CEO Shari Berenbach to Depart Calvert Foundation

For nearly 14 years, the "Tough-minded, kind-hearted" Leader Demonstrated the Power of Investment to Achieve Community Impact

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Calvert Foundation President and CEO Shari Berenbach announced today that she will be leaving Calvert Foundation after more than 13 years of service, during which she helped to popularize impact investing, growing the organization from a staff of two with $5 million in assets to a staff of 42 managing assets over $500 million.

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"This was a very difficult decision because I truly love Calvert Foundation and feel so proud of how far the organization has come over the past 13 years, enabling individuals to use their investments to create direct community impact," Ms. Berenbach said. "I am grateful to my remarkable staff and Board, and especially to our investors and supporters, for making Calvert Foundation what it is today. I know that I am leaving Calvert Foundation in a position of strength, and handing the reigns over to capable leaders who will take it to the next level."

Ms. Berenbach is leaving Calvert Foundation to lead microenterprise development at USAID, where she will oversee hundreds of millions of dollars at work in over 60 countries around the world. "I am excited to take our agenda of using market-based solutions to develop sustainable, scalable strategies to tackle a broad array of development challenges," she said.

Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Lisa Hall will be serving as the Interim President and CEO of Calvert Foundation until the Board of Directors appoints a permanent one. Ms. Hall, who joined Calvert Foundation in 2005, brings over 20 years of industry experience and previously served as Chief Credit Officer for the American Communities Fund in the Housing and Community Development Division of Fannie Mae and, prior to that, served in the Clinton Administration. A Harvard MBA, Ms. Hall has also held positions in real estate and community development finance with the Enterprise Foundation, JP Morgan Chase and Travelers Insurance. "It's been an honor to work with Shari and we will miss her tremendously. She will be leaving a legacy and imprint not just on Calvert Foundation but also on the entire impact investing sector," Lisa said.

"Shari's leadership has meant everything to the growth of Calvert Foundation, but more importantly to a whole new class of investing that incorporates the best of philanthropy and investment," said Wayne Silby, founder of Calvert Foundation and co-chair of its Board of Directors. "Shari took this organization from a small, idealistic notion to a highly functional industry network of investors, philanthropists, policymakers, trade groups, and more. She put community impact investing on the map."

Ms. Berenbach will be honored this fall as the winner of this year's Economic Opportunity Achievement Award recipient, presented annually on World Poverty Day by the Opportunity Collaboration. "Shari Berenbach is the social entrepreneur everyone aspires to be: a connect-the-dots, collaborative, tough-minded, kind-hearted anti-poverty leader," said Jonathan Lewis, Founder and CEO of Opportunity Collaboration, and long-time colleague of Ms. Berenbach.

Calvert Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides the opportunity for investors to achieve financial returns while empowering people living in low-income communities in the United States and around the world. Currently, Calvert Foundation has over $500 million in assets under management, invested in 220 community organizations in all 50 states and over 100 countries. Calvert Foundation's portfolio comprises investment in a diversified mix of high-impact organizations whose missions cover a range of social causes and innovations, including affordable housing, microfinance, Fair Trade coffee, small business development, and the establishment of essential community facilities such as charter schools, daycare centers and rehabilitation clinics. A pioneer in the social impact investment field, Calvert Foundation investors have helped to create over 450,000 jobs for low-income individuals, built or rehabilitated 17,000 affordable homes, and financed close to 27,000 nonprofit facilities and social enterprises through their investment in Calvert Foundation's Community Investment Note.

Calvert Foundation was incorporated in September 1988 as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, though its current programs were launched in 1995, the result of a collaboration between Calvert Group, the socially responsible mutual fund company, and the Ford, MacArthur and Mott Foundations.  

About Calvert Foundation

Calvert Foundation is a nonprofit organization that provides the opportunity for investors to achieve financial returns while empowering people living in low-income communities in the United States and around the world. Calvert Foundation believes in creating a win-win, improving both the lives of those who receive investment dollars and the lives of our investors. A pioneer in the social impact investment field, Calvert Foundation investors have helped to create over 450,000 jobs for low-income individuals, built or rehabilitated 17,000 affordable homes, and financed close to 27,000 nonprofit facilities and social enterprises through their investment in Calvert Foundation's Community Investment Note. Learn more at www.calvertfoundation.org.  

SOURCE Calvert Foundation