Decarbonization requires systems change within the NMTC sector, involving collaboration across various economic sectors. By integrating climate-focused strategies, CDEs can more effectively serve the communities they finance, and expand their reach by partnering with GGRF awardees. This report aims to serve as a call to action in empowering CDEs to adopt practices that contribute to decarbonization, drawing from comprehensive research and interviews with key NMTC players. By taking these steps, CDEs can align with broader sector trends, mitigate risks, and support the transition towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

We’re thrilled to share a summary of Broadstreet’s recent achievements and insights. This reflection has a dual aim: to hold ourselves accountable and elevate industry standards. This report provides a summary of Broadstreet’s Fund Management and Fund Administration services, coupled with our latest milestones and accomplishments. These milestones highlight our commitment to continuous improvement and innovative impact management.

As we move forward, we hope these reflections not only guide the evolution of our work to drive gains in under-resourced communities, but offer impact insights to inform the work of other impact investors as well.

This paper serves as a companion to our first report on the Black-White health gap. The paper looks at racial disparities across the entire Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) market, identifying trends in health outcomes between 2014 and 2021. Key findings from the report include:

• Significant racial health disparities persist in the FQHC system:
  • Black patients 1.6x more likely to have babies with low birth weight, 2.1x more likely to have uncontrolled high blood pressure or diabetes
• The research contributes to significant the body of evidence that race affects health outcomes independent of people’s economic status
  
• Provides further support for Broadstreet’s strategic commitment to investing in health projects explicitly serving BIPOC communities, especially those addressing heart disease and diabetes

Data indicates that traditional means of addressing the Black-White health gap have failed and require a rethinking of how we pursue health equity. This new way of thinking can be spearheaded by the private sector. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the impact investing community has become increasingly interested in creating funds and financing innovations that address racial inequities in the U.S. However, interested investors need guidance to determine what type of investments will have a measurable impact on racial health disparities. To help provide this guidance, Braodstreet investigated the root causes of the Black-White health disparities in the U.S., reviewed the evidence on interventions that have attempted to narrow these disparities, and interviewed health experts and investors.

Read the full paper for opportunities through private investment to drive progress in narrowing the U.S. Black-White health gap.

Webinar

NMSC and Rhia Ventures partnered to co-host a learning event to discuss the findings of the white paper and how the private sector can better address the racial health gap through investment. We hope viewers of this webinar learn about scalable, evidence-based solutions and innovative solutions (i.e., new delivery models, technologies, and medical insights) that prioritize and benefit people of color that can disrupt traditional approaches to healthcare. The webinar also provides recommendations from the paper that the private sector should consider when pursuing health equity in their investment decisions.

Our track record of $1+ billion of NMTC investments has always run the gamut of project type, and comparing this diverse set of investments has always been challenging. How should investors compare the expected impacts of investments in rural hospitals, urban charter schools, large manufacturers creating quality, accessible jobs, and small nonprofits providing wraparound services? We believed that by building an impact rating tool containing specific yet generalizable questions and indicators, these comparisons would be possible.

Our staff had the opportunity to visit a portfolio project, Amped Kitchens’ Chicago, to learn about the impact the business is having in the community and the benefits to the local small food businesses that rent kitchen space.