MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) to Share Data With $187,000 Grant From Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation, a US-based grantmaking organization, has awarded a USD 187,000 grant to two other US-based nonprofits, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), to “increase transparency and comparability across microfinance and the broader impact investing industry.” The grant will be used to develop a data feed that will allow GIIN’s Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) project, which was created to develop a common framework for defining, tracking and reporting the performance of “impact capital,” to access data from MIX. GIIN defines “impact capital” as for-profit investment intended to solve social and environmental problems. Approximately 1,800 microfinance institutions (MFIs) currently report financial and social performance data to MIX.

According to Sarah Gelfand, the Director of IRIS at GIIN, “As more investors demand investment opportunities that offer social or environmental benefits alongside financial returns, transparent data about non-financial performance is increasingly necessary…Combining data from MIX with data from impact investments in other sectors will lead to a more robust understanding of the ways for-profit investment can effectively address social and environmental problems.”

By Conner Brannen, Research Assistant

About the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX):

Established in 2002, Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) is a nonprofit organization with headquarters in Washington, DC, and regional offices in Peru, Senegal, India and Indonesia. It is a global, web-based, microfinance information platform. MIX provides detailed financial and social performance information from microfinance institutions (MFIs), as well as business information from market facilitators and donor organizations and investors in microfinance. MIX Market currently provides data on over 1800 MFIs and over 100 investors. MIX was founded by CGAP (Consultative Group to Assist the Poor) and is sponsored by Citi Foundation, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

About the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN):

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a nonprofit organization based in New York City that is dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of impact investing, which it defines as for-profit investment intended to solve social and environmental problems. GIIN works to increase “the level and effectiveness of capital that is supporting market-based solutions to social and environmental problems.”

About Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS):

Impact Reporting and Investment Standards (IRIS) was founded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Acumen Fund and B Lab in 2009 in an effort to create a common framework for defining, tracking and reporting the performance of “impact capital” – for-profit investment intended to solve social and environmental problems. This framework “forms a basis for enabling infrastructure and leads to transparency and credibility.” IRIS is a project within the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of impact investing.

About the Rockefeller Foundation:

The Rockefeller Foundation, founded in 1913, is a US-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to “promote the well-being” of humanity through “smart globalization.” The Foundation operates around the world. Its efforts are overseen by an independent Board of Trustees and led by a team drawn from scholarly, scientific and professional disciplines. By year-end 2008, the Rockefeller Foundation had USD 3.1 billion in total assets, up from USD 4.6 billion in 2007, with annual grants of USD 137 million.

Sources and Additional Resources:

Microfinance Information Exchange: “Rockefeller Foundation funds data-sharing between Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) and Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN),” June 24, 2010: http://www.themix.org/press-release/rockefeller-foundation-funds-data-sharing-between-microfinance-information-exchange-mi

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Global+Impact+Investing+Network+%28GIIN%29

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Rockefeller Foundation: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Rockefeller+Foundation

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Calls for “Test Pilots” to Assess New Features of MIX Market Website, May Begin Charging for Premium Content, June 22, 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-information-exchange-mix-calls-for-“test-pilots”-to-assess-new-features-of-mix-market-website-may-begin-charging-for-premium-content/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) to Grant Public Access to Funding Structure Data Set, June 8, 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-information-exchange-mix-to-grant-public-access-to-funding-structure-data-set/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Projects Impact Investments to Reach $500b by 2014, April 29, 2010: https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-global-impact-investing-network-giin-projects-impact-investments-to-reach-500b-by-2014/

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

Similar Posts: