The Windy City in November

It's raining in Chicago and the closer you are to the lake, the windier...which means umbrellas won’t keep you from getting wet. I work in the West Loop, which is part of downtown Chicago, and my office, the National Equity Fund (NEF), is located on the river and not too far from the lake. Needless to say my trenchcoat is getting a lot of use.

I’ve been at NEF for almost 4 months now, and feel like I’ve really gotten into the swing of things. I work in the New Markets Tax Credit department, which invests federal New Markets Tax Credits into real-estate in low-income areas. These credits are allocated to fund a variety of projects, ranging from community centers to grocery stores to charter schools. My specific role is to become the “community impact expert.” This entails understanding the variety of tools that exist for measuring and reporting on the community impact of our investments (particularly nonfinancial impact) and analyzing our community impact system. I was surprised when I first started my research that not much literature exists on nonfinancial impact measurement (think jobs created, goods and services provided to low-income communities, environmental sustainability), especially as it relates to the New Markets Tax Credits. The existing literature is scarce because the investor demand for nonfinancial performance measurement is relatively new. Looking at the “triple bottom line” (people, planet, and profit) rather than just the “bottom line” (profits) is a recent trend for investors.

I’m originally from the Midwest, and though I had visited Chicago numerous times, living here is another story. I’ve become familiar with Chicago’s many neighborhoods (instead of just the Museum Campus and a few blocks on Devon Ave.) as well as its public transit system (no car this time around). In fact, I’m a pro Chicago bus-rider; and I’m sure that once it hits zero degrees outside I’ll appreciate that buses stop every block. In addition to riding buses, I’ve also been able to explore Chicago a fair amount since moving here. It is a fun, beautiful city, though very spread out and segregated. I especially noticed this while training for a Halloween half marathon (the Monster Dash—I really recommend it for all you runners!); demographics and neighborhood services really do change block-by-block.

It looks like my lunch break is over and thus, so is this blog post. Have a great week and Veteran’s Day weekend!