Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, NCB Capital Impact Announce $10 Million Loan-Fund to Expand Innovative Skilled-Nursing Care to Low-Income Seniors

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and NCB Capital Impact announced a 10-year, $10 million low-interest credit facility to finance the building of Green House® homes, community-based care that offers a high-quality alternative to traditional institutional skilled nursing facilities. The investment marks the first transaction in the Foundation's new $100 million "impact capital" commitment designed to help the Foundation and its grantees leverage funding from multiple sources and spread solutions that improve health and health care for all Americans.

"Our goal with this initiative is to go beyond traditional grantmaking, to drive social change, achieve measurable impact and collaborate with partners who can help us achieve our mission," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "This commitment allows us to better leverage our funding and spread innovative models, like the Green House Project."

With $9 billion in assets, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation's largest private foundation focused exclusively on health and health care. The Foundation established its three-year (2011- 2013) impact capital fund, to leverage funding and non-financial resources from other foundations, government and non-traditional funding partners, including private capital from individual and institutional investors. The Foundation expects to announce additional investments under the impact capital initiative over the next three years.

While there is strong interest in using program-related investments to address areas like economic development, education, housing and the environment, there has been little activity to date in the areas of health and health care. With an investment of this size, the Foundation is sending a market signal that health is the new frontier for impact investing.

Bringing a Proven Model of Care to Low-Income Seniors

Since 2002, the Foundation has awarded $12 million, primarily to NCB Capital Impact, to develop, test and evaluate the Green House model. The model provides an environment in which residents receive nursing support and clinical care without the care becoming the focus of their daily lives. By altering the facility size, interior design, staffing patterns and methods of delivering skilled services to residents, the Green House model provides residents greater health and lifestyle benefits compared to residents of traditional nursing facilities.

The Foundation's new program investment builds on its past support with the goal of helping the model achieve greater reach and impact. Specifically, the new investment will lower the cost of financing Green House projects to serve low-income individuals and low-income areas. NCB Capital Impact will serve as administrator for the loan fund and will seek investors to leverage Foundation funding in any one project by a ratio of 4-to-1.

"This $10 million investment from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation clearly demonstrates that the Foundation is committed to providing the leadership to replicate the Green House model and increase access for low-income elders," said Terry Simonette, president and CEO of NCB Capital Impact. "It also highlights the Foundation's confidence in the Green House model as an economic enterprise that can provide important services while also generating sufficient cash flow to repay investments."

For more information about the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, visit www.rwjf.org.

For more information about NCB Capital Impact, visit www.ncbcapitalimpact.org

CONTACT:
Eric Antebi, 415-279-0748 (cell) [email protected]
Jeanne Molinari, (703) 647-2316 [email protected]

SOURCE The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation