Calvert Giving Fund
Richmond Times Dispatch
Bon Secours Health System Inc. has invested $1.6 million in the Calvert Foundation, which has routed $500,000 of the amount to Consolidated Bank & Trust for loans in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas.
Bon Secours also placed $500,000 nationally with the Mercy Loan Fund, which provides loans to affordable-housing organizations such as the Better Housing Coalition in Richmond.
"This past year, foundations have had to cut back on grants," said Edward Gerardo, Bon Secours director of community and social investments. "This is complementary or supplementary. In some cases, you can give out more money because you know you'll get principal back. You can keep lending it year after year. It achieves more things."
Bon Secours will get a 2.5 percent return on its investment, Gerardo said. "We made a conscious decision to forgo the highest return . . . for purposes of seeing that the capital amount becomes available for lower-income communities and for initiatives to build the health of the community [through] education, housing and economic development."
Calvert and Mercer will focus their lending on communities where Bon Secours operates nonprofit hospitals, Gerardo said. In Richmond, the medical facilities include St. Mary's, St. Francis, Memorial and Richmond Community.
