"Numbers are just the beginning of the conversation," she says. "We want to get to yes. But the last thing we want to do is finance anybody into bankruptcy.

"No matter how inefficient," she adds, "there's a commitment in this shop to have someone who can take the time to work with people in this sector and strengthen it so it's a viable sector going forward."

CEI provides high-net-worth individuals two ways to invest in a range of targeted sectors aimed at achieving social and economic justice within sustainable communities. One is through its CEI Investment Notes, where accredited investors can make a minimum investment for a little as $5,000. Fixed returns range from 2% for three years to 3.5% for 10 years. Also, investors can request that the investment be targeted to a certain sector, such as agriculture, but only for a minimum of $1 million.

In addition, CEI's venture capital subsidiary, CEI Ventures Inc., is raising money for its third fund, called CV3, that invests in companies in Northern New England. Minimum investments are $50,000 for individuals and $100,000 for institutions.


A former investment banker, Ellie Winninghoff is a writer and consultant. Her impact investing blog is DoGoodCapitalist.com, and she can be reached at: ellie.winninghoff (at) gmail (dot) com.

 

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