CEI’s mission is to help create economically and
environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with
low incomes, can reach their full potential.
CEI manages over $247 million of capital raised from private
foundations, financial institutions and public entities who have embraced CEI’s
holistic community development finance strategies.
The practice of sustainable investing:CEI’s business model encompasses “the triple
bottom line” – economy, equity and ecology.We try to bring these three disciplines to bear on our underwriting
methodology so that a social investment in us generates financial, social and
environmental returns.
Here are ways you can invest in CEI:
Loans: A below-market loan to CEI is pooled with other funds for
targeted relending to small businesses, social services and affordable housing
projects.Earnings above costs support
the fund.
Gifts: A gift to CEI to
support sustainable economic development initiatives. CEI is a 501(c)3
charitable corporation, and gifts are tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by federal law. Click here for more information on making a gift to CEI.
New Markets Tax
Credit: A federal income tax credit of up to 39% over 7 years is
available for qualifying investments in targeted areas. Other state/federal tax
credits may be available. Click here for more information on New Markets Tax Credits.
CEI Ventures, Inc.'s investment,
SmartPak Equine, direct
markets custom unit-dose packaging of equine supplements and pharmaceuticals
with an automatic replenishment system, as well as offering a variety of
barn-related supplies. CEI
supplied the business with patient capital because it believed the business
needed room to grow. The company is located in Plymouth, MA,
near a community of Cambodian refugees. To assist these and other foreign-born
individuals, SmartPak designed their production facilities to accommodate
non-English speaking employees and offers courses in English, along with paying
decent wages. The organization couples this strong social commitment with a
strong commitment to the environment. SmartPak follows the credo of “reduce,
reuse, and recycle.” They have minimized their waste (and costs) through
packaging innovations and they purchase recycled materials where possible. This
business turned out to be a perfect fit for CEI’s
3E investment criteria.
CEI IN THE NEWS!
CEI partnersin 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.
Invest in CEI 
CEI manages over $247 million of capital raised from private
foundations, financial institutions and public entities who have embraced CEI’s
holistic community development finance strategies. 
