World/BRIDGE Initiative

The World/BRIDGE initiative addresses the acute shortage of capital available for investment, particularly by non-profits and NGOs, in poverty-stricken areas. It directly challenges the widely held perceptions of lenders and investors that such investments are characterized by extreme risk and therefore, must be relegated to the realm of token charitable donations rather than sound, full-scale business investments. The innovation embodied in the World/BRIDGE initiative is the successful inclusion of public pension fund financing for affordable housing for low- and very low-income households. Prior to this $340 million dollar initiative, pension funds had regarded loans and investments in low-income areas as being "too risky" to meet prudent fiduciary standards. Now, as a result of the initiative, two of the United States' largest pensions agreed for the first time to invest in construction loans for non-profit affordable housing, much of it in inner-city, depressed, minority neighborhoods.

The goal of this program is to encourage capital investment in low-income areas.

Results of the program include:

- Linked investments totaling close to $150 million in 3 years.
- 400 new homes built, with 600 more in progress.
- More than 200 new jobs.