Two of the Pacific Northwest’s leading nonprofit community development financial institutions are merging, creating a loan fund of more than $70 million to tackle issues affecting the region’s triple bottom line: social, economic and environmental well-being. As ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, Ilwaco-based ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific and Seattle-based Cascadia Revolving Fund will take a bolder, more proactive approach made possible by combined expertise and programming, greater resources and expanded geographic reach.
"As a single organization we can deliver more capital and information to the region’s distressed communities, and be a better partner to those who share our belief that a vibrant economy demands strategies that cross traditional boundaries between rural and urban landscapes," said John Berdes, president of ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific. "We recognize that we can do more together than we can separately, and the times demand we do more."
As the first merger of its kind in the country the effort is being closely followed and encouraged by industry leaders that agree scale is paramount to achieving long-term impact. More than $7 million in financial support of the merger has already been provided by private and public sources, including national philanthropies such as the Ford and MacArthur Foundations, and regional foundations such as the Meyer Memorial Trust and the Seattle Foundation, as well as the nation’s largest financial institutions. The US Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund also joined in supporting the merger with a large grant announced in August of this year.
"We support this merger because of its potential to address the region’s growing, interconnected issues of poverty, social equity, economic vitality and environmental stewardship at significant scale," said Frank F. DeGiovanni, director of the Economic Development Unit of New York-based Ford Foundation. "Organizations in the Pacific Northwest are among the nation’s leaders in recognizing the link between human and environmental well being, and this merger delivers a regional platform for translating this recognition into action."
ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia will support efforts to promote green jobs creation, community development, natural resource based enterprise development, improvement in water quality, family farming, minority entrepreneurship, and programs that address the special needs of recent immigrants and increase access to essential services such as health and child care. Building on more than 30 years of measurable results, the institution will continue serving people, nonprofits, public entities and businesses unable to access traditional sources of capital because their endeavors are perceived as too risky by traditional investors.
"We’ve long shared a deep respect and admiration for each other’s work," said Cascadia Revolving Fund executive director Shaw Canale, who also served as the chair of Opportunity Finance Network, a national organization of member CDFIs. "Both of our organizations have been about economy and social equity. ShoreBank Enterprise adds the strength of a third – the environment. It brings a 10-year track record of integrating the environment in its traditional coastal markets, which we’ll now stretch to urban markets as well."
ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia’s new nonprofit model combines the human, financial and program assets of the two organizations. ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia will retain headquarters in Ilwaco and offices in Seattle, Port Angeles, Port Townsend and Forks, Wash., as well as Oregon offices in Portland, Astoria, Coos Bay and Bend. Berdes will lead ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia as CEO. Mike Dickerson, formerly deputy director of ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific, and Canale will serve as executive vice presidents.
About ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific
ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific is a nonprofit community development financial organization certified by the U.S. Treasury. Through offices in Ilwaco, Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Forks, Wash., as well as Astoria and Coos Bay, Ore., the organization serves the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest by providing capital investment, expertise and industry knowledge. Its historic focus has been on building stronger rural communities by recognizing the interdependence of economic, environmental and community health. Since it was founded in 1995, ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific has invested $30 million in people and communities of the coast. ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific is a nonprofit affiliate of Chicago, Ill. – based ShoreBank Corporation, America’s first and leading community development and environmental bank holding company.
About Cascadia Revolving Fund
Cascadia is a nonprofit community development financial institution certified by the U.S. Treasury. It provides loans and technical assistance to small businesses and nonprofit organizations that are unable to access support from traditional sources such as banks. Founded in 1985, Cascadia serves Washington through a Seattle office and Oregon through offices in Portland and Bend and has loaned more than $35 million to entrepreneurs and nonprofits, creating or retaining more than 1,600 jobs in the two states.
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