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Loans and Investments that Meet the CEI Mission PDF Print E-mail
CEI's mission guides our loan and investment decision-making. That is, we loan or invest in businesses that economically contribute to the community, that offer livable wages to employees or ownership opportunities to the borrower, and are environmentally responsible. We call this 3E investing. Click here for a full description of CEI's 3E investing profile.

Economy: Generates a viable financial return, either by maintaining or creating profits, return on investment or a tangible asset.

Equity: Provides an opportunity for disadvantaged groups to access information, housing, financial resources, or livelihoods/employment.
All of our financing activity is measured by the social impact of each project. For example, we are interested in projects that, with CEI financing, will lead to positive change for the borrower, particularly people with low incomes, disabilities or limited resources; women or minority-owned businesses; and veterans and the disabled. Other examples include supporting refugee or immigrant entrepreneurs, and projects that will help those unemployed, or seasonally employed, gain full-time self- employment.

We are interested in the employment potential of each loan or investment and we ask our borrowers to work with CEI staff to open new job opportunities to those who are in need of employment. For example, we look to invest in businesses that plan to hire new employees in "quality jobs" (benefits, a living wage, healthy and safe working conditions, opportunities for growth and advancement); that hire low-income workers in "quality jobs"; that hire disabled workers in a supported employment program; that hire participants from CEI's special projects and/or training systems, train/hire/apprentice local youth, or improve part-time or seasonal positions to full-time or year-round employment; or businesses that operate community facilities, such as child care or assisted living centers that serve low-income people.

Environment: Results in a positive impact on the natural environment by reducing energy use, waste, pollution or material use, or by improving stewardship of natural resources.
CEI is committed to helping businesses succeed while preserving the quality of
Maine's environment. We encourage all of our borrowers to identify the environmental aspects of their businesses, and to work with us in developing practices that benefit both the environment and the company's bottom line. We have a strong interest in financing businesses that generate products, provide services, and/or develop processes for the farms, forestry or fishery industries, and who follow environmentally sustainable best practices.

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CEI IN THE NEWS!

The results are in! Learn what the evaluation of the Farms for the Future disclosed ... 

Ron Phillips, President of CEI, speaks on public television’s “Conversations with Maine.” 

ImageMaine Legislature Passes Model Anti-Predatory Lending Bill.

Review LD 1869 here.

Predatory Mortgages in Maine Recent Trends and the Persistence of Abusive Lending Practices. A joint report issued by Coastal Enterprises, Inc. and the Center for Responsible Lending, 2006.

CEI receives SCED award for CED excellence. 

Announcing the publication, Telling Their Stories: Women Business Owners in Western Maine 

Read about NMTC's $120 million allocation to CEI.

CEI worked with a broad coalition to get the Office of Consumer Credit Regulations to study the impacts of payday lending.   

The Maine Working Waterfront Coalition works to help save commercial fishing access properties.

Gulf of Maine Research Institute - Collaborative Science

The newest building on Portland's waterfront is the 56,000 square foot Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI). Currently in its last phase of construction, GMRI will soon be home to a variety of non-profit, governmental and for-profit tenants, all focused on the Gulf of Maine and its watershed. With laboratories, research centers, and exhibit spaces, this state of the art facility is positioned to become a world-class marine research and education center. One critical role for the GMRI is to be a "neutral convener", bridging a long standing gap between scientists and fishermen.

CEI Capital Management, a for-profit CEI subsidiary, helped finance the facility through its New Markets Tax Credit program under which CEI was awarded $129 million in tax credit allocation authority to draw capital into disadvantaged areas. With the tax credit, Peoples Heritage Bank (Banknorth, N.A.) provided a $4 million long-term loan to GMRI. CEI was attracted to GMRI for its high quality jobs as well as the commitment to sustaining the Gulf of Maine's fishery ecosystem and the 25,000 fishing jobs, fishing communities and fishing families that depend on it.
36 Water Street, PO Box 268, Wiscasset, ME 04578; Telephone: 207/882-7552; FAX: 207/882-7308; E-mail: cei@ceimaine.org