Forum News

Intermediaries Are a Missing Ingredient in Conservation Finance
Jeffrey Conti
Financial intermediaries can make new markets come alive, according to a key discussion from CFN's 6th Conservation Finance Practitioner Roundtable. From April 25-26, conservation, agribusiness, and impact investing experts gathered at the McKnight Foundation offices in Minneapolis, to share how they are building financing for conservation practices into mainstream agricultural systems.
Louisiana Environmental Impact Bond May Reduce Coastal Land Loss
Kat Friedrich
Bordered by beautiful wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is a hub of transportation and industry. A pilot environmental impact bond could seed a set of wetland-restoration projects for the state. Environmental Defense Fund, Quantified Ventures, and their project partners are proposing to draw on funding from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill settlement to make this happen.
How Green Infrastructure Yields Urban Safety and Health
Kat Friedrich
Greenprint Partners is field-testing a green infrastructure-financing approach that could help make communities healthier and safer in a small group of Rust Belt cities. In an interview, Nicole Chavas, the company’s CEO and cofounder, and Rose Jordan, its marketing director, said the models have expansion potential. If adopted on a larger scale, they could improve the quality of life in many low-to-moderate-income urban neighborhoods.
A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Kat Friedrich
In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.

Forum News

Mount Olivet cemetery stormwater project, District of Columbia
Focus on Investors Boosts DC’s Stormwater Credit Market
Allegra Wrocklage
The Washington, DC Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE)’s Stormwater Retention Credit Program takes a unique approach to attracting private capital to effectively leverage public funds. DOEE’s financial commitment to managing its stormwater challenges and proactive transparency in working with investors have created an attractive opportunity for private investment.
Related Articles
Louisiana Environmental Impact Bond May Reduce Coastal Land Loss
Kat Friedrich
Bordered by beautiful wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is a hub of transportation and industry. A pilot environmental impact bond could seed a set of wetland-restoration projects for the state. Environmental Defense Fund, Quantified Ventures, and their project partners are proposing to draw on funding from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill settlement to make this happen.
How Green Infrastructure Yields Urban Safety and Health
Kat Friedrich
Greenprint Partners is field-testing a green infrastructure-financing approach that could help make communities healthier and safer in a small group of Rust Belt cities. In an interview, Nicole Chavas, the company’s CEO and cofounder, and Rose Jordan, its marketing director, said the models have expansion potential. If adopted on a larger scale, they could improve the quality of life in many low-to-moderate-income urban neighborhoods.
A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Kat Friedrich
In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.
Desert rose
Donor-Advised Funds Are an Untapped Source of Impact Capital
Nathalie Woolworth
The National Philanthropic Trust’s 2017 Donor-Advised Fund Report found that the capital housed in donor-advised funds across the United States exceeded $85 billion in 2016. This represents an almost 10-percent increase since 2015 and a 28-percent increase since 2012.
Related Articles
A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Kat Friedrich
In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.
Voices of Conservation Finance: An Interview with Bethany Olmstead
Allegra Wrocklage, Kat Friedrich
In this episode of "Voices of Conservation Finance," our guest was Bethany Olmstead, Conservation Manager with Working Forest Fund, a program of The Conservation Fund. She shared how her background in land conservation guides her work with The Conservation Fund to finance the acquisition and protection of forestland in the United States. She discussed how her passion for protecting land for wildlife habitat and public access can also provide economic benefits for local communities.
Could a Mature Timberland Asset Class Spur Conservation?
Chris Martin
Sustainable forestry represents a major portion of conservation finance’s investable landscape. According to a 2016 Forest Trends report, “State of Private Investment in Conservation 2016,” sustainable timberland investments accounted for approximately 34 percent of all private conservation investments from 2004 to 2015.
How to Get an Impact Investor's Attention
Jeffrey Conti
Conservation managers and entrepreneurs who are looking to make their projects stand out as investment opportunities should be sure to supply the information that investors want. Impact investing experts interviewed by Conservation Finance Network expressed a surprising lack of interest in most impact metrics and measurements aside from carbon sequestration. They instead indicated that they prioritize honest assessments of risk. They also value an understanding of how an investment opportunity can fit into a larger portfolio.
Meadowlark
Voices of Conservation Finance: An Interview with Bethany Olmstead
Allegra Wrocklage, Kat Friedrich
In this episode of "Voices of Conservation Finance," our guest was Bethany Olmstead, Conservation Manager with Working Forest Fund, a program of The Conservation Fund. She shared how her background in land conservation guides her work with The Conservation Fund to finance the acquisition and protection of forestland in the United States. She discussed how her passion for protecting land for wildlife habitat and public access can also provide economic benefits for local communities.
Related Articles
A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Kat Friedrich
In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.
Could a Mature Timberland Asset Class Spur Conservation?
Chris Martin
Sustainable forestry represents a major portion of conservation finance’s investable landscape. According to a 2016 Forest Trends report, “State of Private Investment in Conservation 2016,” sustainable timberland investments accounted for approximately 34 percent of all private conservation investments from 2004 to 2015.
How to Get an Impact Investor's Attention
Jeffrey Conti
Conservation managers and entrepreneurs who are looking to make their projects stand out as investment opportunities should be sure to supply the information that investors want. Impact investing experts interviewed by Conservation Finance Network expressed a surprising lack of interest in most impact metrics and measurements aside from carbon sequestration. They instead indicated that they prioritize honest assessments of risk. They also value an understanding of how an investment opportunity can fit into a larger portfolio.
Forest road
Could a Mature Timberland Asset Class Spur Conservation?
Chris Martin
Sustainable forestry represents a major portion of conservation finance’s investable landscape. According to a 2016 Forest Trends report, “State of Private Investment in Conservation 2016,” sustainable timberland investments accounted for approximately 34 percent of all private conservation investments from 2004 to 2015.
Related Articles
A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Kat Friedrich
In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.
Voices of Conservation Finance: An Interview with Bethany Olmstead
Allegra Wrocklage, Kat Friedrich
In this episode of "Voices of Conservation Finance," our guest was Bethany Olmstead, Conservation Manager with Working Forest Fund, a program of The Conservation Fund. She shared how her background in land conservation guides her work with The Conservation Fund to finance the acquisition and protection of forestland in the United States. She discussed how her passion for protecting land for wildlife habitat and public access can also provide economic benefits for local communities.
How to Get an Impact Investor's Attention
Jeffrey Conti
Conservation managers and entrepreneurs who are looking to make their projects stand out as investment opportunities should be sure to supply the information that investors want. Impact investing experts interviewed by Conservation Finance Network expressed a surprising lack of interest in most impact metrics and measurements aside from carbon sequestration. They instead indicated that they prioritize honest assessments of risk. They also value an understanding of how an investment opportunity can fit into a larger portfolio.
Maine river
How to Get an Impact Investor's Attention
Jeffrey Conti
Conservation managers and entrepreneurs who are looking to make their projects stand out as investment opportunities should be sure to supply the information that investors want. Impact investing experts interviewed by Conservation Finance Network expressed a surprising lack of interest in most impact metrics and measurements aside from carbon sequestration. They instead indicated that they prioritize honest assessments of risk. They also value an understanding of how an investment opportunity can fit into a larger portfolio.
Related Articles
A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Kat Friedrich
In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.
Voices of Conservation Finance: An Interview with Bethany Olmstead
Allegra Wrocklage, Kat Friedrich
In this episode of "Voices of Conservation Finance," our guest was Bethany Olmstead, Conservation Manager with Working Forest Fund, a program of The Conservation Fund. She shared how her background in land conservation guides her work with The Conservation Fund to finance the acquisition and protection of forestland in the United States. She discussed how her passion for protecting land for wildlife habitat and public access can also provide economic benefits for local communities.
Could a Mature Timberland Asset Class Spur Conservation?
Chris Martin
Sustainable forestry represents a major portion of conservation finance’s investable landscape. According to a 2016 Forest Trends report, “State of Private Investment in Conservation 2016,” sustainable timberland investments accounted for approximately 34 percent of all private conservation investments from 2004 to 2015.

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2019 Conservation Finance Boot Camp

CFN is pleased to announce our 13th annual Conservation Finance Boot Camp will be held June 24-28th, 2019, at Portland State University in Portland, OR.

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Latest Industry News

External News
Global Climate Summit Puts Stress on Action
Source: CBS
A coalition of seven groups unveiled the "Investor Agenda," which gives companies a place to track and disclose investments and other actions...
External News
First ‘Global Impact Trust’ Lines up November Launch
Source: Investment Trust Insider
The Global Sustainability Trust will invest in listed sustainable equities, microfinance, conservation finance, green bonds, renewable energy, and social infrastructure - as well as impact venture capital and private equity.
External News
Meet the Champions of Global Impact Banking
Source: EuroMoney
As banks try to build more responsible and sustainable businesses, these are the champions of impact banking at 10 of the world’s biggest firms.
External News
EIB Launches Sustainability Awareness Bonds to Finance SDG Achievement
Source: International Institute for Sustainable Development
The European Investment Bank launched Sustainability Awareness Bonds, a financial instrument focused on “big-impact projects,” beginning with water- and sanitation-related projects.
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Podcasts

Voices of Conservation Finance is a podcast series that interviews conservation finance practitioners to explore career paths and opportunities for professional development in the field.

Nature's Returns: Investing in Ecosystem Services

The valuation of benefits that we derive from ecosystems is an increasingly popular realm of both the financial and the conservation worlds. This webinar series discusses the latest directions in ecosystem-benefits valuation and investment.

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Most Popular

  1. Louisiana wetland restoration after Hurricane Katrina
    Louisiana Environmental Impact Bond May Reduce Coastal Land Loss
    Kat Friedrich
    Bordered by beautiful wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana is a hub of transportation and industry. A pilot environmental impact bond could seed a set of wetland-restoration projects for the state. Environmental Defense Fund, Quantified Ventures, and their project partners are proposing to draw on funding from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill settlement to make this happen.
  2. Minneapolis
    Intermediaries Are a Missing Ingredient in Conservation Finance
    Jeffrey Conti
    Financial intermediaries can make new markets come alive, according to a key discussion from CFN's 6th Conservation Finance Practitioner Roundtable. From April 25-26, conservation, agribusiness, and impact investing experts gathered at the McKnight Foundation offices in Minneapolis, to share how they are building financing for conservation practices into mainstream agricultural systems.
  3. Mount Olivet cemetery stormwater project, District of Columbia
    Focus on Investors Boosts DC’s Stormwater Credit Market
    Allegra Wrocklage
    The Washington, DC Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE)’s Stormwater Retention Credit Program takes a unique approach to attracting private capital to effectively leverage public funds. DOEE’s financial commitment to managing its stormwater challenges and proactive transparency in working with investors have created an attractive opportunity for private investment.
  4. Republic Iron and Steel Works, Youngstown, Ohio, early 20th century
    A Blueprint for Financing Green Stormwater Infrastructure
    Kat Friedrich
    In a few Rust Belt cities that are seeking economic and social benefits, Greenprint Partners – formerly known as Fresh Coast Capital – is breaking new ground by financing fresh solutions for green stormwater infrastructure. It is using a combination of municipal, private and government resources. Its goals are to create a replicable model and expand the market.
  5. Philadelphia
    How Green Infrastructure Yields Urban Safety and Health
    Kat Friedrich
    Greenprint Partners is field-testing a green infrastructure-financing approach that could help make communities healthier and safer in a small group of Rust Belt cities. In an interview, Nicole Chavas, the company’s CEO and cofounder, and Rose Jordan, its marketing director, said the models have expansion potential. If adopted on a larger scale, they could improve the quality of life in many low-to-moderate-income urban neighborhoods.