Tausi Insider

Courtney Robinson is the global head of financial inclusion for Block (formerly Square, Inc.) Private sector can inspiration from public sector book on how to invest purposefully in communities. Mark Blinch/Reuters You’ve probably heard the popular refrain that the private sector has a lot to teach the public sector, particularly in the innovation arena. But, when it comes to social-impact investing, the opposite is true – the private sector can draw inspiration and learn from the public one. I learned these lessons first-hand during my time as counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending and as senior counsel on the financial services committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. When Block’s treasury team was looking for a purposeful way to invest, I was able to share my experience in the public sector working with community development financial institutions. What began as a pilot US$5-million Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) investment, led by our treasury a...

Courtney Robinson is the global head of financial inclusion for Block (formerly Square, Inc.) and Leslie Jackson is the head of policy for Block in Canada. When it comes to social-impact investing, forget about the minutia of spreadsheet “metrics” and focus on getting the most important and truest measure right – trust. In our opinion, trust is the most powerful and clarifying social-impact measure there is. This may seem like a naive, idealized statement, but prioritizing trust isn’t a leap of blind faith. Finding trust in the context of social-impact investing requires grit, rigour and a level of diligence and discipline that transcends typical business metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs). It can also be uncomfortable, frustrating and time-consuming. Related: Social-impact investing pays in more ways than one. Here are the keys to an effective investment Prioritizing trust in the context of metrics-obsessed corporate culture is not easy. But, in our experience administeri...

Courtney Robinson is the global head of financial inclusion for Block (formerly Square, Inc.) Private sector can inspiration from public sector book on how to invest purposefully in communities. Mark Blinch/Reuters You’ve probably heard the popular refrain that the private sector has a lot to teach the public sector, particularly in the innovation arena. But, when it comes to social-impact investing, the opposite is true – the private sector can draw inspiration and learn from the public one. I learned these lessons first-hand during my time as counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending and as senior counsel on the financial services committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. When Block’s treasury team was looking for a purposeful way to invest, I was able to share my experience in the public sector working with community development financial institutions. What began as a pilot US$5-million Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) investment, led by our treasury a...