It took several years for us at Capital Good Fund to figure out our business model. After all, we started out by offering small business loans and loans to cover the cost of citizenship, and for the first two years […]
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On Physics, Anxiety, and Work-Life Balance
May 24, 2016
Thinking about certain aspects my job for just a few minutes can induce a feeling of anxiety, a tightening of the chest and quickening of the heart; in contrast, reading a couple pages of a book on physics can release […]
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Tip of the Week: For Motivation, Ask Why, Then Visualize
April 10, 2016
I am fascinated by motivation, by what makes some people run for president or finish Ironmans or write novels, and what makes others spend their free time in front of a TV. But this isn’t just an idle question: if we […]
Finally: A Path Forward For Capital Good Fund
March 24, 2016
Yesterday evening we held an event at Brown University to launch Capital Good Fund’s $4.25 million Direct Public Offering in front of about 50 potential investors. You can click here to learn more about the DPO, but here’s a very […]
Good Fund Financial Coaching Impact Video # 3
August 5, 2015
This is the third of a three-part series telling the story of Nikki, an amazing woman who went through our Financial Coaching Program. Enjoy!
Good Fund Financial Coaching Impact Video # 2!
August 5, 2015
This is the second of a three-part series telling the story of Nikki, an amazing woman who went through our Financial Coaching Program. Enjoy!
This is the first of a three-part series telling the story of Nikki, an amazing woman who went through our Financial Coaching Program. Enjoy!
Five Tips For Job Interviews
February 4, 2015
Over the past six year’s I’ve had occasion to interview dozens of candidates for all manner of positions: volunteers, interns, part-time and full-time employees, and independent contractors. Given this depth of experience, I think I’m relatively qualified to give five tips for your next job interview.
When Justice Costs Less Than Injustice
January 28, 2015
I suppose that in an ideal world we wouldn’t care about the financial implications of injustice; doing the right thing ought to be sufficient motivation. Of course, that’s not always the case, and rather than restricting ourselves to the high road, I think it’s preferable to adopt an approach I like to call Pragmatic Idealism (PI).
On Balancing Risk & Rewards In Lending to the Poor
January 17, 2015
Mission Versus Business
Here’s a fundamental challenge in our business: the greater the alignment between our lending and our mission, the greater the strain on our loan portfolio performance. Phrased another way, the highest impact loans–those to ex-offenders, domestic violence survivors, and the temporarily homeless– are also the riskiest. This is through no fault of their own; rather, it’s simply a result of the tremendous strain that personal and financial instability places on a person.
As a nonprofit, it is incumbent on us that we adhere to our mission, which is to use financial services to create pathways out of poverty. Yet as a business, especially as one that debt finances its lending operations, we must also ensure that we are fiscally sound. To address this tension, we’ve taken several approaches. First and foremost, the interest rates we charge are designed to compensate for higher losses