"Social obligation is much bigger than supporting worthy causes.
It includes anything that impacts people and the quality of their lives."
—William Ford Jr., Chairman, Ford Motor Co.

Wall Street Gives Back to the Community

(W3 Wall Street Without Walls: Preparing Community Development Organizations for the Capital Markets
by John Nelson and Greg Stanton, Wall Street Without Walls)

The objective of Wall Street Without Walls (W3) is to connect the traditional institutions and financial products of the capital markets with community-based development organizations (CBDOs) engaged in the diverse work of community economic development in low- and moderate-wealth communities both urban and rural. Wall Street Without Walls was created to encourage, organize and facilitate the provision of volunteer investment banking and ultimately capital markets services that improve economic conditions in low-wealth communities and the nonprofits that serve them. The mission of W3 is to encourage bankers’ volunteer involvement and advance the profession’s responsibility to serve the needs of the nonprofit, economic and community development industry.

Similar to “Doctors Without Borders,” this program is an opportunity for finance professionals to give of their expertise in addressing pressing social concerns by partnering with local economic development organizations that serve emerging small businesses, individuals, and families. This much-needed technical assistance capacity harnesses Wall Street expertise in real estate, structured, public and nonprofit bond finance, with demand for our intervention growing dramatically over the past year.

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Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

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“10,000 Women” Initiative Moves Forward

On one of the worst days in Wall Street history, September 15, 2008, the day of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs launched phase two of its innovative “10,000 Women” project. Joining twelve new academic and nonprofit partners from Brazil, India, China, and the Philippines, Goldman’s September 15 initiative adds 2300 “underserved” women to the roster. The timing could not be worse as rival securities firm Lehman declared bankrupcty. Although Lehman was a competitor, this event was not good news for Goldman exposing the revered firm to the savage attacks of a fickle market. Goldman’s chief executive Lloyd Blankfein was fully involved with efforts to stave off disaster, yet the “10,000 Women” initiative was not delayed or postponed.

The next week at Goldman brought more remarkable changes for the 139 year old firm. On September 22, 2008, Goldman Sachs, arguably the top investment bank on the Street, was forced by market pressures and mismanagement at rival firms to become a commercial bank.

Yet four days later, on September 26, 2008 at the United Nations, CEO Blankfein and the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf (along with non-profit CHF International and the U.S. government agency, Overseas Private Investment Corporation) announced phase three of “10,000 Women” to provide business management training and education for Liberian women.    

Goldman’s public relations states the initiative and its continued efforts reflect “the firm’s commitment to service and advancing the continued development of markets and economies.” While it would be PR suicide to cancel the initiative as it progresses, credit goes to Goldman’s clear commitment to advancing “10,000 Women” given the extraordinarily harsh market conditions. (Read below for initial phase of project.)

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Goldman Underwrites Women

APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF OF THE REVENUE produced by Goldman Sachs each year comes from markets outside the United States. CEO, Lloyd Blankfein declared women in the global emerging markets to be an "untapped" resource. To fill this void, Blankfein pledged an astonishing $100,000,000.00 to a global initiative called “10,000 Women.” The idea is to provide women in emerging markets with an education in finance and business management. Goldman recognizes a huge gender gap exists in education and business in less developed nations. In order to short that inadequacy, Goldman will underwrite the future success of ten thousand women around the globe.

Goldman is partnering with top tier business schools in the U.S., Egypt, Tanzania, Rwanda and India. Short term courses in management, business, and accounting will be made available to candidates. The theory behind this venture is that women who acquire business skills will be empowered to start and run their own enterprises. Additionally, women who already run small businesses will have the opportunity to expand.

For Goldman, the initiative brings some clear economic advantages. The firm’s research indicates that macroeconomic growth can be substantially increased by educating women. Per capita income can grow as much as 20% over the next eighteen years as a result of educating the female workforce. As more attention is paid to diversity in the workplace, the program also encourages Goldman to recruit women from the top business schools to partner in the project.

The Goldman Sachs, “10,000 Women” initiative provides its employees the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of women entrepreneurs both in the US and overseas. The program shows that pursuing profit while enhancing the lives of others makes good business sense for everyone.

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The Acumen Fund: Hedge Fund Managers Help Alleviate Poverty

THE ACUMEN FUND is a unique organization that goes beyond writing a check for those in need. The fund looks to make investments that create ways to permanently alleviate poverty by helping people improve their own lives. By identifying businesses that create products or services to help economically disadvantaged people become self-sufficient, they are setting the stage for permanent, positive change.

Acumen has identified four critical areas for the reduction and eventual eradication of poverty: Health, Housing, Water and Energy. Clean drinkable water is a crucial issue for much of rural India. Acumen provided capital to Water Health International. WHI sells inexpensive and clean water to anyone able to get to one of their plants. In the small village of Vijayawada, the WHI plant is managed and run by locals. People come on foot, bicycle and 3 wheelers to take advantage of the clean water that prior to this venture was not available. A poultry farmer explains that the health of his chickens has improved so drastically with the clean water, his business has seen a 20% increase in revenues. 

The word “acumen” is defined as “sharp, shrewd and insightful.” That also describes what the Acumen Fund is all about. The fund is run by some of the world's sharpest, shrewdest and insightful business minds. Investment bankers, hedge fund managers (including Mike Novogratz and Pete Briger from Fortress Investments), venture capitalists, and financial wizards of all kinds direct Acumen’s investments to a variety of institutions. These entrepreneurial ventures reflect the diversity of business models that can effectively reach the “base of the pyramid” (BOP)—or the billions of poor without access to clean water, reliable health services, or suitable housing.

The Acumen Fund not only helps to alleviate the suffering of the poor, their investments instill a sense of dignity and independence in millions of people's lives who would otherwise be denied these basic human rights.

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Darfur: Airlifting Hope

THE DARFUR PROJECT will fly airlifts on privately chartered planes over the next six months to the war torn region of western Sudan. The eight private jets will not be carrying wealthy philanthropists on a luxury adventure tour. They will not be looking for undervalued investment property or future sites for exotic golf courses. They will however be heading to Darfur on humanitarian aid missions loaded down with medical supplies and antibiotics for ailing refugees. Here is the catch, this is not your ordinary NGO of mercy. The Darfur Project is a collaboration of investment banking and hedge fund rivals who came together “to work for the common good.” The project sponsors are an elite group of financial big wigs: PNC Financial, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and BlueMountain Capital Management. PNC Vice Chairman William Demchak claims, “There is no wild business angle here.” Demchak, BlueMountain CEO Gregory Feldstein, Goldman’s co-president Jon Winkelried, Merrill’s president Gregory Fleming form the core backers. Relieving human suffering without a “business angle” is not usually a priority for Wall Street. Fleming sums up the personal involvement of the four banking veterans: “We feel like we can, and should, do a broader set of things – including a situation where there is tremendous humanitarian need.” It proves even Wall Street has a heart.

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