Morrison Foerster’s MoFo Impact blog provides insights on the latest news, developments, and trends in the impact and social entrepreneurship space. Through MoFo Impact, Morrison Foerster attorneys dedicated to impact investing and social enterprise work offer a real-time assessment of the developments in matters that are shaping the industry. Here, we examine the unique challenges faced by social enterprises and impact investors, including issues related to impact investments, disclosure requirements, hybrid corporate forms, fiduciary duties, and beyond.<h2>ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Susan (“Suz”) co-chairs the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices. Her practice focuses on late-stage financings, secondaries, and other corporate transactions for investors, such as SoftBank and Temasek, and on investments for some of the top investors dedicated to impact, from “impact first” foundations to family offices to private equity funds. She co-led the drafting group for the first of the new corporate forms (the Social Purpose Corporation in California), has created hybrid/tandem corporate structures and crafted debt and equity instruments that blend impact with traditional financial terms, and has used corporate law to develop creative capital market solutions to pressing environmental problems. She also advises the boards of public and private companies on corporate governance and fiduciary duties as applied to sustainability and climate change.She was named a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) in 2012 and 2016 by Daily Journal and the Most Innovative Lawyer in North America in 2015 by the Financial Times.Leading Business AdvisorA powerhouse negotiator, clients note that “you cannot get a better corporate counsel” and that Suz “understands the big picture, could not be more responsive, and understands the business” (The Legal 500 US). She has extensive experience providing corporate and finance advice to companies and investors in connection with growth equity financings and secondaries, with particular experience in late-stage investments that have come to rival traditional strategic acquisitions in size and significance. Her experience includes leading some of the highest-profile late-stage investments over the past few years, including notable transactions for SoftBank Group (in the two largest private tender offers in history) in its $7.7 billion investment in Uber, $4.4 billion investment in WeWork, further $10 billion investment in WeWork, $1 billion investment in SoFi, and $250 million investment in Kabbage. She has also advised Temasek on its $800 million investment in Verily Life Sciences, Intel on its equity investment in Cloudera, and each of Fortress, TPG Rise, Vision Ridge Partners, Generation Investment Management, and Pontifax AgTech in numerous mid- to late-stage investments in clean technology, sustainability, education, food, and agriculture technology.Social Enterprise and Impact InvestingSuz is the go-to legal resource for social enterprises (for-profit and non-profit companies focused on social or environmental purpose), impact investors (investors interested in social or environmental returns), and mainstream companies developing environmental, social, and corporate governance policies. With deep expertise in the impact investing model, institutional investors exploring the space turn to her for creative solutions and her ability to structure both investments and companies to emphasize impact and returns.She represents a wide range of investors who are focused on impact, from foundations like the Gates Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and The Rockefeller Foundation, to family offices like Armonia, Cornerstone Capital, Emerson Collective, New Island Capital, and Omidyar Network, to private equity funds like Goldman Sachs, TPG Rise, Vision Ridge Partners, and Generation Investment Management, in their equity investments in companies and projects that are focused on generating impact and returns for investors. She has deep experience and expertise ensuring energy, sustainability, and other investments have positive impact through the use of new corporate forms, hybrid or “tandem” structures with non-profits and for-profits, and alternative debt and equity instruments.Notable work in this space includes the establishment of a tandem structure, The Carbon Endowment, to retire coal assets at scale while securing a revenue stream for community reinvestment and job training in coal communities. Suz also advised on the structuring of Common Sense Growth as an extension of the non-profit Common Sense Media (to invest in companies that address issues related to children, education, and technology), the establishment of a fund for TPG Rise to provide debt financing to Echoing Green fellows, the spin-out of PRX from Public Radio International (to generate new revenue flows up to the non-profit), the establishment of a for-profit joint venture with non-profit Medicines360 (to allow the non-profit to distribute its healthcare products to women in the developing world), and the structuring of a for-profit evergreen fund that allows The Nature Conservancy to aggregate return-seeking and donor capital in order to invest in preserving our natural resources. She has also advised numerous clients on converting to a public benefit corporation or social purpose corporation model (which requires balancing traditional fiduciary duties against a social or environmental purpose), including This American Life, Revolution Foods, Rise Labs, and Beneficial State Bancorp.Suz also regularly advises boards of directors of private and public companies, special committees, and CEOs on corporate governance, particularly the intersection of fiduciary duties with sustainability, and focuses on environmental, social, and governance issues.Unmatched Cleantech and Renewable Energy ExperienceIn addition to founding and chairing the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, Suz serves as Chair of Morrison & Foerster’s Energy Group and has extensive experience representing start-up to late stage private companies in the clean technology or sustainability space. She provides corporate and finance advice in connection with equity and debt financings, mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, reorganizations, and joint ventures. She has experience working with renewable energy start-up companies and renewable energy developers in the solar, wind, and biofuels industries. Suz has assisted renewable energy start up companies with raising venture capital and has advised renewable energy developers on project acquisitions.Suz’s representative renewable energy, cleantech, sustainable, and social enterprise clients include Anaergia, Change.org, EDF Renewables, E.ON, Etsy, First Look, OneSun, Planet Labs, Rising Sun Energy, RSF Social Finance, SustainBio, Trelys, Inc., Wikipedia, and Xpansiv.Board Activity and Thought LeadershipMs. Mac Cormac was a founding board member of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), is a member of the board of directors of Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), the Ceres President’s Council, and the Earth Genome Project, and is an advising board member of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy’s Strategic Investor Initiative.She has joined the faculty (teaching on the intersection of sustainability and fiduciary duties) at both the Stanford Director’s College and the Northwestern Corporate Counsel Institute and is an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley School of Law, teaching a course on Social Enterprise.

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Our ESG + Sustainability lawyers work side by side with each company and investor to identify the elements of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) that are most material for a particular business or industry.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)

ESG + Sustainability

ESG + Sustainability Law

Ranked #1 U.S. Overall Leader in Lamp House’s Global Review of Law Firms’ Responsible Business Activity

Ranked Band 1 for Impact Investing

Recognized as an ESG and Community Impact Leader

Recognized in United States Green Guide

Recognized in Green Guide

Ranked as one of Asia’s Top 15 ESG Law Firms

Recognized with the Environment & Sustainability: Innovation Award (Private Practice)

Named the winner of the California Legal Awards’ Environmental, Social, and Governance Initiative Category

Susan (“Suz”) co-chairs the ESG + Sustainability and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices. Her work focuses on advising innovative sustainable companies and investors, with particular expertise on ensuring investments have positive impact through use of new corporate forms, hybrids, alternative debt and equity instruments and disclosure.

Susan (“Suz”) co-chairs the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practices. Her work focuses on advising innovative sustainable companies and investors, with particular expertise on ensuring investments have positive impact through use of new corporate forms, hybrids, alternative debt and equity instruments and disclosure.

<h5 dir="ltr">As Chair of the firm’s Social Enterprise + Impact Investing and Energy + CleanTech practice groups, I find it uniquely fulfilling to help emerging companies and their investors channel great ideas and good intentions into tangible, positive change.</h5>How I Help: I have extensive experience representing startup to late-stage private companies primarily in the clean technology, renewable energy and sustainability space. I counsel on corporate and finance matters in connection with equity and debt financings, mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, reorganizations, and joint ventures. I’m frequently called upon for my expertise in new corporate forms, hybrid of “tandem” structures with non-profits and for-profits, and alternative debt and equity instruments. I also regularly advise boards of private and public companies, special committees, and CEOs on corporate governance as it relates to sustainability and CSR.Favorite app or tech product: Strava. I love tracking the miles I run each week.Favorite place for client meetings: A walk in the PresidioLife beyond the law: When I’m not preaching to the world about the power of corporate form, I spend my time outside the office with my three young sons. I currently coach my youngest’s little league team. Go Pirates!

Susan Mac Cormac

Alfredo Silva is a partner in the Transactions Department, co-chair of the firm's Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group, and a member of the ESG Strategy Committee. Alfredo represents companies and investors in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters, with a focus on businesses in the life sciences, agtech and fintech sectors. Alfredo’s practice includes capital markets transactions, venture capital, growth equity and corporate venture financings, tender offers and other secondary offerings, digital token matters, and mergers and acquisitions. Alfredo also helps clients leverage environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors to evaluate risk and opportunities and to invest responsibly in businesses seeking sustainable growth and impact.In his private company practice, Alfredo has served as company or investor counsel in early- and late-stage financings, minority strategic investments and impact investments in dozens of private companies, including representation of SoftBank and SoftBank Vision Fund in financings with a combined value of over $2 billion, Temasek in its $800 million minority investment in Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, and Visa Ventures in strategic fintech investments around the world.In his public company practice, Alfredo counsels issuers on strategic transactions, such as the stock-for-stock merger of Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. with Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp, as well as corporate governance and compliance with the U.S. federal securities laws and stock exchange listing standards, including advising on cutting-edge issues with respect to ESG disclosures and materiality assessments.In addition, Alfredo works extensively with nonprofit organizations, providing advice on fiduciary issues, entity formation, structuring and other corporate matters, and assists small businesses pro bono. He incorporated and continues to advise Illuminate, the nonprofit producer of The Bay Lights, a 25,000 LED sculpture on the western span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, in structuring, corporate governance, and project management matters. Alfredo currently chairs the audit committees of the boards of directors of Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, a charity founded by four-time NBA champion Stephen Curry and The New York Times bestselling author Ayesha Curry to unleash the potential of every child, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, an international leader in innovative theater whose shows have won eight Tony Awards, nine Obie Awards and a Pulitzer Prize, among many other honors.Alfredo is recognized by The Recorder as a 2013 Lawyer on the Fast Track, in 2014 was the inaugural recipient of the firm’s Kathi Pugh Award for Pro Bono Service, is a 2017 Lawyers Committee for Legal Diversity Fellow, and was the recipient of the American Bar Association’s 2023 National Public Service Award. Alfredo received his B.S. degree, cum laude with distinction, in Engineering Sciences (Chemical) from Yale College in 2004 and received his J.D. degree from Yale Law School in 2008. Alfredo speaks conversational Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, and spent a year at China’s Tsinghua University researching issues in intellectual property protection on a Fulbright Fellowship.

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We are a leading law firm with capital markets and corporate finance lawyers advising issuers, agents and underwriters in a range of private and public financings.

Capital Markets

Practice Group of the Year - Capital Markets

The Dealmakers of the Year

Japan: Capital Markets: Domestic 

Japan: Capital Markets: International: US Law 

Asia-Pacific Capital Markets: Equity 

Nationwide: Finance: Capital Markets: Debt

Nationwide: Finance: Capital Markets: Equity

Nationwide: Finance: Structured Finance: Derivatives and Structured Products

National: Capital Markets: Derivatives

United States: Capital markets: Debt

United States: Capital markets: Derivatives

United States: Capital markets: Equity

United States: Capital markets: Structured finance and securitization

New York: Capital markets

National: Derivatives and Futures Law (Tier 1)

National: Securities / Capital Markets Law (Tier 1)

Asia-Pacific Capital Markets: Equity

Capital Markets: Equity

Capital Markets: Debt

Japan: Capital Markets

Japan: Capital Markets: International: U.S. Law

China Capital Markets: Equity: International Firms

Hong Kong: Capital Markets: Equity

UK Capital Markets: Debt

Alfredo Silva is co-chair of the firms Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practice and member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. He represents public and private companies and investors in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters, as well as nonprofit organizations on entity formation, fiduciary issues, and structuring.

Alfredo B. D. Silva represents public and private technology companies and strategic and financial investors in a broad range of capital markets transactions, early- and late-stage financings, and corporate governance matters in a variety of industries, including Life Sciences, Health Tech, FinTech, and SaaS.

Alfredo Silva is co-chair of the Morrison Foerster Social Enterprise + Impact Investing practice and member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee. He represents public and private companies and investors in a broad range of corporate and securities law matters, as well as nonprofit organizations on entity formation, fiduciary issues, and structuring.

<h5 dir="ltr">My job is to think creatively and balance competing interests to solve complicated problems, and the end result is that the companies I’m working with are able to raise the capital they need to grow, creating and maintaining jobs for others while bringing great products and services to consumers.</h5>How I help: I represent companies throughout their lifecycles, from entity formation to debt and equity financing to exit alternatives, including initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. I also counsel investors in venture financing, late stage / growth equity financing, strategic investments, secondary transactions, and impact investments in private companies in a wide variety of industries. Since I have a background in engineering, I get numbers, and often work closely with executives, finance teams, and financial advisors and analysts to model out complex capital structures, financing scenarios, and liquidity events. In doing so, I help clients analyze what’s possible, understand consequences of various transaction structures, and enhance their economics in deals in value from the tens of millions to the billions of dollars.Favorite app or tech product: I spend a lot of time these days checking Coinbase, seeing how the market reacts to developments in the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces.Favorite place for client meetings: It’s great when you’re close enough with a client to catch up and talk shop at their house!Life beyond the law: Skiing at Lake Tahoe in the winter, weekends in Dolores Park in the summer, and travel to see family and friends in between.

Alfredo B. D. Silva

Benjamin Fox is a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group. Benjamin’s practice focuses on the representation of clients in corporate and transactional matters, with a focus on investors and companies dedicated to pursuing social or environmental goals alongside financial returns.Benjamin counsels startup to late-stage private companies and venture capital and private equity investors, as well as family offices, private foundations, and public charities in early-stage and late-stage financings, mergers, acquisitions, asset purchases and sales, joint ventures, and hybrid or “tandem” structuring arrangements between nonprofit and for-profit entities. Benjamin has extensive experience working with investors and companies in the climate technology and infrastructure and sustainability space. He regularly advises clients on creative legal structures with respect to aggregating and deploying capital to maximize impact and returns.Benjamin earned his J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Boalt Hall), with a certificate of specialization in both Environmental Law and Energy and Clean Technology Law. At Boalt, he served as an executive editor of Ecology Law Quarterly, a member of the California Law Review, and a judicial extern for the Honorable Edward M. Chen of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Benjamin received the Ellis J. Harmon Prize for best legal writing in Environmental Law and Policy and was a NAPABA Law Foundation Scholarship recipient for commitment to serve the Asian Pacific American community.Prior to law school, Benjamin worked for the U.S. Department of Energy in Beijing, China and spent a year at Taiwan’s Tunghai University researching renewable energy and urban development policy on a Fulbright Fellowship. He earned his B.A. with distinction and highest honors from the University of Michigan.

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Morrison & Foerster is an international law firm with a committed practice in social impact investing—a practice we have championed for more than 20 years. 


Social Enterprise + Impact Investing

Social Impact Investing Law Firm

 Ranked #1 U.S. Overall Leader in Lamp House’s Global Review of Law Firms’ Responsible Business Activity

Benjamin Fox is a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office and a member of the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group. Benjamin’s practice focuses on the representation of clients in corporate and transactional matters, with a focus on investors and companies dedicated to pursuing social or environmental goals alongside financial returns.

Benjamin Fox is an associate in the Morrison Foerster Corporate Department in the San Francisco office. Benjamin is a member of the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing and Energy and Clean Technology Groups.

<h5 dir="ltr">I feel fortunate to assist companies and investors focused on tackling our most pressing global environmental and social challenges.</h5>How I help: I provide counsel to companies from formation until exit, including in connection with corporate structure and governance, early- and late-stage equity financings, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures.  As a member of our Social Enterprise + Impact Investing Group, I frequently advise clients on the legal tools available to promote mission-driven businesses, including attracting non-profit and for-profit capital, and utilizing hybrid non-profit/for-profit structures and new corporate forms.  I also have a particular expertise in the renewable energy sector and work closely with investors, renewable energy developers and cleantech startups on a wide range of corporate matters.Favorite app or tech product: GuitarTuna. It’s pretty good at tuning my guitar.Favorite place for client meetings: At a baseball game. Fenway Park will always be the best, but other stadiums will suffice.Life beyond the law: Enjoying the great outdoors.

Benjamin Fox

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Climate Links: 5/31/2024

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ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role Spring 2022 CourseBerkeley Law and Ceres will be hosting a course on ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role, starting on April 5th. Morrison & Foerster recommends this course for corporate directors and aspiring board members who would like to have a better understanding of ESG. “Now more than ever, boards need to understand the intersection of ESG with business strategy and operations. Considering ESG goes beyond compliance; it’s critical to financial success, to remaining competitive, and to being prepared for what’s around the corner. This course is a key way for board members to get up to speed.” –Suz Mac Cormac, Partner, Morrison & FoersterThis introductory, self-paced course, which is designed to be completed in six hours, incorporates practical insights, the cutting-edge research of Berkeley Law faculty, and industry-leading reports published by Ceres.This course will cover topics such as:<ul><li>Defining Corporate Purpose, ESG, and Stakeholder Governance</li><li>Communicating with Investors on ESG</li><li>Identifying, Assessing, and Mitigating ESG Risks</li><li>Structuring Board Oversight of ESG</li><li>Setting ESG Targets, Transition Planning, and Incentives</li><li>Aligning Climate Lobbying with ESG Commitments</li><li>Disclosing ESG Risks and Opportunities</li></ul>

Susan (Suz) Mac Cormac, San Francisco partner, has extensive experience in corporate law, ESG, social enterprise and impact investing, and venture capital.

Susan H. Mac Cormac | Corporate + ESG Attorney

ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role Spring 2022 Course

ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role Spring 2022 Course
Berkeley Law and Ceres will be hosting a course on ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role, starting on April 5th. 

ESG: Navigating the Board’s Role Spring 2022 Course

On December 1, 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed to adopt listing rules related to board diversity after determining that the national market and the public interest would benefit from a regulatory framework designed to promote “meaningful and multi-dimensional diversification of their boards.” This news comes following the influx of recent state laws and proposals relating to board diversity and on the heels of announcements from both Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis that they have updated their voting policies related to board diversity. The proposed rule change had met with significant stakeholder interest, with Nasdaq reporting that as of January 9, 2021, it had received more than 150 comment letters. Nasdaq’s proposed rules represent the second largest stock exchange in the world, recognizing mounting pressure from shareholders, institutional investors, and advisory services to proactively address board diversity as part of a public company’s disclosures. Board diversity is a trend that cannot be ignored, irrespective of the state in which a company is headquartered, and California’s headline-grabbing board diversity legislation can no longer be seen as an outlier event, but rather a harbinger—indicative of a larger movement that has now resulted in new initiatives by Nasdaq, ISS, and Glass Lewis.<a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/210127-iss-glass-lewis-nasdaq-board-diversity.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read our client alert</a>.

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Jackie engages in a general corporate and transactional practice, with special emphasis on corporate counseling of public companies, mergers and acquisitions, and the China practice. 

Jackie Liu

Jackie Liu | White Collar Defense + M&A Lawyer

Our corporate governance practice brings together top lawyers from our corporate, regulatory and investigations, risk management, white collar defense and compliance, and executive compensation practices.

ISS, Glass Lewis, and Now Nasdaq – Board Diversity Is Here

On December 1, 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) proposed to adopt listing rules related to board diversity after determining that the national marke

ISS, Glass Lewis, and Now Nasdaq – Board Diversity Is Here

Reporting

Suz Mac Cormac spoke to the Little Hoover Commission for the Commission’s new report on the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and small business recovery. Suz shared her perspective on how California can support small enterprises and her work spearheading the CA Rebuilding Fund and CASE Task Force.“Small business owners need access to resources – grants and affordable credit – and tailored advice on how to navigate this period of extreme uncertainty,” Suz said.Read the <a href="https://lhc.ca.gov/report/first-steps-toward-recovery-saving-small-businesses" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">full report</a>.

First Steps toward Recovery: Saving Small Businesses

Suz Mac Cormac spoke to the Little Hoover Commission for the Commission’s new report on the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and small business recover

First Steps toward Recovery: Saving Small Businesses

MoFo’s weekly Climate Links provide the latest industry updates from thought-leaders and third-party sources. This week:<ul><li>Future of Sustainability in Investment Management: From Ideas to Reality, CFA Institute The CFA Institute develops a narrative about the history and current state of sustainable investing and how the sustainability trend of the next 5–10 years is expected to develop.</li></ul><ul><li>How Social Entrepreneurs Will Help Us Fight Covid-19 And Build Back Better, Willy Foote, Forbes Willy Foote, the Founder and CEO of Root Capital, describes how social entrepreneurs are well positioned to address gaps in the market and to reach constituents whom governments cannot or will not access.</li></ul><ul><li>Layering Evidence for Impact Investing Success, Kendall Rathunde, Daniel Hadley & Gwendolyn Reynolds, Stanford Social Innovation Review This article looks at how investors can gather more context and nuance about the social impact of their investments, and thus bridge the gap between impact investing theory and practice.</li></ul><ul><li>Impact-Financial Integration: A Handbook for Investors, Calvert Impact Capital After participating for the past two years in the Impact Frontiers Collaboration, an initiative of the Impact Management Project (IMP), to pioneer new ways to integrate impact management with financial management, Calvert Impact Capital presents the methods of impact financial integration that their organizations developed and implemented, along with examples and their lessons learned.</li></ul>

Climate Links 12/7/2020

MoFo’s weekly Climate Links provide the latest industry updates from thought-leaders and third-party sources. This week: Future of Sustainability in Investment 

Climate Links 12/7/2020

California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of <a href="https://www.connect2capital.com/partners/california-rebuilding-fund/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The California Rebuilding Fund</a> (the Fund), a program built to support California’s smallest businesses so they can adapt, reopen, and recover from the effects of COVID-19.The California Rebuilding Fund is a public-private partnership that drives capital from private, philanthropic and public sector resources – including a $25 million anchor commitment and $50 million guarantee allocation from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) – to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). With this new Fund, California’s CDFIs will be better able to help under-banked small businesses recover and reposition themselves to survive the realities of the COVID-19 marketplace. The Fund will seek to distribute funds equitably across the state.Read the <a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/news/201120-california-rebuilding-fund.html">full press release</a>.

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Of Counsel

Linda Arnsbarger advises nonprofits and businesses on a wide range of issues relating to the regulation of exempt organizations and the unique issues raised in doing business with them.
Ms. Arnsbarger

Linda A. Arnsbarger

Linda Arnsbarger

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Michael Santos is a partner in the San Francisco office of Morrison Foerster and a member of the firm’s Transactions Department. Michael is a member of the firm’s Social Enterprise and Impact Investing Group.

Michael Santos

Morrison & Foerster Spearheads Launch of California Rebuilding Fund

California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the launch of The California Rebuilding Fund (the Fund), a program built to support California’s smallest busin

Morrison & Foerster Spearheads Launch of California Rebuilding Fund

Funding - Financing

MoFo’s weekly Climate Links provide the latest industry updates from thought-leaders and third-party sources. This week:<ul><li><a href="https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/how-the-platform-on-sustainable-finance-will-help-define-our-green-future-.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">How the Platform on Sustainable Finance Will Help Define our Green Future, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 2020.</a> The newly formed Platform on Sustainable Finance, a building block in the European Union’s plan to green its economy, is a significant step forward in creating a shared climate vocabulary. The Platform is a new body of 50 experts and 10 special observers in the climate, environmental, sustainable finance, and social or human rights expertise.</li><li><a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/trechstudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New TRECH Project Research Update on Health Benefits of TCI Policy Scenarios, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health C-Change Center, 2020.</a> The Transportation, Equity, Climate, and Health (TRECH) Project, a multi-university research initiative conducting independent analysis of transportation climate scenarios to address carbon pollution, has released <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/news/trechstudy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">preliminary findings</a>. The preliminary TRECH results are intended to foster dialogue and help inform program design by illustrating how climate mitigation policies in the transportation sector can influence health outcomes.</li></ul>

Climate Links 11/20/20

MoFo’s weekly Climate Links provide the latest industry updates from thought-leaders and third-party sources. This week: How the Platform on Sustainable Finance

Climate Links 11/20/20

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Michael Santos, a social enterprise and impact investing associate in Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office, interviews Bulbul Gupta, the president and CEO of Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), a Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) fund based in Oakland, California.Listen to the <a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/video-audio/201007-impactful-conversations-cdfis.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">full podcast</a>.

Impactful Conversations: Discussing Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Michael Santos, a social enterprise and impact investing associate in Morrison & Foerster’s San Francisco office, in

Impactful Conversations: Discussing Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Susan Mac Cormac, the chair of MoFo’s Energy and Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practices, interviews Andrew Macintosh, the COO and CFO of the March Fund—a tech fund focused on the development of food and health solutions that support the sustainable food supply chain and optimize health outcomes.Andrew speaks to Susan about the March Fund’s identification and measurement of key variables that can drive impact and returns, the role intellectual property plays when the March Fund is choosing companies to invest in, and the advice he has for companies that really want to make an impact in the food space.Listen to the full episode here. <a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/video-audio/200929-impactful-conversations-food.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.mofo.com/resources/video-audio/200929-impactful-conversations-food.html</a>

Impactful Conversations: A Conversation with Andrew Macintosh at March Fund

In this episode of Impactful Conversations, Susan Mac Cormac, the chair of MoFo’s Energy and Social Enterprise and Impact Investing practices, interviews Andrew

Impactful Conversations: A Conversation with Andrew Macintosh at March Fund

On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced, as part of its ongoing initiative to modernize Regulation S-K disclosure, amendments that add human capital resources as a separate disclosure topic, including any human capital measures or objectives that issuers focus on in managing their business.  This development follows years of mounting pressure from investors and other stakeholders calling for changes to disclosures, practices, and governance on a wide range of human capital and diversity and inclusion (D+I) topics affecting public companies, as well as the adoption by several states of new laws mandating diversity on boards of directors.These rules changes could not be more timely. The COVID-19 pandemic has focused stakeholder attention on customer and employee safety and welfare. Companies are grappling with how to adapt to retain their workforce, provide a safe workplace, and respond to difficulties in supply chains or remote work environments. Further, social and racial inequality, spotlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement, has become not only a topic for public policy change but also an issue of corporate responsibility, as stakeholders look to companies for plans to respond to racial injustice and increase transparency in disclosing human capital matters.In this client alert, we assess the changing seas of investor and stakeholder expectations and legal requirements related to key human capital and D+I topics.Read our <a href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/200831-changes-human-capital-d-i-public-companies.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">client alert</a>.