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International Experience and Programs |
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CDS has experience as a practitioner/trainer working with international and emerging economies to help identify, cultivate and exchange financial and community development strategies. In 1998 and 1999, CDS co-hosted three conferences in Poland for banks, NGOs and government officials to explore community development finance strategies in that country. This conference was part of the Practitioners Working Group (PWG) program supported by the Ford Foundation to stimulate the development of community financial institutions in Poland. CDS also worked with the Carpathian Foundation based in Slovakia to assist with a feasibility study on establishing a financial intermediary organization to support growth of the CDC/CDFI industry. 
International Peer Learning Exchanges: The Practitioners Working Group (PWG) is an international peer learning exchange created by CDS to strengthen the global CDC/CDFI industry. The PWG is an organized, in-depth training program through which participants develop partnerships with other practitioner organizations. By examining relevant rural and urban models, practitioners are able to sharpen their skills. Coalition building, strategic planning, legislative initiatives and resource development are key elements of the PWG. CDS will work with an individual, NGO, or a group of NGOs interested in furthering common goals. The holistic program typically includes a 10-day training in the U.S. with site visits to relevant CDCs and sessions with other community development organizations, an in-country forum with policymakers and donor organizations; and strategic consulting.
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CEI IN THE NEWS! |
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CEI partners in the “Cod Academy”. CEI is helping to organize a free cod farming course for large boat fishermen from Maine’s two easternmost coastal counties, Hancock and Washington. Read more here. CEI Investment Notes are a way for you to invest in your community, to help others, and to reap social, environmental and economic benefits. Details here. U.S. Finance Expert Encourages Banking Investment in Maine Communities
At CEI's 32nd Annual Meeting, Ellen Seidman, Exec. VP of ShoreBank in Chicago, and Sr. Research Fellow with the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, urged Maine bankers and community activists to consider “greater community investment…meeting the actual needs of the community, not just counting dollars invested.” See full speech.
See annual meeting remarks by Ron Phillips, CEO, on triple bottom line investing and the next 5 years for CEI. See the 12/14/09 article on CEI and the state of investing in communities. It’s where mission happens… CEI Receives $125 Million in NMTC Through its subsidiary, CEI Capital Management LLC, CEI will use the allocation to attract private capital investments for primarily rural economic development projects. See press release.
CEI Receives Investment Funds
In partnership with Manufacturers Association of Maine, CEI will receive $765,000 over from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Services (OCS), to finance several job-generating small-to-medium enterprises. This funding will create 78 full-time, year-round jobs. Read press release here. Bangor Savings Bank and CEI offer low-interest loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in disadvantaged areas in Maine. Read more here. |
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BLUETARP - Building a Business in the Building Industry |
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When Brian Rigney worked on construction jobs during summer vacations while a student at Colby College in Waterville, he saw the inefficiency in the piles of receipts and invoices that accompanied every purchase. As he pursued an MBA, this problem stayed with him, and in 1998 BlueTarp, Inc. was born.
As a growing company, BlueTarp needed capital. CEI Ventures, Inc., one of CEI's two socially responsible venture capital subsidiaries, invested in BlueTarp, because of its potential to generate above average financial returns while meeting social goals, including job creation for low-income people. As of second quarter 2010, BlueTarp had 50 employees.
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Subsidiaries 
