Catalytic Capital | December 14, 2020

MacArthur Foundation, Big Society anchor UK’s Women in Safe Homes fund

Dennis Price
ImpactAlpha Editor

Dennis Price

ImpactAlpha, Dec. 14 – Through a lease-to-own model, Women in Safe Homes fund, a residential property investment fund, will acquire properties and lease them to U.K. charities that assist women experiencing or at risk of homelessness. At the end of the fund’s 10-year life, charity partners, including Preston Road Women’s Centre, Nacro and Refuge, have the option to acquire the homes.

The fund, a joint venture of property investor Patron Capital and impact investment firm Resonance, is one of the first in the U.K. to adopt an explicit gender lens.

“This fund will give us the opportunity to support more women coming out of prison, reduce the risk of reoffending and give them the best chance at a second chance,” said Nacro’s Nahar Choudhury.

MacArthur, Big Society, Patron’s Keith Breslauer and Lostand Foundation anchored Women in Safe Homes, which has raised £15.5 million ($20.5 million) toward its target of £100 million. 

Catalytic capital

MacArthur made its $5 million program-related equity investment as part of the Catalytic Capital Consortium, or C3, which also includes Omidyar Network and Rockefeller Foundation.

MacArthur’s Debra Schwartz said the “fund clearly demonstrates the power of catalytic capital to help build a more just, equitable, and resilient world.”

MacArthur’s recent C3 investments have given a boost to Acumen’s ALIVE, Impact America’s second fund, One Acre Fund and Prime Impact Fund.