A Note on COVID-19
At Heron, we try to champion people, places, and enterprises who challenge broken conventions and dare to change. In light of COVID-19, we remain committed to our work in communities across the United States.
The Heron Blog
A Tale of Two Tools: Financing Housing in the San Joaquin Valley
At Heron, we try to use all the tools in our toolkit to finance organizations who are serving the people and communities we care about. Recently, we used two different tools to provide financing to Self Help Enterprises (SHE), an organization offering homeownership opportunities in the San Joaquin Valley.
Heron Presidential Podcast Ep. 2
We are back with another episode of our Presidential Podcast, where we talk to Dana K. Bezerra about what Heron is doing, thinking, and learning. In this episode, we discuss how Heron is placing community agency and wisdom front and center in the next phase of our work.
Heron Presidential Podcast Ep. 2: The Key Takeaways
We've published another episode of our Presidential Podcast, where we talk to Dana K. Bezerra about what Heron is doing, thinking, and learning. In this blog post, we outline the key takeaways.
Questions We’re Asking This Week: The Maine Edition
Heron has had partnerships in Maine since our early days as a foundation. Now, we're reexamining Maine as a community in transition. Here are some of the inquiries we're chasing.
Mar 10, 2015
Field Notes: Reinventing Philanthropy for the 21st Century
The Aspen Institute has released a report on Impact Investing featuring an essay written by Heron president Clara Miller.
Mar 24, 2015
Field Notes: Is the Old Philanthropy Model Obsolete?
Philanthropy advisers warn that foundations’ structure may hinder their mission success--and urge them to optimize for mission success via impact investing.
Apr 7, 2015
Field Notes: Impacting Job Quality & Quantity
A brief case study on impact management features Huntington Capital’s efforts to maximize impact on job quality in their third fund.
Apr 14, 2015
Field Notes: Would Your Charity Jump Into the Shark Tank?
The Council on Foundations drew ire from nonprofits when it planned a “Shark Tank"- style grant competition.
Apr 15, 2015
Field Notes: Six Ways for Business to Address Inequality
The Aspen Institute's Judy Samuelson and Maureen Conway detail six steps that corporations can take to advance equity for their employees and society.
Apr 24, 2015
Field Notes: Examining the Impacts of Social Enterprise
A REDF report discusses its mission-driven business investments and assesses their impact on beneficiaries, as well as on society as a whole.
May 6, 2015
Field Notes: The 2015 "Money Masters" Awards
Heron’s Clara Miller was recognized by Institutional Investor Magazine with the Small Foundation Award.
Jun 3, 2015
Field Notes: GIIN Impact Base Snapshot
The Global Impact Investing Network offers up their first analysis of 310 impact funds, demonstrating a focus on finance, basic services and employment.
Jun 8, 2015
Field Notes: Eyes on the Horizon, the Impact Investor Survey
GIIN and J.P. Morgan have teamed up again to produce their fifth annual global impact investor survey.
Jun 16, 2015
Field Notes: The Thorny Complexities of Impact Investing
Two articles in the Stanford Social Innovation Review delve into the difficulties of impact investing and why the traditional investment structure remains an obstacle.