Clearinghouse CDFI Honored for Second Consecutive Year as ‘Best for the World’ by B Lab

Best for the World 2018 - logo

Dedicated to using Business as a Force for Good, Clearinghouse CDFI’s honors include Best for Customers and Best for the World: Overall  

LAKE FOREST, Calif., July 17, 2018: For the second consecutive year, Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI) was recognized as ‘Best for the World’—for creating exceptionally positive impacts through its business operations. Based on an independent, comprehensive assessment administered by the nonprofit B Lab, Clearinghouse CDFI was specifically honored in three categories: ‘Best for Customers’, ‘Best for the World: Changemaker’, and ‘Best for the World: Overall.’ All honorees are featured on B the Change, a digital publication produced by B Lab, at www.bthechange.com.

This recognition, bestowed annually, is based on the B Impact Assessment scores of more than 2,100 Certified B Corporations. The B Impact Assessment measures a company’s positive impact on its workers, governance, community, customers, and the environment.

The full B Impact Assessment evaluates a company’s environmental performance, employee relationships, diversity, involvement in the local community, the impact a company’s product or service has on those it serves, and more. Clearinghouse CDFI made the list for exceptional practices including: creating economic opportunities for low-income and underserved communities, offering paid time off for company-wide volunteer days, and measuring water and energy usage.

“As a B Corp, all of our business activities are aimed at improving the communities we serve,” said Douglas J. Bystry, Clearinghouse CDFI President/CEO. “We are pleased to share this news for the second straight year with our investors and staff. We owe this honor to our staff’s commitment and passion for creating positive change.”

Over the past 21 years, Clearinghouse CDFI has funded $1.55 billion in total loans for over 1,820 community projects. These projects have created or retained more than 18,000 jobs and benefit over 1.5 million individuals. This includes the rehabilitation of more than 16.9 million square feet of blighted properties. These projects have benefited over 610 separate underserved communities throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Indian Country.

About Clearinghouse CDFI:
Clearinghouse Community Development Financial Institution (Clearinghouse CDFI) addresses unmet credit needs in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Indian Country in the Western United States. Clearinghouse CDFI is an industry leader helping to bridge the gap between conventional lending standards and the needs of low-income and distressed communities. Clearinghouse CDFI is also a B Corp–a certification received from the nonprofit B Lab. B Corps are companies who meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and use business as a force for good. For more information, visit: www.ccdfi.com.

About B Lab:
B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good.  Its vision is that one day all companies will compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world and society will enjoy prosperity for all for the long term. B Lab drives this systemic change by: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations to make it easier for all of us to tell the difference between “good companies” and good marketing; 2) passing benefit corporation legislation to give business leaders the freedom to create value for society as well as shareholders; 3) helping businesses measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance with the free B Impact Assessment; 4) driving capital to impact investments through use of its B Analytics and GIIRS Ratings platform. For more information, visit www.bcorporation.net.

About B the Change:
B the Change is a Medium publication, produced by B Lab in collaboration with the community of Certified B Corps and the movement of people using business as a force for good.

B the Change exists to inform and inspire people who have a passion for using business as a force for good in the world. Because we believe that storytelling is an essential element in the transformation of business and society, we commit ourselves to telling the most compelling stories possible to the largest audiences possible to propel the movement of business toward its destiny as a powerful force for good. We want to dramatically broaden and deepen engagement with entrepreneurs, managers, employees, investors and citizens in one of the most important discussions of our time. Read all B the Change stories at www.bthechange.com.

Clearinghouse CDFI Media Contact:
Ron Demeter, Partner
Vectis Strategies on behalf of Clearinghouse CDFI
Phone: 310-614-1059
Email: rdemeter@vectisstrategies.com

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Download as a PDF: CCDFI Best for the World 2018