MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Calvert Foundation, Investor in Microfinance and Community Development, Appoints Lisa Hall as New Head

The board of Calvert Foundation, a US-based organization that invests in microfinance and community development projects in the US and around the world, has recently appointed Lisa Hall to succeed Shari Berenbach as its President and CEO. Ms Berenbach served as the head of Calvert Foundation from 1997 to 2010, during which the organization’s total assets under management grew from USD 5 million to USD 500 million.

Ms Hall has been a part of the foundation since 2005, when she joined as its Chief Lending Officer, managing a loan portfolio of USD 76 million. Under her management, the portfolio has grown in size to USD 170 million. Despite the challenging economic conditions of the last two years, the organization reports holding portfolio losses under 1.2 percent [1].

Over the last 25 years, Lisa Hall has held finance and policy positions in organizations such as the Enterprise Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Travelers Insurance, Fannie Mae and the administration of US President Bill Clinton. In addition to her role at Calvert Foundation, Lisa Hall serves as a board member of Mentor’s Inc., The Funders’ Network, and ROC USA; as a non-board member of the Policy and Communications Committee of the Corporation for Enterprise Development; and as a member of the Community Development Financial Institutions Assessment and Rating Systems (CARS) Advisory Council. She has recently completed her role as the President of the Board of Directors for Cultural Development Corporation. She holds a degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Harvard University.

Calvert Foundation aims to provide returns of financial and social value to its investors. In its fifteen years of operation, the foundation reports having participated in creating approximately 529,000 jobs for low-income individuals, building approximately 19,900 affordable homes and providing funding to approximately 26,600 nonprofits and social enterprises [1].

By: Medha Ravi, Research Associate

About Calvert Foundation:
Founded in 1995, the Calvert Foundation provides loans to organizations that provide affordable housing, microfinance, small business loans and community facilities. The fund is offered by the Calvert Social Investment Foundation, a private US-based foundation launched in 1995 with the support of the Ford, MacArthur and Mott Foundations. Investment in the fund comes in the form of donations and notes held by individuals and organizations, including Washington Mutual Bank, Ameritas Life Insurance Corporation and Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, LLC.

[1] Calvert Foundation Press Release: “Calvert Foundation Board Appoints New President & CEO”, January 6 2011, http://www.calvertfoundation.org/about/news-and-press-releases/181-news-lisa

Source and Resources:

Calvert Foundation Press Release: “Calvert Foundation Board Appoints New President & CEO”, January 6 2011, http://www.calvertfoundation.org/about/news-and-press-releases/181-news-lisa

MicroCapital.org story, August 13, 2010: “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Peruvian Microfinance Institution (MFI) Mibanco Receives $45m Syndicated Loan from Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), BlueOrchard, Oikocredit, the Calvert Foundation and Societe de Promotion et de Participation pour la Cooperation Economique (PROPARCO)”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-peruvian-microfinance-institution-mfi-mibanco-receives-45m-syndicated-loan-from-inter-american-development-bank-idb-blueorchard-oikocredit-the-calvert-foundation-and-societ/

MicroCapital’s Microfinance Universe profile: Calvert Foundation, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Calvert+Foundation

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

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