With this post, we both close the old year and bring in the new. While Investing In Communities® has accomplished a lot in the year past, we have far to go – probably around the world.

IIC’s community of communities – those seeking to strengthen and expand collaboration between the for-profit and nonprofit sectors for their mutual benefit – has nearly 400 participating charities. Because of our history, about 60 % are located in Chicago metro. The others range from St. Croix to Hawaii, from ME to WA, and from Mexico to Canada!

Because of a very active IIC volunteer who lives there, many of our 50 Member agents work in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. We just made our first distribution to an IIC Nonprofit Partner not located in the US, Feed the Hungry San Miguel. What makes this event even more notable is that it’s the first time that the Member’s pledge was matched by their client. In fact, the client more than matched it. IIC requires only that the fortunate agent who is awarded the brokerage assignment pledge a minimum of 10% of that commission for distribution through IIC to their client’s favorite charity.

Since we began to make distributions in May, 2010, IIC has enabled more than $150,000 of support for IIC Partners.

Recently, we added a searchable Corporate Directory for companies wishing to use IIC as a tool in connection with corporate and/or employees’ transactions, and/or just wanting to affiliate their brands with ours. We look forward to building this into an important platform for companies large and small, wanting to strengthen connections to their respective communities of interest and desiring recognition for doing business doing good.

We attended a wonderful event today to celebrate the first day in history that Benefit Corporations can exist in IL and recognize the first group of such IL for-profits. A movement is afoot, which with increasing frequency will cause commerce, as it’s transacted, to benefit the parties to the transaction and the larger world. That’s the IIC model.

For this movement, “investing in communities” is not an after-effect of profit making, but is integral to making that profit. We at Investing In Communities believe this is the smartest way to do more business. What’s better than everyone winning?

We are humbled and very proud to be a part of this social enterprise movement. We will work hard to contribute to its spread, for the benefit of those companies, professionals, and their customers and clients, who see commerce as a way to fund solutions to communities’ challenges. IIC will continue to work hard to do this for the benefit of us all.

Happy New Year!

-J.L.

Despite the hard work of his single mother in raising J.L. and his siblings, J.L. experienced a difficult childhood.  In order to ensure that his family always had enough to eat, J.L. would regularly shoplift.  He was heading down the wrong path.  That was until he attended his first Dream Leader Conference.

Dream Leader Conferences are programs created by Dreams for Kids in which at-risk youth and children with disabilities are brought together with their peers for the purpose of learning and helping others.[1]

After opening up and sharing his difficulties at home during the Dream Leader Conference, J.L. began the process of becoming a true leader.  In discussing his old practices of stealing, J.L. said, “I’m a Dream Leader now. That isn’t what a Dream Leader does. I have to help people now. There are so many people who need more than I do and I have to help them. I need to be a good example.”

Attending a Dream Leader Conference provided J.L. with a new worldview.  Following the conference, J.L. went out and put on a fundraiser to help drill a well for a small African village.  This well would provide fresh water for the villagers rather than having them walk six miles each day to get buckets of dirty water from a pond.  Upon receiving the first dollar from his fundraiser, J.L. stared at the money in disbelief.  It was real.  J.L. realized he was a Dream Leader now, and he could truly help people in need.

J.L.’s experience with Dreams For Kids is relatively typical.  Kelly, another attendee said of her experience, “In a sense, Dreams for Kids has given me special powers to make the world a better place… I can now put smiles on children’s’ faces, so I can put a proud smile on my face.”[2]

It is not easy to put on Dream Leader events, and that is where the Investing In Communities innovative real estate model comes into play.  In 2011, Michael Pink, a broker with MAP Real Estate, was asked to represent Urban Partnership Bank in a lease for its new downtown branch and offices. Pink got this assignment by pledging 15% of his commission to IIC, so that Urban Partnership Bank could provide funding for local charities of its choice.  Through a random drawing, 15 different charities were chosen to receive different amounts of funding.  In total, they received $42,000, including $5,000 for Dreams for Kids. (Read all about the drawing in IIC’s next blog post).

(Bill Lowry of Chicago Community Trust)

The impact of this $5,000 can be seen in different ways.  The unrestricted funds could be viewed as helping fund two extra Dream Leader Conferences with 16 attendees each.  Another way to view the donation is that the $5,000 provides an opportunity for 32 J.L.’s to mature.  Thanks to Investing In Communities, and Urban Partnership Bank, and Pink, 32 at-risk and disabled youth will be given the opportunity to gain a whole new world view and begin to do good for the world.

What is social impact, anyway? When we talk about measuring social impact, we generally mean measuring social or environmental outcome – the result of implementing a program, producing a good, or consuming a product or service.  Outcomes are distinct from outputs – the amount of goods produced or products delivered [1].

Grow and track your impact - and we mean your outcome!

And why is this distinction important? Suffice it to say that the past ten years have seen an incredible upsurge in both the intensity and extent of outcome-oriented philanthropy [2]. Put another way, let’s face it: tracking the impact of social ventures has become an integral factor in determining which organizations receive funding. Foundations, corporate donors, and the government are all starting to evaluate impact. Funding is scarce, and you don’t want your organization to miss the boat. But it’s not just about funding. The real goal of impact assessment is to understand how to better serve your beneficiaries. (To read more about the broader implications of this industry shift to outcome-oriented philanthropy, we encourage you to check out a recent article by IIC’s Colleen Poynton: “The Challenges of Measuring Impact Assessment”).

With these two objectives in mind – funding and social good – let’s look at just how Investing In Communities’ partnership with Ashoka Changemakers will help nonprofits, consumers, and real estate professionals make a difference in their communities.  First, to introduce the players:

• Ashoka is a global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system-changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. Some of us may have fully-scaled, system-changing social solutions, but for the rest of us there’s Ashoka Changemakers.

• Ashoka Changemakers provides the tools and resources to empower everyone to contribute to a better world. No matter where you are starting, or where you are going, Changemakers makes it easier to share an idea, track progress, communicate with supporters, and invest in global change.

Through IIC’s new partnership with Changemakers, Nonprofit Partners gain access to their own personal Changeshop – a simple, free, transparent tool that enables social innovators to track the impact of IIC funding. In addition to enabling impact tracking, a Changeshop also empowers Nonprofit Partners to:

• Receive free, unrestricted funding through IIC and other major donors
• Gain visibility on the world’s most important social change platform
• Connect with new ideas, supporters, and resources
• Share their social and environmental impact

And impact tracking isn’t only valuable for nonprofits. Corporate Friends and Real Estate Members can also track the actual impact of funding generated through their transactions. Imagine if you or your company could say “my real estate deal provided free dental care to 100 disadvantaged children for one year” instead of just “my transaction generated $10,000 for charity.” Not that generating $10,000 for charity is bad – it’s fantastic! But communicating the details of your good deeds more strongly associates your company’s brand with high-impact philanthropy. Furthermore, corporate users – whether Friends or Real Estate Members – can gather social impact data for their own CSR reporting directly from the Changeshops of Nonprofit Partners.

So: we’ve explored how a Changeshop works and how Changemakers Changeshops benefits the entire IIC community. Now, let’s take a look at how an amazing Nonprofit Partner is using its Changeshop to communicate its mission, growth, funding, and impact.

For organizations like Dreams for Kids, everybody is a social entrepreneur. Dreams for Kids is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to replacing charity with empowerment and opportunity for at-risk and disabled youth.  Through its flagship Dream Leaders program, teens receive training in social entrepreneurship – in short, they learn how to make a difference while acquiring the skills necessary to succeed in school, to prepare themselves for future careers, and to become empathetic, productive citizens of the world.

As you can see, the Dream Leaders program incorporates three primary components – what a fascinating afterschool opportunity!

• Service Learning: empowerment through high-impact volunteerism
• Social Entrepreneurship Training: empowerment through an innovative afterschool curriculum that enables participants to create their own social enterprises.
• We Are The Change Conference™: empowerment through weekend conferences designed to support students’ social enterprises, enhance knowledge of social issues, teach industry best-practices, and increase the impact of students’ projects in their communities and worldwide.

In October, Dreams for Kids received $5,000 in unrestricted funding through Investing In Communities’ $42,000 random drawing.  This funding enabled Dreams for Kids to sponsor not one, but TWO Dream Leaders groups. Each group empowers 16 teens to imagine and launch their dream social ventures. So, you see – IIC didn’t just give away $5000 in funding. Urban Partnership Bank’s real estate deal didn’t just generate $5,000 for this great charity. The true outcome of this $5,000 is as follows:

32 at-risk, underserved Chicago teens participated in a life-changing afterschool program. As a result of their participation in this program, these students were x more likely to attend college, y less likely to become involved in gangs, and z more likely to volunteer in their communities. And perhaps the impact of these students’ empowerment will be multiplied. Imagine if one of these 32 students were to launch a project in her community – a project that provided x benefit to y community members with z cumulative impact.

What do x, y, and z equal? And how do they change over time? What is the ultimate impact of IIC’s $5,000 contribution to Dreams for Kids? Now THAT’s what Changeshops is for.  Visit Dreams for Kids’ Changeshop to track the progress of these young social entrepreneurs. Watch this Dream Leaders YouTube video and imagine the possibilities for these inspiring young people. We’ll also be posting videoclips detailing the wonderful work of IIC’s two Dream Leaders groups in a follow-up post – stay tuned!

Check out Dreams for Kids' Changeshop, then set up yours today!

Dream for Kids truly exemplifies the “pay it forward” ethic that IIC is so proud to support. Would your nonprofit like to track and share its impact, receive unrestricted funding from IIC and other major donors, and connect with new ideas, supporters, and resources? Create your free profile today at IIConline.org and begin tracking your impact at no cost with a Changemakers Changeshop.

Citations:

[1] Ebrahim, Alnoor and V. Kastury Rangan. The Limits of Nonprofit Impact: A Contingency Framework for Measuring Social Performance. Harvard Business School Working Paper. 2010. pg 10-15.

[2] Brest, Paul. “A Decade of Outcome-Oriented Philanthropy.” Stanford Social Innovation Review. Spring 2012. Accessed 16 April 2012. <http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/a_decade_of_outcome_oriented_philanthropy&gt;.

Read the full article at Sustainable Brands.

Social ventures are launching rapidly across the globe and striving to build sustainable business models that drive social or environmental progress. Yet to achieve progress through enterprise, social entrepreneurs must confront a challenge that has long plagued the nonprofit sector – quantifying and tracking social impact.

Substantive impact measurement can be costly and complex, but it’s critical for social ventures pursuing greater scale and efficacy. Recently, sector heavyweight Ashoka launched an open resource that will encourage and facilitate impact tracking across the social change sector – to the benefit of social entrepreneurs, ventures, funders, and investors globally.

Post by Colleen Poynton, Manager of Business Strategy and Development at Investing In Communities

When we talk about measuring social impact, we generally mean measuring social or environmental outcomes – i.e. the result of implementing a program, producing a good, or consuming a product or service.  Outcomes are distinct from outputs – the amount of goods produced or products delivered.[1] While traditional business is concerned with profitably generating outputs, a social enterprise must produce outputs profitably (or at least sustainably), while also advancing a desired social or environmental outcome.

Unfortunately outcomes are not as easily quantified as outputs. They are messy results of numerous variables, only a few of which a social enterprise can hope to influence effectively.[2] The measurement challenge that social businesses face is to demonstrate a connection between output (say, # jars of honey made by formerly incarcerated workers) and outcome (i.e. increased employment and reduced local recidivism rates), and to describe that connection quantitatively (i.e. “Our operations lowered recidivism by 15% relative to control populations over 5 years.”). Quantifying and tracking this relationship is costly. It requires greater data collection and analysis upfront (before launch) as well as over time….

Read the rest of Colleen’s article at SustainableBrands.Com

Sources

[1] Ebrahim, Alnoor and V. Kastury Rangan. The Limits of Nonprofit Impact: A Contingency Framework for Measuring Social Performance. Harvard Business School Working Paper. 2010. pg 10-15.

[2] Hanna, Julia. “The Hard Work of Measuring Social Impact.” Harvard Business School. http://hbswk.hbs.edu. June 2010.

Delta Institute’s long-range vision is to transform the Great Lakes Region into the center of the rapidly growing green economy.

And now the follow-up you’ve all been waiting for: so how did Delta Institute use its over $10,000 in funding from Investing In Communities?

In addition to getting a beautiful space at a very affordable rent, Delta used its no-cost funding from Investing In Communities to buy the furniture necessary to make its new office space truly professional. In fact, we were thrilled to get a sneak peek at their new space! And wow – check out the number on that check. What could your favorite nonprofit do with that kind of funding?

Chicago-based Delta Institute generated over $10,000 in free funding for itself by working with a socially responsible real estate professional.

Want to learn more about how this deal made a difference for an amazing nonprofit? Make sure to check out our first post in this two-part series about Delta Institute’s nearly $11,000 in free funding.

Do you want your real estate deal to make a difference for nonprofits like Delta Institute? Are you a nonprofit that would like to receive funds through IIC? Then visit IIConline.org to sign up today as a Real Estate Member, an Individual or Corporate Friend, or a Nonprofit Partner! Do you know someone who should know about IIC? You can tell them with a click!

Post by Colleen Poynton, Manager of Business Strategy and Development at Investing In Communities

You’re still in real estate. Still. As in – still after one of the worst downturns an industry has ever seen, you’re still in it. Why?

Why do you do what you do? You help people purchase and sell property. You help companies find the right space, or landlords find the right tenants.

If you stuck out this recession, the odds are decent that your job isn’t just a paycheck.  There’s a reason you do it. When was the last time you shared that reason with a potential client?

“People buy things from people they like and can relate to.” This great insight is from an article by Lambeth Hochwald over at Entreprenuer.com. Simon Sinek puts it another way – “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

Let’s translate these observational statements into actionable business strategy: If you want to establish trust, loyalty, and a productive business relationship you need to create a connection with potential clients.

Hochwald’s article offers several good recommendations of how to build that connection, but point #4 may be the most critical, and I think, the most frequently misinterpreted: “Talk about yourself.” You probably already do this – sort of. You tell clients all about your expertise, your past success, your certifications, client endorsements, etc…etc…

You tell them how you’ll meet their real estate need, but do you ever tell them why?

Perhaps you love to help create strong, vibrant business districts in your city. Perhaps you have a passion for homes and interior spaces – for their idiosyncrasies and personalities. Perhaps you’re a life-long resident of your city/town/county and you know the neighborhoods/schools/parks/local gems better than anyone. Maybe you just really get a kick out of making clients happy.

For some excellent insight into why the WHY is critical, watch this great Ted Talk by Sinek.

Okay, so back to point #4.

The author also suggests that you share a personal fact about yourself (not too personal) – one a customer can relate to. Maybe you volunteer at a local shelter, tutor kids on the weekend, lead a scout troop, or do pro-bono web development for nonprofits (call me). Whatever it is – odds are there’s something other than work that makes you tick. That human element is – surprise – something your clients happen to share.

Point 5 in this article is also essential. Now that you’ve opened up a bit, sit back and listen. What’s important to the person across from you? What makes them tick? Do you share a common passion, conviction, or hobby? If the answer is yes, you’ve successfully laid the foundation for an authentic relationship – one that just happens to involve a business transaction.

The Cause for Causes

There’s a reason major corporations are scrambling to integrate social and environmental impact into their products, services, and operations. Cause = Connection.

Fact: I do not care about toothbrushes, (even though I use them). I care about deforestation in the Amazon.

Enter Cause: Your company offsets it carbon footprint by preserving acres of the Amazon?

Connection: Okay, I’ll buy that toothbrush.

Just take a look at these stats. Edelman reports that the majority of consumers take action to support companies with broader social purpose:

-       66% buy their goods or services

-       66% recommend their goods or services

-       64% share their positive opinions or experiences with others

In fact, Edelman’s Good Purpose Study found that when choosing between 2 brands of equal quality and price, social purpose continues to rank as the #1 deciding factor for consumers – above design, innovation, or brand loyalty.

Why does this matter to your real estate business? Well, you may not be a multinational corporation, but you do have a personal brand, and the same waves of consumer preferences that are moving corporate mountains are lapping at your doorstep. If these preferences can sway a trivial decision about which toothbrush to buy, they can influence one of the most significant purchasing decisions that consumers and businesses face – “What property should I purchase or lease, and who do I trust to help me?”

Enter Investing In Communities

We like to describe IIC as a tool – something that you choose to pick up and use to build those authentic connections with a prospective client. By choosing to donate 10% of your compensation to your client’s favorite cause you say a lot about yourself, what you value, and maybe even why you do what you do. After all, at the end of the day isn’t real estate all about creating healthy, vibrant communities?

If you want to see your local neighborhood thrive, IIC is an expression of that.

If you want to support disaster relief or early childhood education, IIC is an expression of that.

More importantly, if you want to show your commitment to your client and THEIR values – IIC demonstrates that.

In the process you may be surprised what you learn about a prospective client and the causes, organizations, and institutions they support.

Like toothbrushes, everyone needs real estate. But IIC lets you empower clients to turn a vanilla real estate transaction into an act that truly matters.

Connection: Your toothbrush just got a lot more interesting.

Dan Shannon of Aspire Properties makes his deal make a difference - over $800 in free, unrestricted funding for Operation Homelink!

An anonymous client generated free funding for Operation Homelink by working with a socially responsible real estate professional - Dan Shannon of Aspire Properties. And Metropolitan Group generated free funding for Circle of Parents by working with Michael Pink of MAP Real Estate - another broker committed to serving his community.

As IIC Real Estate Members, Dan and Michael are making real estate deals make a difference. For these transactions, Dan and Michael both pledged to send 10% of their commissions to IIC, dedicated to the nonprofits of their clients’ choices. Now that’s commitment to client and community!

And what do these great nonprofits do?

Making real estate deals make a difference - Michael Pink generates over $2,000 for Circle of Parents.

• Operation Homelink aims to facilitate e-mail communication between American service members deployed overseas and their families back home.
• Circle of Parents creates and facilitates self-help support groups designed to give parents the opportunity to learn from and support one another throughout the incredible task of raising children.

We wish the best to both Operation Homelink and Circle of Parents – can’t wait to hear how they use all of that unrestricted funding! And thank you to Dan Shannon and Michael Pink for rethinking real estate – winning business by doing good.

Do you want to make your real estate deal make a difference? Find a socially responsible real estate professional at IIConline.org, or ask your favorite professional to join!

Delta Institute’s long-range vision is to transform the Great Lakes Region into the center of the rapidly growing green economy.

We’re exited to announce that another great nonprofit has received funding through Investing In Communities! Investing In Communities (IIC) recently distributed over $10,900 to our Nonprofit Partner, Delta Institute. What made this philanthropy possible?

Delta Institute generated free funding for itself by working with a socially responsible real estate professional. With its lease nearing expiration, Delta Institute chose to look for a new space and to be represented by Michael Pink of MAP Real Estate, Inc. As an IIC Real Estate Member, Michael is making real estate deals make a difference. Through IIC, at least 10% of Michael’s IIC-related commissions go to the nonprofit/s his client selects. For this transaction, Michael pledged to send 15% of his commission to IIC, dedicated to the nonprofit of Delta’s choice. In fact, Michael pledges at least 10% of every commission to the nonprofit of his client’s choice.

Delta Institute’s President and CEO Jean Pogge embraced this opportunity to secure funding for Delta at no cost. Jean says, “This check from Investing In Communities made my day, my week, and my year. Thank you so much for pioneering this new way of doing business!”

And Investing In Communities isn’t the only pioneer in the room – Delta Institute is one of the Midwest’s most innovative nonprofit organizations.  In addition to creating market opportunities to achieve environmental sustainability and economic development, Delta develops and implements practical solutions to build inclusive, job-rich regional economies. From brownfield redevelopment to renewable energy, from creating green jobs to financing green startups, Delta does it all! Thanks for all of your hard work – we’re incredibly proud to support inspiring nonprofits like Delta Institute.

And how will Delta Institute use almost $11,000 in free cash? In addition to getting a beautiful space at a very affordable rent, Delta will use this no-cost funding from Investing In Communities to buy the furniture necessary to make its new office space truly professional. We look forward to visiting Delta for a photo shoot in a few weeks – stay tuned for a follow-up blog post!

Do you want your real estate deal to make a difference? Are you a nonprofit that would like to receive funds through IIC? Then visit IIConline.org to sign-up today as a Real Estate Member, an Individual or Corporate Friend, or a Nonprofit Partner! Do you know someone who should know about IIC? You can tell them with a click!

Layton Olson, Attorney with Howe & Hutton LTD.

Last month, a dozen companies committed to advancing social good filed to be classified as ‘Benefit Corporations’ in California. Their decisions represent a commitment to business strategies that systematically contribute financial, time, human, and other resources to charitable, educational and community improvement initiatives and institutions.  California has joined the six states – Vermont, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Hawaii- that have enacted so-called public benefit or “B Corp” legislation since 2010.  Colorado, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan and some cities have similar laws under consideration.

While traditional C Corporations are chartered to maximize benefit (i.e. profits) for shareholders, the B Corporation is legally chartered to consider and benefit stakeholders – a group that also includes employees, the environment, vendors, and the broader community… This legal status shields corporate directors from “stock-drop lawsuits,” in which shareholders can sue corporate leadership for knowingly acting in ways that decrease profits (i.e. raising social or environmental standards). Benefit Corporations must also publish an annual benefit report, which publicly discloses environmental and social performance using 3^rd party reporting standards – therefore increasing transparency and accountability to shareholders and a burgeoning class of social investors.

Debating the Value of “Benefit” Status

In California, chambers of commerce representing environmental and technology companies advocated for the law, which requires that 2/3 of a company’s shareholders elect Benefit Corporation status. Some corporate law specialists have opposed the law, arguing that it does not clearly delineate duties of company leaders to shareholders. Others critics argue that Benefit Corporation status is superfluous, as the “Judgment Rule” in US law already affords corporate directors great flexibility to act as they deem to be in the best interest of the company. This, they argue, provides adequate cover for socially and environmentally-oriented policies.

While the Judgment Rule does provide flexibility for how corporate directors maximize shareholder value, it does not provide flexibility regarding whether they must do so. And that is the key differentiating factor of Benefit Corporation status – it frees profit-generating companies from the legal imperative of short-term profit maximization. As Eric Friedenwald Fishman points out, it is this very imperative that incents the shortsighted decisions that create profit today at a cost of social or environmental catastrophe tomorrow.

Patagonia Paves the Way

The poster-child for California’s new law is Patagonia, an outdoor clothing company that believes the legislation creates a necessary legal framework for mission-driven companies to stay mission-driven. Patagonia Founder Yvon Chouinard endorsed the law, saying that it enables companies like Patagonia to “stay mission-driven through succession, capital raises, and even changes in ownership, by institutionalizing the values, culture, processes and high standards put in place by the founding entrepreneurs.”

This new ability to enshrine “values, culture, processes, and standards” across transitions in corporate leadership and ownership is an essential element of the legislation, because not all Benefit Corporations will fulfill their legal obligation to create “a material benefit to society” through their core good or service.  Indeed, far more companies are likely to meet this requirement by implementing socially and environmentally sound practices within operations, supply-chains, human resources policy, or production procedures – variables that are more easily altered than a core business model.

IIC:  Integrating Impact Into Operations

Fortunately Benefit Corporation status is within reach for diverse companies, thanks to increasing opportunities for companies to build innovative relationships with sustainable vendors and socially responsible service providers. For example consider a unique real estate program called Investing In Communities (IIC). An IL nonprofit that I’ve had the privilege to advise, IIC (www.iiconline.org)is an online platform that empowers individuals and businesses to fund nonprofit organizations for free through brokered real estate transactions.

IIC’s platform allows real estate professionals anywhere to replace typical business development costs with more affordable, client-directed philanthropy. A company using the IIC platform would thereby direct charitable funding to its preferred nonprofit at no cost – simply by purchasing, selling, or leasing real estate. The cost of the donation is willingly born by the broker because it is less expensive than comparable business development tools. Thus, IIC allows companies to increase “the flow of capital to entities with a public benefit purpose” – a “specific public benefit” as defined in Subtitle 6C(1)(D) of the Benefit Corporation legislation.

IIC – which is now operational across the US, Mexico, and Canada – thereby integrates social impact directly into the standard operations of any company; a perfect example of the hybrid value that Benefit Corporations strive to create. By creating shareholder value and public benefit, Benefit Corporations not only strengthen the economy in a traditional sense (job, wealth, and capital creation), they can simultaneously reduce the cost of government – something that the IRS recognizes as a charitable activity in itself.

Thus, Benefit Corporation status joins L3C (low-profit limited liability) corporation status and employee ownership and profit sharing plans as a framework for business to invest back in our communities – generating sustainable economic growth, reducing costs borne by government and taxpayers, and making society collectively better-off.

Contact Layton Olson at leo@howehutton.com if you are interested in learning more about the benefits and drawbacks of such legal structures in relation to traditional charitable, trade association and other tax-exempt activities.

Spotlight: Centro San Bonifacio

A Centro San Bonifacio doula holds a happy, healthy baby delivered through the Comadres program.

Ever heard of a doula?  A doula, also known as a birth assistant, provides prenatal and postpartum education and support through a home visit program.  Many experienced doulas provide these services to needy women free of charge. However, hard economic times have encouraged nonprofits like Centro San Bonifacio to consider compensating talented birth assistants. In the current climate, where could a small nonprofit find unrestricted funding with which to provide these stipends?

Enter Investing In Communities. On October 25th, we gave away $42,000 to our Nonprofit Partners at a celebration in downtown Chicago. This philanthropy was generated by a real estate transaction involving an IIC Real Estate Member and Urban Partnership Bank.  By working with an IIC Member, the bank generated $42,000 in charitable funding for eligible nonprofits at no cost to itself. This funding included a $2500 award for Centro San Bonifacio.

This $2500 award from Investing In Communities enabled Centro San Bonifacio to initiate a stipend program for its most talented doulas. We are proud to support the valuable work of these amazing women!

The birth of Centro San Bonifacio itself also stemmed from profound economic change. In 1990, in response to the gentrification sweeping Chicago’s West Town neighborhood, the Archdiocese of Chicago closed St. Boniface, a thriving Hispanic and Polish parish of more than 1200 families. A group of Hispanic families responded to this blow by founding Centro San Bonifacio.

The initial goals of the organization centered on encouraging community solidarity in the face of rapid economic change. Over time, the Centro’s mission evolved to focus on meeting the immediate needs of poor and marginalized families while encouraging personal development and self-sufficiency. This mission eventually engendered the training and mobilization of Promotores de Salud (Community Health Promoters), including doulas.

Centro San Bonifacio’s flagship health promotion program is called “Comadres” or “close female friends. “Comadre” is also translated as “godmother.” The Comadres program is operated by doulas and includes three primary components:

• Home Visits: Home visits include individual prenatal education, referrals for clinical prenatal care, birth accompaniment service, lactation support, and postpartum care. 
• Safety Seat Program: As Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, Centro San Bonifacio doulas distribute infant car seats to families participating in the Comadres program.
• Good Beginnings Program: The Buen Comienzo (Good Beginnings) course consists of eight two-hour sessions addressing a range of topics including prenatal nutrition, pregnancy danger signs, exercise, infant development, the birth process, breastfeeding, and family planning. These classes also empower women to share crucial health information with other women in their communities.

Thanks to Investing In Communities, doulas will now receive stipends for assisting with the delivery of babies in-need.

Thanks to Centro San Bonifacio’s Comadres program, thousands of low-income Chicago women have received culturally relevant prenatal and postpartum care and education from qualified doulas. And that’s why we’re thrilled that the Centro is now able to offer these doulas small stipends for their priceless work. We hope that businesses like Urban Partnership Bank will continue making their real estate deals make a difference for inspiring nonprofits like Centro San Bonifacio.

Do you want your real estate deal to make a difference for women and infants in need? Are you a nonprofit that would like to receive funds through IIC? Then visit IIConline.org to sign up today as a Real Estate Member, an Individual or Corporate Friend, or a Nonprofit Partner! Do you know someone who should know about IIC? You can tell them with a click!

All photos courtesy of Maria Chavez.