What happens when leadership comes together to solve a problem? A lot, when it comes to Uplift America, an innovative new public-private-philanthropic partnership tackling rural poverty. The Uplift America Fund leverages $500 million for communities in need and creates additional rural infrastructure through increasing the capacity of community development financial institutions (CDFIs).
Join panelists Bill Bynum of Hope Enterprise Corporation, Justin Maxson of Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation and Lisa Mensah of the United States Department of Agriculture as they describe the events that led to re-engineering ‘the way things have always been done.’ Their innovative solution allows resources previously left on the table to be accessed in the rural South and Native American communities.
This lively conversation will help participants envision creative solutions for their own communities, including how philanthropic leaders can apply catalytic grant dollars alongside other impact investors, provide flexible capital, and find the right fit for each partner.
This webinar is inspired by the dynamic sessions Private Capital for Public Good and A Tactical Guide to Harnessing Federal Resources for your Community at MIE's 2016 National Conference: Seizing the Momentum and is part of MIE's Forward Momentum series.
Speakers:
Bill Bynum, CEO, HOPE
Bill Bynum is chief executive officer of HOPE, a credit union (Hope Credit Union), loan fund (Hope Enterprise Corporation), and policy center (Hope Policy Institute) dedicated to improving lives in one of the nation's most impoverished regions. Since 1994 HOPE has provided financial services, leveraged resources, and shaped policies that have benefited more than 650,000 residents in the Delta and other distressed parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee
Bynum began his career by helping to establish Self-Help, a pioneer in the development finance industry, and later built nationally recognized programs at the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center. He has advised Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama on financial service matters, and served as chair of Treasury’s Community Development Advisory Board and the CFPB Consumer Advisory Board. He is a member of the US Partnership for Mobility from Poverty, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is he recipient of numerous awards. His current board service includes: NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Aspen Institute, Corporation for Enterprise Development, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Fannie Mae Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and Millsaps College.
Justin Maxson, Executive Director, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Justin Maxson is the Executive Director of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, a 60-year old foundation that seeks to move people and places out of poverty in the South. The Foundation supports organizations and networks that work across racial, ethnic, economic and political differences to make possible a brighter future for all. For 13 years, he was President of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development, a 33-year-old multi-strategy community economic development organization serving Central Appalachia based in Berea, Kentucky. Previous to MACED, he was founding Executive Director of the Progressive Technology Project. He holds a Masters in Anthropology from Boston University and a BA from the University of Kentucky.
Lisa Mensah, Under Secretary for Rural Development, United States Department of Agriculture
Lisa Afua Serwah Mensah was nominated by President Obama for the position of Under Secretary of USDA Rural Development and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in November of 2014. She provides leadership for three USDA agencies charged with improving the economic wellbeing of rural America: the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Utilities Service and the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Together, these agencies provide critical infrastructure investments in the form of loans and grants for rural housing, high-speed broadband access, telephone, electric and water utilities, renewable energy generation and conservation, local and regional food systems, community facilities, and small business development in rural America.
Prior to joining USDA, she was the founding Executive Director of the Initiative on Financial Security at the Aspen Institute. In that role she led a national bi-partisan effort with leaders of financial institutions, non-profit executives and experts to promote solutions to the complex problems of helping more Americans save money, buy homes, and finance retirement. She began her career in commercial banking at Citibank before joining the Ford Foundation. She holds an M.A. from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of The Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. from Harvard University.