GreenLight Fund

Co-founder and board chair John Simon joined Grace Gong on the Smart Venture Podcast to discuss the evolution of venture capital, early-stage investing strategies, and impact investing. John shares the inspiration behind GreenLight Fund, his venture capitalist approach to philanthropy, and our unique community-driven model that drives positive change in our 13, soon to be 14, communities. Listen to the full podcast: https://lnkd.in/g75zKitm

After identifying housing as a priority need, GreenLight Fund Cincinnati invested in HomeStart’s Renew Collaborative in 2022 to prevent non-payment evictions and improve the housing stability of families in Hamilton County. Implemented by United Way of Greater Cincinnati to keep families housed at Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the program has helped tenants like Morganne remain housed by providing custom financial plans and case management support. "Even with my determination, hard work, and focus, sometimes you still need help, and Renew Collaborative was able to provide that when I needed it." Hear Morganne’s full story below.

Check out co-founder and board chair John Simon's conversation with Neil C. Hughes on the Tech Talks Daily podcast as they talk about uncovering the transformative power of social innovation and the future of philanthropy in driving meaningful change. John shares insights into GreenLight Fund’s journey over the past two decades, from our grassroots origins to becoming a catalyst for change in 13 communities, and a bit about the vision for the next decade. The conversation digs into our rigorous and collaborative community-driven approach to ensuring sustainable impact and measurable outcomes.

In her op-ed featured in the Star Tribune, Simone Hardeman-Jones, Executive Director of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities, discusses the critical issue of high Black maternal mortality rates and how GreenLight's investment in Irth aims to address disparities in maternal health outcomes locally. "So, as a Minnesotan and a mom, I was heartened to learn that hundreds of local residents, leaders and stakeholders urged us at GreenLight Fund Twin Cities (GLFTC) to prioritize Black women and birthing people in maternal health during recent listen-and-learn sessions. That's why I'm proud to partner with another Black mom, Kimberly Seals Allers, founder of the application Irth, to improve outcomes." Read more: https://lnkd.in/gS9JZfSK

At Feedback+Denver, a Feedback Labs national conference, GreenLight hosted an interactive panel discussion titled "Prioritizing Diverse Perspectives for Greater Impact: Engaging Deeply With Community." Nicholas Stuber, GreenLight Fund Director of Learning, and GreenLight Fund executive directors Sarah Courtney Haberberger (Kansas City), Tish Johnson- Jones, JD (Greater Newark), and Melissa Luna (Boston), shared GreenLight's approach to listening to community throughout our process. Read a summary of the session in our latest blog post. #CommunityDrivenChange

Last month, we convened in Minneapolis for our annual staff retreat as an opportunity to connect, advance meaningful work, and re-energize our collective purpose. Deep gratitude to the GreenLight Twin Cities team for hosting us, where we spent two days team building, collaborating, learning more about their work in the community, and hearing from local and portfolio organization leaders. Read more in the latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/gWfZFeC4

GreenLight Boston’s recently selected portfolio organization, The Fountain Fund, announced Jay Vilar as their local leader and will begin issuing low-interest loans and financial coaching to returning citizens in July, helping them build credit and achieve their self-determined goals. Read the full article in the Boston Globe Media: https://lnkd.in/eKRudgBK

GreenLight Philadelphia Executive Director Felicia Rinier sat down with Loraine Ballard Morrill on the iHeartMedia Philadelphia Community Podcast to discuss GreenLight’s work and impact in Philadelphia. “.... we bring each organization to address a very specific unmet need and want to make sure we are being true to that along every step of the process.” Grateful for our partnership with iHeartMedia and thankful for this opportunity! Listen to the full interview below.

Today marks the official start date of GreenLight Fund's new CEO, Ali Knight! Ali joins GreenLight after serving as CEO of Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), bringing over 20 years of public service experience to lead GreenLight's community-driven work nationally. Last week, Ali participated in our annual in-person staff retreat, where he had the opportunity to collaborate and connect with colleagues across the network. Read the full announcement: https://lnkd.in/gjVt3DgW

Attending the 2024 #FBLSummit today? Check out GreenLight's session, "Prioritizing Diverse Perspectives for Greater Impact: Engaging Deeply with Community," featuring GreenLight Boston's Executive Director, Melissa Luna, GreenLight's Director of Learning, Nicholas Stuber, GreenLight Kansas City's Executive Director, Sarah Courtney Haberberger, and GreenLight Greater Newark's Executive Director, Tish Johnson- Jones, JD. "GreenLight site leaders will share their insights about cultivating trust and connections with community members, the power of community members’ stories and experiences to inform decisions, aligning sources of evidence and information from a diverse set of community members (particularly those who are often left out of decision-making processes), and positioning community engagement as a pathway to elevating power and opportunity for community members with lived experience." Feedback Labs https://lnkd.in/gyFEU5fC