November 2024 Newsletter
Building a Better Mousetrap
Here at Multifamily Impact Council, we don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Our work, while incredibly impactful to the multifamily sector and the communities it serves, is largely a reflection of what our innovative Members have established through extensive research in the name of impact. We are proud to highlight these accomplishments to help other multifamily stakeholders achieve their impact goals.??
One of our proudest achievements to this end was introducing the Multifamily Impact Framework? , the industry’s first market-based standard for multifamily impact investing in the United States. This guide has been a game changer for so many individuals and companies, and it has been adopted widely across our membership. Yet, since our goal is always to “Do Well. Do Good. Do More.?, we made the decision to refine and update this important standard every year to be increasingly powerful, convenient, and effective for adopters. Multifamily Impact Framework 2.0? does just that.?
In this issue, we dive deeper into the impetus for this updated version and what it accomplishes with our own Chief Operating Officer Rachel Mavrothalasitis . In the Q&A below, Rachel provides insight into the updating process and why the 2.0 version of our Framework represents some of our best work yet. If you haven’t yet adopted the Framework, now is the perfect time to do so by downloading it . The guide is free and invaluable to stakeholders looking to enhance impact in the multifamily industry.?
We also speak with Multifamily Impact Framework? adopter Tia Boatman Patterson, Esq. of California Community Reinvestment Corporation (CCRC). Because MIC’s Framework has been adopted widely throughout our membership, we are now spotlighting members who have benefited from this key impact guide. In future issues, we plan to interview additional Framework adopters to discuss their experiences and how they ensure the guide works for their organization.
Bob Simpson
President and CEO
Introducing Multifamily Impact Framework 2.0
As Chief Operating Officer of Multifamily Impact Council, Rachel Mavrothalasitis is responsible for driving member outreach and engagement, with a focus on industry integrations and the investor community. She also leads the Multifamily Impact Framework? annual enhancement process, ensuring evolution of its reporting and performance standards to reflect industry best practices. Rachel has substantial expertise in social and environmental impact, previously working as Director of Impact for Turner Impact Capital, in crisis intervention and as Director of Housing Advocacy for a trauma-informed service center, and as the founder of Reach&Root Partners, LLC, a consulting and advisory firm that supports impact funds and housing operators in defining their ESG and impact processes.
What led MIC to introduce Multifamily Impact Framework?2.0???
The Multifamily Impact Framework 1.0 was launched in 2023, after more than a year of rigorous collaboration with multifamily industry leaders, trade groups, and ESG experts. This intensive design period was built on the decades of experience and deep research that Bob and our Multifamily Impact Council members have and have done over the course of their careers. When it launched, MIC made a commitment to?reviewing the Framework annually?and updating it as needed, to ensure that it continually evolves with the market. Version 2.0 is the culmination of feedback we've heard from our Members since 1.0 launched and the findings from the formal enhancement process we undertook earlier this summer.
Adopter Spotlight
Multifamily Impact Framework? Adopter: A Q&A With CCRC's CEO Tia Boatman Patterson
California Community Reinvestment Corporation CCRC is an organization dedicated to improving California communities by financing the development and preservation of affordable housing for low-income households. CCRC’s loan originations team has incorporated MIC’s Multifamily Impact Framework? into questionnaires for its borrowers at loan commitment and loan funding, as well as into its annual post-funding borrower screenings. We spoke with Tia Boatman Patterson, CEO of CCRC and a leader in state and national housing legislation , about the organization’s adoption of the Framework and how it is measuring the guide’s impact.
Why did you decide to adopt the Multifamily Impact Framework??
Boatman Patterson: CCRC is committed to doing more than simply counting the number of units?we finance. One of our goals is to understand and tell the real story of the impact we create, which connects us more deeply to outcomes for the residents we serve. By understanding the longitudinal change of our work and receiving critical data on the front end as well as annually, we can achieve measurable change for low-income individuals and families. The Multifamily Impact Framework? is helping us to do that.?
How did you move adoption of the Framework through your internal channels??
Boatman Patterson: I made a consistent effort to follow up with our team throughout the implementation process to ensure they understood its importance at every step. Despite the competing priorities our staff faces, having clear direction from leadership was the key driver in getting everyone on board to not only adopt the Framework, but know why it was being adopted.
How are you ensuring and measuring the impact of this Framework?
Boatman Patterson: Because we have the strongest ability to drive behavior at underwriting (i.e., prior to funding), our goal is to communicate that we have a clear impact data focus from the start of each transaction. As a multifamily lender who retains servicing on more than 90% of our loans, we have our hands on a deal for 15-plus years, which means we are best positioned to measure the long-term impacts of this Framework.?
Industry News and Updates
Members in the News
Have news to share? Send your links to [email protected] and we’ll spread the word in this newsletter and on our LinkedIn page .?
?Long on Impact
Bob’s weekly LinkedIn newsletter, “Long on Impact,” dives deep into how multifamily impact practices can improve lives, reduce greenhouse gases, and drive stable long term financial returns for investors. Click on the links below to read about Principles 2-5 of the seven principles in the Multifamily Impact Council 's Impact Framework. Then, please subscribe, share your feedback, and share across your network!?
Company Updates
We’re proud to report that MIC recently held our Quarterly Impact Collaborative Call for Q3. The call provides an update on our members’ activity in the impact investing space and where this sector is heading. The recording of this call is now available. To receive this recording, please complete the form at https://multifamilyimpactcouncil.org/multifamily-impact-collaborative-call/ ?
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