Of course, there are no guarantees with debt either. But good investment monitoring processes have helped Everence avoid losses on interest and principal in its community investments and other social impact investments over the past 11 years, Regier says.

Everence closely monitors its investments by looking at their quarterly financials, changes in leadership, board composition, relationships with various funders, and how they may be impacted by potential changes in government funding or tax credits.

"Knowing who you're working with is terribly important," Regier says.

Everence uses intermediaries for much of its social impact investments in developing countries. "Very few investors hop overseas and look for a group on the ground," Regier says. "It's too hard and too much risk." Organizations it works with include MicroVest Capital Management LLC, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) and Shared Interest.

MicroVest, which manages a family of funds, has provided financing to more than 80 low-income finance institutions across 39 countries since its 2003 launch. Shared Interest provides low-income South Africans of color access to credit and technical support to launch small businesses, create jobs and build secure new communities. Its guarantee fund, supported by investors, is used to move South Africa's major banks to extend credit to communities and institutions they would otherwise consider too costly or too risky to serve. MEDA has helped create and aid microfinance institutions in various countries including Afghanistan, Haiti, Mozambique and Nicaragua. 

Closer To Home

Everence's U.S.-focused community investments include the North Carolina-based Self-Help Credit Union, which has a historic commitment to working with the poor; Liberty Bank, which is committed to restoring New Orleans and bringing capital back to the city's underserved community; and the Denver-based Native American Bank, which provides Native Americans and their communities with access to capital.

The overall return of Everence's community investing portfolio is 3.5% to 4.5%.

One percent of each of Everence's Praxis mutual funds is automatically invested in Everence Community Investments. Recently, the firm has been trying to bring individuals into this work through its donor-advised fund. Everence has also sponsored a retail product, OneWorld Community Investment Notes, in partnership with the Calvert Foundation. The product enables individuals to invest directly in community investments for as little as $1,000.

Mission-driven investors have been reflecting on how they can assist others with impact investing, Regier says. They understand how it works and they're experienced with working with the corporate world, so they're hoping to help bridge these two sides. They're also hoping they can help set some standards and get some impact investments off the ground.