Sep 28, 2021
SANTA FE (September 27, 2021)― Groundworks New Mexico (formerly New Mexico Association of Grantmakers) and the New Mexico Impact Investment Collaborative (NMIIC) today announced the creation of the Local Impact Fixed Income Targeted Investment New Mexico (LIFT NM), an impact investing initiative with an aim of supporting community development in the state of New Mexico.
The purpose of this initiative is for investors in New Mexico to come together and focus their investments on specific communities and impact goals that are important to their missions and values. These investments can support homeownership, job creation, small business growth, access to affordable rental housing, healthcare and other resources that support development in New Mexico.
Already, there is more than $11 million USD committed to the newly created impact investing initiative, which will be made through the Access Capital Community Investment Strategy, a fixed income bond investment strategy managed by RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM).
“We are excited to launch this new initiative as part of our growing place-based impact investing collaboration and portfolio made up of New Mexico philanthropies and impact investors,” said Adam Rubel, Advisory Committee Chair for the New Mexico Impact Investment Collaborative. “This fixed income investment strategy makes it accessible for any investor to align their market rate investments with their mission and focus to benefit New Mexico communities.”
“The objective of this impact investment initiative is to strengthen community development and advance socio-economic, health and racial equity in New Mexico by attracting more capital and investors for social good,” said Frank Lopez, Executive Director for Groundworks New Mexico. “We are excited to offer this new investment opportunity as a benefit to our members, and we have high aspirations to enable our local entrepreneurs and businesses to gain access to loans and resources that can lead to job creation and economic growth in underserved communities.”
The lead institutions participating in this new impact investing initiative are Anchorum St. Vincent, McCune Charitable Foundation and CHRISTUS St. Vincent (CSV).
“As a philanthropy and active place-based impact investor, this is a perfect way we can align more of our endowment with our mission and invest in our local community,” said Jerry Jones, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Anchorum St. Vincent and a member of NMIIC. “Impact investing is a powerful tool to amplify our impact beyond grantmaking and this investment solution complements our other direct investments in local affordable housing, healthcare and community projects and institutions by providing a high quality, liquid, market-rate investment alternative in our impact investing portfolio.”
“We are honored to be involved in a collaboration with our local philanthropic organizations to invest together in our community,” said Lillian Montoya, President and CEO of CHRISTUS St. Vincent. “Investments like this serve to strengthen our community by expanding affordable housing, creating jobs, supporting small businesses and providing low income communities with access to capital. This helps us to live our mission of improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”
RBC GAM’s Access Capital Community Investment Strategy has developed a track record of working with organizations to invest in customized U.S. agency guaranteed mortgage-backed securities and local, state and federal government-backed loans and securities that support homeownership, affordable rental housing, small businesses, healthcare, education and job creation targeted to low- and moderate-income residents and communities of color. As of June 30, 2021, RBC GAM’s Access Capital Community Investment Strategy has more than $1.5 billion USD in assets under management. Investment performance is reported versus the U.S. Securitized Index.
“With this impact investing initiative, we are helping lenders provide loans in under-resourced communities that facilitate wealth creation opportunities for the residents of New Mexico that need it most,” said Ron Homer, Chief Impact Investing Strategist at RBC Global Asset Management. “We are pleased to partner with Groundworks New Mexico and New Mexico Impact Investing Collaborative on a program that supports investments that aim to build stronger communities.”
Foundations, corporations, nonprofits, health care organizations, as well as other private and public institutions, financial advisors, and family offices are all eligible to participate in the collaboration under the partnership established with RBC GAM. Community Development Financial Institutions and other responsible lenders who would like to learn more about how their lending programs may align with this initiative are encouraged to contact RBC GAM or the NMIIC directly.
For more information, visit https://institutional.rbcgam.com/LIFTNM.
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About Groundworks New Mexico.
Groundworks New Mexico (formerly the New Mexico Association of Grantmakers) is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness and impact of the New Mexico social sector. By combining the power of foundations, collaborative funding, and nonprofit organizations, Groundworks New Mexico provides programs, research and educational resources, and collaboration opportunities for foundations, investors, and nonprofits throughout New Mexico. In addition, Groundworks also builds the capacity of the New Mexico nonprofit community by providing actionable trainings and networking opportunities. www.GroundworksNM.org
About New Mexico Impact Investment Collaborative (NMIIC).
NMIIC is a funder collaborative dedicated to catalyzing and scaling impact investing throughout the state of New Mexico. NMIIC’s mission is to create healthy, equitable, sustainable and economically vibrant communities within New Mexico by facilitating and increasing the supply and effective deployment of impact investing capital within the state. NMIIC’s members collaborate to source, diligence, structure, monitor and report on impact investment opportunities in non-profits, mission-driven businesses and intermediaries for the benefit of New Mexican communities. NMIIC members also collaborate to share learning, build the field and find ways to integrate capital, combining grantmaking, impact investing and public resources to drive catalytic impact throughout the state. https://www.newmexicoimpact.org/
For more information, please contact:
Frank Lopez, Executive Director, Groundworks New Mexico, 505-401-7444
Joohee S. Rand, VP for Philanthropy & Impact Investing, Anchorum St. Vincent and Member, NMIIC, 505-690-0474
Pierre Joseph, Consultant, Project Director, NMIIC, 413.204.8778
Arturo Delgado, Director of Marketing, Communications & Public Relations, CHRISTUS St. Vincent, 505 913 5466
Tony Catinella, RBC GAM Corporate Communications, 617-722-4711