Surdna Foundation, Pacific Community Ventures, and OFN to Discuss CDFI Industry’s Efforts to Create Quality Jobs

San Francisco, CA, May 23, 2016 --(PR.com)-- The Surdna Foundation, Pacific Community Ventures, and Opportunity Finance Network will be convening a discussion of CDFI small business lenders at the Opportunity Finance Network Small Business Finance Forum on June 9th in Chicago to share approaches and identify collective steps for the CDFI industry to create quality jobs that are good for workers, businesses, and communities.

The session comes on the heels of the release of Moving Beyond Job Creation, a new discussion paper from Pacific Community Ventures, supported by the Surdna Foundation, that clarifies what a quality job is and offers practical steps for measuring quality job creation for CDFIs and the broader impact investing industry. The research identified five key elements of a quality job that include:

1. A living wage
2. Basic benefits
3. Career-building opportunities
4. Wealth-building opportunities
5. A fair and engaging workplace

OFN who will be presenting a complementary research paper also sponsored by the Surdna Foundation, which identifies and includes case studies of CDFIs that have intentionally and effectively supported the creation of quality jobs. In combination, these two papers offer an extensive set of concrete examples and recommendations that can help CDFIs and other investors do more to support and create quality jobs for working people.

“One of the Surdna Foundation’s core objectives is to create opportunities for upward mobility within low wealth and communities of color that have experienced historical economic barriers, and we view quality job creation as an essential component to this effort,” says Jose Garcia, Program Officer for the Strong Local Economies Program at the Surdna Foundation.

“Given the CDFI industry’s two-decade track record of investing within underserved communities, Surdna believes that CDFIs are uniquely positioned to address rising income inequality by focusing on the creation of higher quality jobs,” Garcia says. “PCV and OFN’s research is integral to our efforts to advance the conversation on quality jobs, which includes activating the voice of business and investors to promote fair wages, benefits, and more.”

“In order to reverse the troubling trends we’re seeing, we no longer find it defensible to focus on job creation alone,” says Mary Jo Cook, President and CEO of Pacific Community Ventures. “This paper is the first in a series of research projects intended to support CDFIs, the broader impact investing industry, policymakers, and business owners seeking to create jobs that are good for workers, businesses, and communities—ultimately bringing us closer to an economy that works for everyone.”

Read the report at createqualityjobs.org

About The Surdna Foundation
The Surdna Foundation seeks to foster sustainable communities in the United States -- communities guided by principles of social justice and distinguished by healthy environments, strong local economies, and thriving cultures.

About Pacific Community Ventures
Pacific Community Ventures engages small businesses, investors, and policymakers to build an economy that works for everyone. Their programs strengthen local economies, create new quality jobs, and stimulate private and public investment in underserved communities.

About the Opportunity Finance Network

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is the leading national network of CDFIs investing in opportunities that benefit low-income and other disinvested communities in the U.S. OFN shapes and advocates for policies that help CDFIs better meet the needs of the people they serve, conducts and publishes research on the industry, and connects capital with communities where it can have the greatest impact.