kinds of activities. And we can do a lot, as well, to – number one, reduce transaction costs if they are indeed higher. Or, once more, take advantage ourselves as another profit-making opportunity to engage in activities in which the transactions are not quite as expensive as the market might think they are. 12 Shari Berenbach: I actually have a comment and I'm going to just jump in and you'll have to excuse me. One of the things that I find with a lot of transactions that are able to provide those more market-like returns is that the total transaction often requires different levels of participation and different levels of participants. So that getting back to that wedding cake image that we were discussing before, we find that the groups that we lend to, for example, are very, very price sensitive. And we're lending at, our investors earn on average about 2.5 percent and we're lending at 4. And quite frankly, the groups that we are lending to would not be willing to take on entire cost of capital. And that's because they are blending the softer money that I'm providing and more market rates of investment. So that it's important to recognize that there are market rate opportunities out there and those market rate opportunities are really very valuable and very important. But in many instances, particularly we are going to reach very vulnerable populations, there is a layer of soft capital that allows the whole transaction to operate. And so I just want to keep those two different thoughts in mind. So it's not an either/or, but seeing how these things work together in a coordinated way. Jackie Khor: I interpreted what you were saying as more sort of risk as opposed to return, as opposed to level of return. I mean, many of the fixed income products, fixed income-like investments that you are making, that Frank is making, they are essentially fixed income products, delivering fixed income rates of return with very little volatility. So I think – and maybe, I don't want to put words in your mouth, I thought he meant sort of like risk adjustment as opposed to the market rate in terms of a level. And I think your point is well taken. I think that we should not automatically assume that in this spectrum – and Jed usually makes this point really vociferously – that you would be necessarily compromising a return for the social outcomes. Anybody else? Tom Trinley: I'm Tom Trinley, Gaylord and Dorsey Donnelly Foundation in Chicago. I keep an Excel spreadsheet of all mission-related investment possibilities. And I, from time to time, will present that to our finance investment committee. Will PRI makers or any other organization provide a list of links to investments like this that would really open up the field and allow us all to kind of go to a central place for review of investments? Jed Emerson: I think the issue that you are raising though reflects the fragmentation of the ecology that Shari was talking about earlier. And the fact that we're not doing a good enough job aggregating information in order to accurately push back on the market to be able to accurately factor in the risk levels that will be different for different asset classes and different investment opportunities and deal structures that come down the pike. And again, to me it speaks to the bifurcation question. Because it's kind of like – thinking in this other vein, that's administrative overhead, right? And we hate that. We want to fund programs. So we are not going to invest philanthropic dollars in building that kind of intellectual capital exchange, if you will, that is based on the data sets that I think are locked within a number of these different institutions, both in this room and elsewhere. So I think it's a larger, kind of market functioning question around how do you aggregate this information, disseminate it. How do you advance common terminology so people can understand these deals in a way that is consistent and you can do apples to apples comparisons. All of that is speaking, again, to this kind of infrastructure play that we're just now kind of at a 13 point where I think you could actually invest in the creation of that so that we could do an S&P play, Standard & Poors play across the space. So I, on the one hand, I get frustrated because I have problems getting that same data that you are looking for. On the other hand, it's like – man, we're just right on the cusp of being able to pull this together. And then again, of course, with the advancement of the internet and everything else, think about what we could do. It's just stunning. And then you could toss that stuff over the wall to your finance folks and they could buy straight AAA bonds, if they want to. And just by doing that, that's a ―social investment.‖ But it doesn't do anything, it doesn't compromise at all in terms of the return. So there are all these opportunities that we're just not even beginning to move forward that we have the potential to be – not only could not have done five years ago. Jackie Khor: The PRI Makers Network has a website (www.primakers.net) that is available to program-related investors. And I know that this type of a thing is not contemplated, but we could have a technology platform, very low-tech that could precisely provide that type of information. Shari Berenbach: And I just might throw out that on our website, we have something called our community investment profiles database where we have 180 organizations that are all actively seeking investment capital. And we provide narrative and descriptive information, as well as the contact information about those groups, and social impact measures. And then consistent audited financial information that is prepared in a consistent format across all of them. So anybody who is looking, and it can be searched according to geography or sector, etc. So that's very much an effort to try and create that kind of access to investment opportunities. Frank Altman: We have the beginnings of this. John Townsend: John Townsend from the Altman Foundation. I'm just thinking about this first point that you made, Shari, about mutuality and the mutual respect between lender and borrower, investor and obligor. And I used to work for UPS and I well remember, in the mid- ‗80s, the Chairman of UPS who was then close to retirement saying that he was highly suspicious of the increasing securitization of the capital markets because it threatened to destroy the relationship between the lender and borrower, investor, obligor. Arguably, it was a whole lot more, it was easier for Argentina to default to a securitized bond market than it was to say, CitiBank in 1980. And I wonder if you could comment, or one of you could comment on the possible conflict there? And whether we might be making, in terms of thinking about PRIs, a little too much out of this mutual respect point? I don't know the answer, but I was just wondering if you could comment. Frank Altman: I'd like to just address how we deal at CRF. We take the cash flow and the securitization of the cash flow and we traunch it up, like I described. But there is also the function of servicing and who is collecting the payments and who is watching the loan. And in most cases, we contract back with the group that originated the loan to be the servicer, so that the borrower/lender relationship has not changed. There are different responsibilities being moved around in terms of who is responsible for who, but that initial link between the borrower and the lender is still in place. And because community development is a high touch operation, there are people who are really trying to 14 make – and not just trying to get their money back, but trying to make something happen in the community. And they are going to be patient. That high touch is very important to the reason why we have the success that we have in terms of overall performance of the loan portfolio. So if you think about how you can take these systems apart and make it possible for PRI investors or mission-related investors to come in at different points, it can be done in a way that doesn't compromise the mutuality at the grass-roots level. Jackie Khor: I would add that we are different types of foundations in this room and in the universe, many of the loans that Frank's securitizors are loans that are extended by local loan funds that have local foundation PRI investors on their balance sheets. So you, as a program- related investor, can play in different types of intermediaries. You can play at the community level, where you have more direct connectivity to the ultimate borrower. Or you can play with the high leverage, scaleable potential at the CRF, Calvert, low-income investment fund level. So depending on what your charitable objectives are, your own asset size and where you feel most comfortable, that PRI can be used I different types of organizations. And that connection to the ultimate borrower is more or less tenuous depending on those parameters. Anybody else? Kim Kreiling: My name is Kim Kreiling with the Sister Fund in New York City. And this is just a general question for any of you to answer. Could you speak to a concern that I have that PRIs might take foundations away from supporting the poorest of the poor? Frank Altman: Well, my view, I see PRIs as a mix. They are a way of extending the role that a grant can provide. And the graphic that I showed with the 2 percent grant, CRF in the typical model of a non-profit, we have raised all that money in grants. We would never have raised the money. In other words, that 2 percent allowed half – we've raised in grants to date about $13 million from the day that we started. Half a billion dollars has gone to these communities. So a huge amount of that money is going into communities because of PRIs and because of the ability to leverage that grant, that very scarce grant dollar, with that next pot of money, build a different character. But those two together are very powerful at giving money back to low- income communities. So I see it's just the opposite of moving away from the poorest of the poor. It's moving toward more capital that can go into build economic systems that build up communities and assets for the poor and the resulting things that are entailed with that. Tom Trinley: And to follow-up on Frank's comment about this evolving state of micro- finance. Most of those funds are targeting extremely, very, very low-income people internationally. And those funds are kind of lent out. The only way that they're going to be actually increase liquidity and increase capital flows and lending in those communities is if they can restructure that paper in the same way that Frank is doing in the U.S. So it's an interesting kind of play between the issue around securitization and the degree to which that separates people. And the way that you can actually advance tools in a different way that can be leveraged to bring people together in a better way. I mean, most foundations in the U.S. don't make grants internationally, right? And there is all this debate – you go to the global philanthropy forum and there is this huge debate about how come we don't have more philanthropy going overseas. If we can securitize, through PRIs and other kinds of instruments, some of the micro-enterprise that is out there internationally. And this is one way that the U.S. foundations can actually participate 15 in a much more direct way in bringing new capital flows into these areas that they are just not going to go right now with the current structures and the current way that capital moves internationally today. Jackie Khor: Anything that you want to add? Shari Berenbach: Maybe just to add that I think it's – that often, in order for these kinds of – and particularly in the housing sector or in childcare or in education, in order for those transactions to reach the very, very poor, you need to have a layer of soft PRI dollars. It's that smart subsidy that enables the rest of it to take place. And so I sort of see very much PRIs as being integral in diverting those capital flows to exactly the poorest of the poor that you are trying to reach. So it really is seeing all of these pieces come together and allowing the smart subsidy that unleashes the rest to reach the groups. Jackie Khor: I think in maybe simple terms, it depends on how you want to help the poorest of the poor. If one of your strategies is asset building, helping to build assets back to what Jed started. And one could argue that the ability to bring capitalism to the poorest of the poor, to rev up the economic engine in really underserved economies, could have potentially more power than grant-making – again, if properly combined with capacity building grants, education. It's part of the whole package. Jed Emerson: I would argue that the trick – it can't just be capitalism. It needs to be sustainable capitalism. It needs to be capitalism in this new level. There needs to be a redirection of capital to the poor in ways that are financially viable and have social and environmental impact. So I think we need to be careful, because I think you could get into a whole thing around – well, we just need to free up the markets, and then the poor people will all come along and have a happy parade. And I think we need to be clear that at least – at least I think I speak for the panel that none of us are saying that we need more capitalism – we need better capitalism. And I think this is one school for which we can try to advance that. Frank Altman: We are organizing a market. The groups that we worked with ten years ago never saw themselves in the market at all. They said that the delivery system for federal programs are for grants. And we are going to deliver that to the poor or asset building, or whatever it is. Now there is an understanding that we can organize the market or quasi-market that could have a lot of the features that you were just talking about. It's a market that is also focused on these other social outcomes. And I just think there's a tremendous amount of power there that's going to come down the pike as a result of that. Lisa Richter: I'm Lisa Richter. With the affiliation for this conference with the Family Foundation in Chicago called Esjay, I just want to build on the last several comments that were made to say that, in fact, what we see in so many low income communities is capitalism functioning. And because there is a lack of asset building in financial services, there has been a burgeoning of predatory financial services to fill the gap. Which have, frankly, eroded any stability that the poorest of the poor might have had here in the U.S. And what I see in the discussion of the wedding cakes and the structured financing and so on is the ability to bring to otherwise under-served communities the functioning, the well functioning of markets, which have always had layers. If you were able to buy a house, you 16 were being served by the secondary market because that mortgage was bought by Fannie or Freddy. But if you were not able to buy a house, you were not part of that chain. So I applaud the ingenuity that is going into bringing these systems down and hopefully countering some of the erosive forces that are otherwise there when the market works freely, without the helping hand. Kate Starr: I'm Kate Starr at the Heron Foundation. I just wanted to ask Frank, congratulations, by the way, on the rating. In some ways it might be related to what Mac was asking – AAA, it doesn't get any better than that. How has that change the conversations with potential investors, Wall Street? Was this a scale coming off the ice? Is this not what people expected? Can you just talk a little bit to that? Frank Altman: It's made a huge difference. I think our challenge now is to get in the market faster. We're trying to aggregate at a faster level than we were, because people are familiar with this. The deal we did, $46 million, was really too small. And so one of our challenges is – I use the term – we need a booster rocket to get into orbit. Because this is not the sort of thing where we can grow incrementally and get to the point where we can do $100 million or $300 million transactions and get all of that economy of scale. So we are in the process of putting together a strategy for doing that. But what it did in terms of the investor world was we suddenly had institutions, insurance companies, small banks that we had never heard of over-subscribe the deal. And the second thing that it did was it started to put a market return or a spread on the risk. And we have AAA and didn't have to have the spreads as high as they were when people were looking at this and trying to make their own decisions about – where would I put this in my own risk spectrum. And so our spreads, our cost to capital when we actually securitized, came down. The third thing that it did was it actually showed for the first time how much subordination we needed to have in order to get to these levels. And instead of the 20 percent that I showed you on the graphic, we were able to get down to 17 percent. And as we grow with more sophistication, larger transactions, we think that the soft capital, the need for PRIs and grants will, at some point, get down to 10 percent or less. So there is going to be an incredibly greater leveraging of those scarce resources. And none of that would have happened without the ability to show what investors were looking for. We're trying to build an instrument that is increasingly getting to where investors are. At the same time, investors are beginning to see that there is a potential market in community development. I think the new markets tax credit, while it's a different instrument, is bringing a lot of Wall Street or large-scale institutions to look at community development in a way that they never would have before. So you put these all together, and I think we're at the point where the – and the individual investor as well – we're at the point where there could be a whole revolution in the way that we can fund this activity in a collaborative way. And, unfortunately, recognizing that the government role is going to continue to be diminished. We're not going to go back to that model and we've got to figure out how to do it ourselves. And collectively, this is one potential model that can do that, and the rating was very important to that. Shari Berenbach: I want to just jump in here because there is $11 trillion that are sitting in pension funds and insurance companies. And those investors will only purchase rated product 17 because of their guidelines. I mean, maybe some of the insurance companies can do a small amount of these unrated instruments. But, for the most part, you're talking about $11 trillion. And for many years, that has been off the chart – that market has been outside of our reach because the source of bundled loans were not rated. And so it was very significant that CRF was able to achieve this rating. And what that does is it opens up that $11 trillion to come to the very communities in need. So we are very excited. So we think that's a great innovation. But it's always important to recognize that you are going to need that – whether it's 10 percent or hopefully someday it will be 8 or 5 percent, some softer money. And that's where that is there to sort of absorb some of the risk, to allow you to get that investment grade rating. And that is where the program-related investments and the investors who purchase the pay investment note, that's where they sort of come into the picture to really unleash the capital to the communities that we all care about. Connie Max: Connie Max with Prudential Financial Social Investments. We actually had been investing with Frank for years, and when they had their rated security for the first time, we had to actually go to our mainstream group and say – okay, what piece can we pick up? So we ended up with the unrated piece and we had the conversation of the possibility of them picking up some of the rated piece. And the issue was, it was too small, that the initial offering just wasn't of a size that they could participate in. But the future is still there, and I think it's exciting. Ralph Christy: I wanted to get back to this lady's question about the poorest of the poor. And I applaud the panel in their response, and I think a good part of your response was on target. But having witnessed Katrina and saw the level of persistent poverty that we've seen in our own country, I can't help but point out that there is still a need for an enlightened state. Social safety nets. Things that not even a part of what capitalism – even the most enlightened capitalist can bring to solve poverty. So then a part of the poverty equation and solution is what you are talking about, but a great part of it is the kind of social safety net what good government, in an enlightened state can do. I just wanted to point that out. Jackie Khor: Point well taken, Ralph. Are there any more questions? Jed Emerson: I think that's a really good note to end on. Because I think what it speaks to is the idea that there is actually like an enabling environment that is out there where all of this plays out. And so it's important to have – and again, for me personally, it goes back to this unified investment thing. We have to have grant-making that supports the public policy and program development activities that can drive this forward in confidence to what is happening in terms of enterprise, in terms of innovative finance, in terms of all these other ways to leverage every tool that we can in order to create a more sustainable society and a more just planet. Back to you. Jackie Khor: Very nice way to wrap it up. Thank you very much. 18


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Durham is home to a number of spooky residents and eerie legends, read on...if you dare!
Why not tell us your ghostly Durham stories - visit us on Facebook.
Jimmy Allen, the Gypsy Piper
Stand on Elvet Bridge in Durham City at midnight and you might just hear the ghostly music of Northumbrian piper Jimmy Allen, who was imprisoned in the House of Correction beneath the bridge in the 18th Century. He died in the house of correction two weeks before his pardon arrived.
Pickled Parson of Sedgefield
The Pickled Parson of Sedgefield haunts Ceddesfeld Hall. Inconveniently dying just one week before the Parson's tithe was due to be paid, his wife pickled him in brine, propped him up in the Parsonage window so it looked like he was still alive to passers-by, then collected the tithe on his behalf. Only afterwards did she announce the death of the Parson.
The Battle of Neville's Cross
Walk three times round the shaft of the stone cross which marks the site of the Battle of Neville's Cross in Durham City - then put your ear to the ground. Can you hear the ghostly sounds of armies clashing weapons just as they did long ago on October 17th 1346?
Crook Hall & Gardens
This Medieval hall in the heart of Durham City is rumoured to have a number of spooky residents. The hall's Jacobean room is haunted by the White Lady, said to be the niece of the fiery tempered Cuthbert Billington who inherited the manor in 1615.
The Lily of Lumley
Every self-respecting castle ought to have a ghost story and Lumley Castle at Chester-le-Street is haunted by the Lily of Lumley, the murdered wife of the castle's builder, Lord Lumley. Murdered and thrown down a well by priests reputedly in a bid to save her soul after she converted from Catholic to Protestant - you can still see the well today.
The Grey Lady of Durham Castle
Some University of Durham students have the pleasure of sharing their College with a resident ghost or two. The Black Staircase of Durham Castle is haunted by the ghost of a wife of a 19th Century Bishop of Durham who is reputed to have fallen to her death from its top most heights. Even if you don't see the ghost, you can certainly see the staircase on a tour of the Castle led by a student guide.
Peg Powler
The River Tees is a beautiful river flowing through the landscape of Teesdale in the Durham Dales. But beware of Peg Powler who lurks in the depths. With her green skin, long hair and sharp teeth she will grab the ankles of the unwary standing too close to the water's edge and drag them under, never to be seen again.
Kirkcarrion, Teesdale
Way back in the mists of time the ashes of a Bronze Age chieftain called Caryn were carried to a remote hill top in Teesdale and buried with all the dignity his tribe could give him. A stone cairn marked his last resting place. Many centuries later a copse of pine trees was planted over his grave, and according to local legend, to visit that burial site today is to stand alongside the ghost of Caryn himself.
Barnard Castle
The historic market town of Barnard Castle is a town that holds a multitude of dark, ghastly secrets.
Illicit wedding ceremonies were performed in a temporary chapel in the middle of the County Bridge by an 18thCentury bogus parson named Cuthbert Hilton. At the end of each ceremony the newly wedded pair were obliged to perform a pagan tradition by jumping over a broomstick, held by the unconventional parson, to seal the knot. With the many battles, executions and torturous activity that have taken place in Barnard Castle over the centuries, it is little wonder the town is full of ghost stories and mysteries.
The first 'Ghost Census' has already taken place in the town, and there is even a video here of some of the ghastly goings on, do you dare to watch? Visit www.bloodybarnardcastle.co.uk to watch it now!
The Young Lady of Crossgate
In the Crossgate area of Durham City, a ghost of a young woman has been sighted. This is said to be the ghost of a Victorian girl from a workhouse near Allergate who was murdered and then thrown down a flight of steps. Her attacker was a soldier, who later confessed to his crime.

subset: commoncrawl


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About Us
We believe that lots of people have great ideas. People just like you.
We know though that sometimes it's not always that easy to take an idea and turn it into something real. That's why we created Startacus - the self start society.
It's a community of creatives, dreamers, innovators and self starters - all sorts of people with ideas - all doing their own thing. It's a place to learn, share and connect with the people, places and services that will help bring ideas to life. It's a place filled with the information, support and inspiration to help make starting, sustaining or growing a business as easy as possible.
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Alastair Cameron (Co-Founder of the Ship)
A Media degree, an 'accidental' but enjoyable career in commercial recruitment, management, redundancy and now this! Something I truly love! When redundancy happened for me, I kinda embraced it! I know it's a little cliché, but it was probably the best career decision that was ever made for me! It enabled me to start doing something with one of those many ideas that I had always had floating around in that all important grey matter. I finally had the time to do something with one of those ideas and shape my own career! I became a self starter - 2 years on Startacus.net is the result!
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After graduating in 2010 I too worked in commercial recruitment for a year - although unlike Alastair it wasn't too enjoyable! A succession of temp jobs followed - I've done everything from working in a hospital and an estate agency through to working in a burger van (none of which was particularly thrilling although the free burgers in the van were definitely a plus!). I started at Startacus.net on a 6 month graduate training placement and have never looked back. It's the first place I have ever worked where using your brain and creativity is actually encouraged.
Philip Mullan (Tech Maestro)
I might be the newest addition to the team, but I've made my presence felt! I'm a Computer Science grad and as you'd expect I love all things tech. I'm putting my own stamp on things on the Startacus site and my mission is all about making things better for you guys! The self start society would be nothing without you good fok after all!
So go on...what are you waiting for? Join us!
- The Social Innovation Tournament 4th Mar 2015 Now open for entries - the Europe wide comp for ideas and projects that aim to address real social issues...
- The National Business Awards 25th Feb 2015 They're back - the business awards that aim to recognise all businesses - from corporates to startups...
- Startacus Co-Founder recognised in the Maserati 100 20th Feb 2015 Startacus HQ are delighted to announce that Alastair Cameron, Co-Founder of Startacus has been selected as as one of the Maserati 100.
- Ben & Jerry's Join Their Core Competition 19th Feb 2015 Socially responsible startups take note! This comp is just made for you...
Bournemouth I am ... seeking investment and pleased to have built BeBirbal, released it and had it accepted into Facebook's startup program


text:
I didn't think of it when they showed Gomi, but I noticed Mir kept up a smile that looked more and more fake as he kept glancing towards the octagon, trying to send a "subtle" signal to the cameraman. I just thought, what the **** is wrong with the editing of this show? Even just sweeping across the audience is better and adds more to the show than a solid minute of an increasingly strained smile of some fighter.
On the subject of Gomi, I loved him back in his Pride days, would love to see what he can bring. Unfortuately I think it's a little too late. Not going to count him out yet though.


text:
Definition of pillow talk in English:
Intimate conversation in bed.
Example sentences
- But, for lovers, pillow talk is the sweetest conversation.
- Unless you're being watched by other means, your coffee shop conversations, your pillow talk, and your Friday night parties are all still your business.
- So, like, maybe he told Britney in pillow talk what the bad man did to him.
Definition of pillow talk in:
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Interview: Monique Dupree
February 23rd, 2015Interviewed by: Janel SpiegelInterview: Rob Riegel (Tattoo Artist)
February 22nd, 2015Interviewed by: Janel SpiegelInterview: Demonboy (Band)
February 17th, 2015Interviewed by: Riobook reviews header
Book Review: Gone Feral - Author Ted Nulty
Reviewed by: Dave GammonCategory: Book ReviewsBook Review: Jackpot – Authors: Various
Reviewed by: seanofthedeadCategory: Book ReviewsBook Review: Abram's Bridge - Author Glenn Rolfe
Reviewed by: Dave GammonCategory: Book Reviews-
Film Review: How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
SYNOPSIS: "Rejected by the Whos as a child and living in spiteful seclusion for most of his life, the Grinch has always hated the citizens of Whoville. That especially goes for Christmas with the Whos noise, phony sentiment and wasteful materialism. When little Cindy Lou Who's attempt to transcend the festivities' empty commercialism by inviting the Grinch ends with his public humiliation, the Grinch hatches upon on his supreme scheme to ruin the holidays." (courtesy … Continue reading


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Starting on March 5, all Judgepedia content will be contained on Ballotpedia.org. For status updates, visit lucyburns.org.
Shane T. Alexander
You can help others learn about Missouri courts and judges by expanding this article. Submit a link here. |
Shane T. Alexander | |
Current Court Information: | |
Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court | |
Title: | Judge |
Service: | |
Active: | 2008-Present |
Personal History | |
Undergraduate: | University of Missouri-Columbia |
Law School: | University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law |
Shane T. Alexander is a circuit court judge for the 7th Circuit Court in Missouri.[1] He was appointed to the circuit court of the 7th Judicial Circuit on August 6, 2008.[2]
2010 election
Alexander stood for retention in 2010.[2] He was retained on November 2, 2010, receiving 64.9% of the vote.[3]
- See also: Missouri judicial elections, 2010
Performance evaluation
Click here (dead link) to read Judge Alexander's performance evaluation from The Appellate Judicial Performance Evaluation Committee.
Judge Alexander graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia earning his Bachelor of Arts in history in 1990. He later graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law with his Juris Doctor in 1997.[2]
- A Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy from 1990 to 1994
- An assistant prosecuting attorney in Buchanan County from 1997 to 1999
- An assistant prosecuting attorney in Clay County from 1999 to 2004
- The chief assistant prosecuting attorney in Clay County from 2004 to 2008
- Municipal judge for the City of Excelsior Springs from 2004 through 2008
- The municipal prosecutor for the City of Smithville from 2006 to 2008[2]


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Tag: canalysresearch
Deutsche Bank says IT warms to iPhone
Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore says corporate IT is warming up to the iPhone. In a research note published yesterday das analyst says, "There is growing evidence that the iPhone is making inroads into the Enterprise." Whitmore thinks Apple will sell 2 million iPhones to big business by the ...
Software Updates
more updates- Apple Remote Desktop updated with Yosemite support
- OS X Yosemite 10.10.2, iOS 8.1.3 updates now available
- Sports Illustrated 120 SPORTS channel comes to Apple TV
- Logic Pro X update brings AirDrop support, new effects, tools, and more
- Parallels Access 2.5 released, adds file manager, computer-to-computer remote access
- The Google Translate iOS app is about to get a lot smarter


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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Photos
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Reviews
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology 15-
"Great way to gather practical experience "
- Comp & Benefits
- Work/Life Balance
- Senior Management
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
I worked at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as an intern
ProsWorking as a HiWi is a good way to get some practical experience to contrast with the more theoretical content of the lectures.
You also participate in the newest research, learning details that haven't yet made it into the textbooks as well as practical considerations when implementing the algorithms for real data.ConsFirst of course is that the salaries are based on the standard rate for HiWis and as such lower than what you could get working in the industry.
Additionally the people you work with are traditionally heavily overworked, so it requires a high degree of autonomous work, especially when they are busy at an international conference.RecommendsNeutral Outlook -
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Interviews
Interview Experience
Interview Experience
Getting an Interview
Getting an Interview
Interview Difficulty
(Translated from English)
Application DetailsI applied through college or university. The process took a day – interviewed at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in February 2008.
Interview DetailsSehr angenehme Atmosphäre, offener und freundlicher Interviewer, ausgezeichnetes Personal, wurde sehr schnell informiert, dass ich in die engere Auswahl gekommen bin, tolle Kollegen, gute Anlagen, sehr hilfsbereites Verwaltungspersonal, nette Kunden, gute Arbeitsbedingungen, gut ausgestattet und gewartet, sehr professionelle und kompetente Angestellte, angenehme Arbeitszeiten, Internetzugang und tolles Feedback an Lehrende, ziemlich häufige Beurteilung, gute Beziehung zu Vorgesetzten und Kollegen, Weihnachts- und Sommerfest für Mitarbeiter.
very nice atmosphere, open and nice interviewer, excellent staff, got informed very soon when shortlisted, great colleagues, good facilities, administration staff very helpful, nice clients, good working conditions, well equipped and maintained, very professional competent employees, good working hours, access to internet and great feedback to teachers, quite often assessment, well rapport with supervisors and colleagues, christmas party and summer party for employees.
Interview Questions- Keine. none Answer Question
Negotiation DetailsGehaltAccepted OfferPositive ExperienceAverage Interview
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Awards & Accolades
Let us know if we're missing any workplace or industry recognition – Add an award
Additional Info
Unlock ProfileThe Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, briefly referred to as KIT, was established by the merger of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH and the Universität Karlsruhe (TH) on October 01, 2009. KIT combines the tasks of a university of the state of Baden-Württemberg with those of a research center of the Helmholtz Association in the areas of research, teaching, and innovation... More
Mission: The structure of KIT is tailored to its objectives in research, education, and innovation. It supports flexible, synergy-based cooperation beyond disciplines... More


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Saudi Ministry of Commerce suspends meat imports from China
More >
Create alert for Al-HayatAl-Hayat
, Create alert for Saudi Ministry of CommerceSaudi Ministry of Commerce
, Create alert for King Faisal HospitalKing Faisal Hospital
The Saudi Ministry of Commerce has recently decided to suspend rabbit meat, poultry, fish, shrimps, honey and pet food imports from China, reported Al-Hayat . The Ministry sent samples of these products to its quality control laboratories at the King Faisal Hospital. The Ministry wants to make sure that these products do not contain hazardous antibiotics. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)


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I did not expect that my interests of iPhone games and Regency historicals would ever collide, but we live in an amazing age. Tea for Three Studios' Regency Love was a most delightful surprise and it is tonally perfect. It's an RPG, where you are the Lizzie Bennett-type, headstrong or obedient as you … Continue reading
To Kansas, To Marry
This is a story about magic and love. There was once a convention, ostensibly about comics, called Morrison Con. That's where this story really starts. Love and magic were in the air, in the strangest of all possible places, the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the opposite of Fear and Loathing, a … Continue reading
Big News on The Thirteenth Earl!
As promised, you'll know when I know: The Thirteenth Earl has been acquired by Montlake Romance and will be coming out in 2016! Here's your first preview of what's in store… Jonathan Vane is not an eligible bachelor. Any mothers aspiring to gain a title for their daughter do not see him as … Continue reading
Adventures in Gaming: A Dark Room and The Ensign
I've never been much of a gamer, at least not someone who defined as such. I've always loved games, but I seem to be very picky about what I give my attention to–it's a commitment to hours of my life and my main currency is time. I'm careful about how I use it. In the … Continue reading
Meet My Character: Blog Hop
I'm going to try not to get carried away with the topic of this blog hop*, which is "Meet my Character." I can't promise anything, though, because characters (and dialogue are the foundation) of my fiction writing. Thank you to Jo Chumas for inviting me into the circle. Jo's novel, The Hidden, was the 2013 Amazon … Continue reading
Read-A-Romance Month – One Month. 93 Writers. Romance Matters!
On Day 28th, RAR will be posting my essay on why Romance matters. I'm very honored to be on this list of names writing on the subject and the essays posted so far are well worth checking out. Read-A-Romance Month – One Month. 93 Writers. Continue reading
A Man Above Reproach is the Romance Category Winner in ABNA!
Here is what happens when you find out you won your category in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. It is May 6, 2013. You get a call from a zip code you don't recognize. The voice on the other end identifies itself, asks if you're driving. (You're not, in fact, you never got your … Continue reading


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Phantom Mini Call comes with a stick that has 5 sounds,mute button and volume control, right in your hand. Added sticks and amplified speaker can be purchased separately. The Extreme Dimensions Wildlife Calls Mini Phantom Game Calls is the smallest call in it's class, and has a undistorted 8 bit sound quality second to none. And it is loud-up to 110db of volume, and can play 2 sounds at once and overlap the same sound.


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Get Truthdig's headlines in your inbox!
Here Are Five Surprising Ways Iran Is Better Than Israel (Video)
Leonard Nimoy's Last Wishes for Israel and Palestine (Video)
Robert Scheer: On Civil Liberties, Obama's 'Probably the Worst President We've Had'
The Great Game in the Holy Land
Leonard Nimoy Inspired Millions and Will Continue to Do So
By Jesse Katz $16.50
By Howard Jacobson
Thomas Hawk (CC-BY)
Former Nottingham Trent University business professor Clive R. Boddy is hot on the trail of one of the crucial social questions of our time: Are the people at the helm of our financial institutions "corporate psychopaths" who lack a "conscience, have few emotions and display an inability to have any feelings, sympathy or empathy for other people"?
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Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux Grocery Shopping in LA
Jennifer and Justin Beat the Heat With a Shopping Stop
Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux took a shopping trip together in LA on Saturday afternoon. The couple stayed close as they walked out of the store, and Jennifer beat the heat in a gauzy dress, while her fiancé, Justin, stayed with his signature rocker-cool getup of jeans and a t-shirt. Jen is likely taking it easy after an incredibly busy Summer. She spent time in NYC to film Squirrels to the Nuts with Owen Wilson and embarked on a big overseas trip to promote the comedy We're the Millers alongside costar Jason Sudeikis, making stops in London, Paris, and Berlin before returning home to the West Coast. Fortunately, Jen was able to unwind after her whirlwind press tour with a bikini-filled getaway to Mexico with Justin, as well as her friend Jason Bateman and his wife, Amanda Anka.
Jen and Justin also spent most of the past few months dealing with marriage and pregnancy rumors. Reports swirled that they would tie the knot during Justin's 42nd birthday party in August, and Jen fielded questions about whether or not she was expecting a baby after hitting the red carpet for the Big Apple premiere of We're the Millers. Jen addressed all the speculation, saying, "It's all been pretty much exhausted," and attributing the pregnancy rumors to "just a couple of pounds."
- India didn't even like the edited version of Fifty Shades — Us Weekly
- This Clueless star was almost cast in Titanic — HuffPost Celebrity
- Find out about Nicholas Hoult's latest project — Lainey Gossip
- Which star was Cupid for Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard? — Dlisted
- Demi Lovato talks about a possible Eminem collaboration — ET
- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is well aware of her privilege — JustJared
- Eva Longoria is still in magnificent shape — Hollywood Tuna
- Guess which celebrity quit Instagram? — Pink Is the New Blog
- Chelsea Handler did not get a breast lift, OK? — The Superficial


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Eyeglasses Read To The Blind
The FIU team's early prototype, known as the FreedomLens, was one of 16 semi-finalists chosen from 29 nations to present at the 2013 Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition. The team from FIU, one of only four U.S. universities chosen to present, received an outstanding reception at the conference, where one judge said it had the potential to bring "disruptive technology" and create an entire new market.
"The students realized that they didn't have to reinvent the wheel," Pissaris said. "They are customizing a technology to meet a global social need, and creating a market-based solution."
Contact: Ellen Forman 305-348-4887 or 954-873-4118 news.FIU.edu
SOURCE Florida International University
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Can matplotlib draw a stacked cylinder bar plot like the one below? How about if it has only one bar?
If not, another option would be just a usual stacked bar plot with the bars having rounded edges - is that possible?
I searched the matplotlib gallery and bar()
documentation, but couldn't find something to do it.


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Nice clean no fuss appartments, extremely helpful staff. We stayed for one night, and really appreciated our 2-personed appartment. We ordered a takeaway locally after a long day's hiking, and ate it in the appartment, which had everything you needed including a microwave to heat up the food. The bed was very comfortable, the bathroom had a bath (perfect to... More
France >
Midi-Pyrenees >
Haute-Garonne >
Price Range (Based on Average Rates):
Hotel Class:3 star — Les Jardins Ramel 3*
Number of rooms: 95
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What does CTIZ stand for?
What does CTIZ mean? This page is about the various possible meanings of the acronym, abbreviation, shorthand or slang term: CTIZ.
We've found a total of 1 definition for CTIZ:
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Still can't find the acronym definition you were looking for? Use our Power Search technology to look for more unique definitions from across the web!
"CTIZ." Abbreviations.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2015. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://www.abbreviations.com/CTIZ>.


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Google Improves From 'Unsatisfactory' To 'C-' Rating At BBB
Is Google getting better at customer service? To the degree that you rely on Better Business Bureau ratings as an indicator of customer service, the answer might be "yes." Over the past 27 months, Google's BBB rating has gone from "unsatisfactory" — when the BBB used a pass/fail grading system — to a "C-" in its current letter-based grading.
Back in July, 2008, we reported that Google had an "unsatisfactory" grade from the BBB.
This was in the days when the BBB only graded companies as either "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory." As Valleywag pointed out at the time, two out of 331 complaints on Google's record were unresolved.
Not long after that, the Better Business Bureau began giving companies letter-based grades from "A+" to "F," just like in schools. In early 2009, Barry Schwartz wrote on Search Engine Roundtable about Google's "D" grade, when the BBB said "we recommend caution in doing business with" Google.
Now, as Mike Blumenthal reported a couple days ago, Google has managed a slight improvement to a "C-" grade.
Google's BBB profile shows fewer complaints over the past three years than Yahoo's profile, but Yahoo rates an "A+" grade.
Why is that?
It appears the problem is that Google has not responded at all to more than four dozen of the 647 complaints on its record. Yahoo, on the other hand, has responded to all of the 806 complaints listed on its profile.
Google has a history of providing poor support for several of its products. The 2009 article on Search Engine Roundtable makes reference to complaints from AdWords users. Complaints about Google's lack of support are also common in the Google Maps Help Forum. Last summer, on its Google Maps blog, the company even admitted that it "can't respond to every problem individually," and hasn't "found the perfect way to address each problem and question that comes up."
Until Google puts more energy into responding to complaints, that BBB grade isn't likely to get any better.
SMX West kicks off next week! Join your peers at Search Engine Land's SMX West conference for three days of tactical sessions, keynotes and clinics on paid search, SEO, mobile search and more. All Access and free Expo+ passes available. Register today!
(Some images used under license from Shutterstock.com.)
Discover what's up in the business of marketing each Friday.


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Mitchell City Council awards Corn Palace construction bid
The Mitchell City Council awarded a bid to a local company for the renovation of the Corn Palace at its meeting Monday night at City Hall, but only after agreeing to a few changes to keep the project within budget.
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Chad Donella
Chad Donella was born on May 18, 1978 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, known for Final Destination (2000), Saw 3D: The Final Chapter (2010) and Shattered Glass (2003). He has been married to Joni Bertin since 2007.
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Born:in Toronto, Ontario, Canada |


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We created Pandora to put the Music Genome Project directly in your hands
It's a new kind of radio –
stations that play only music you like
Comfortably Numb
Features of This Track
mystical qualitiesa subtle use of vocal harmony
a clear focus on recording studio production
mixed minor & major key tonality
These are just a few of the hundreds of attributes cataloged for this track by the Music Genome Project.
show moreSimilar Tracks
Favorite songs and its pissing me off someone needs to fix this
Prayer, don't know how to pray ? There's no wrong way, ok , you want an example ? Here we go ... God help people seeking you find the real you and knowledge, patience to tell the difference between good and evil. Congrats, you've just prayed :) smile
I...have become...com f o r t a b l y numb.
Plus got to communicate with my boat cause its time
They are calling me....so until I go I've got to maintain by staying comfortably numb...


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Download Wreck-it Ralph iPhone iPad iOS
iOS Wreck-it Ralph 1.0 Mobile
Customer Reviews Well..I can understand why Turbo Time was unplugged in the movie now. Fix the controls, please. The rest of the games are fun, but I do also wish sugar rush was the racing game like in the movie rather than just another jumping game. Update finally!Ralph says "I`m gonna wreck it!" now! The game is perfect. Facebook profile login needs fixing!!Only played Fix-It Felix Jr so far and it`s fun but the annoying thing is the game keeps telling me to sign via Facebook but when I do it keeps giving me an invalid username error. Please Fix! Related - Games - Wreck-it Ralph 1.0
More in Games - for Wreck-it Ralph iPhone
More by Disney - for Wreck-it Ralph app ioS