Julian Macrone

The New York Fed and the Center for Impact Finance at University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy brought together leaders from the climate, health, and community development finance sectors for the annual Financial Innovations Roundtable, held in June. The Roundtable was part of an ongoing collaboration between the New York Fed and the Carsey School that aims to identify innovative ways to fund improvements in low- and moderate-income communities.

Ellen Simon

The New York Fed’s Community Development team is researching what private investments in affordable apartments mean for the supply of affordable rentals and the rents tenants pay. As part of that work, the team published a case study in March based on a survey of managers of private investment vehicles, which found that respondents raised a median $300 million in equity for affordable-housing private investment vehicles since 2017. The team also brought together private investors, affordable-housing advocates, and experts in the field for an in-person event on March 27, 2023.

Brian Manning

The New York Fed’s Legal Group launched the Pro Bono Legal Work Program in early 2021 to encourage staff to provide free legal services to those in need.

David Erickson and Emily Garr Pacetti

Low- and moderate-income people face intertwined economic challenges. A family unable to replace drafty windows may pay a higher heating bill each month, making paying other bills more difficult. Small business owners who lack access to loans may be unable to hire new workers, making local jobs harder to find.

Jacob Scott

In 2021, about one of every 10 households was food insecure at some point, worrying that their food would run out before there was money to buy more. The costs of widespread food insecurity are felt everywhere, since hunger reduces productivity and costs the healthcare system billions of dollars each year.

Marisa Casellas-Barnes, Communications and Outreach

Nathaniel Counts, senior vice president for behavioral health innovation at Mental Health America and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, will be a featured speaker at a September 13 event on using capital markets to fund investments in health equity. Ahead of the event, “Creating 21st Century Capital Markets for Better Social Outcomes: Transformative Change Through Debt Financing,” we spoke with him about the idea of funding investments in healthy communities using the savings created by better health outcomes.

Ellen Simon, Communications and Outreach

On Tuesday, May 17, the New York Fed hosted “Money and Mission: Creating 21st Century Capital Markets for Better Social Outcomes.” The event’s featured speakers were Rev. Cory Anderson, chief innovation officer, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation; Geoffrey Canada, founder and president, Harlem Children’s Zone and William Julius Wilson Institute; Audrey Choi, senior advisor, Morgan Stanley; Andrea Levere, president emerita, Prosperity Now; and Clara Miller, president emerita, the F.B. Heron Foundation.

Otho Kerr, the New York Fed’s director of strategic partnerships and community impact investing, delivered closing remarks. His comments, lightly edited for length, follow.

Javier Silva and Tony Davis, Communications and Outreach

Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy joined New York Fed President John Williams for a moderated discussion on the intersection of health and the economy, national efforts to promote a healthy workforce, and lessons learned during the pandemic. Among other things, they discussed the link between broadband access and healthcare and the connection between infrastructure investments and health. As President Williams has noted, the New York Fed’s mission is to make the economy stronger for all, “but we can’t have a healthy economy without a healthy workforce.”

Andrew Dumont, Senior Community Development Analyst, Federal Reserve Board

On May 24, the New York Fed, in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, is hosting “Investing in Rural Prosperity,” an event that will explore opportunities to advance shared economic prosperity in rural communities across the U.S. The event will draw from, and build on, the insights in a book by the same name that I co-edited and which was published by the St. Louis Fed in collaboration with the Board of Governors.

Several contributors to the book will speak at next week’s event, and some of their key insights are summarized below.

Edison Reyes, Communications and Outreach

Clara Miller, president emerita of the F.B. Heron Foundation, will be the featured speaker at “Money and Mission: Creating 21st Century Capital Markets for Better Social Outcomes,” an event on May 17 focused on the potential to invest philanthropic dollars in a manner consistent with nonprofits’ missions.

Ahead of the event, we spoke with her about challenges related to the philanthropic model and where she’s seeing improvements. The conversation has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.