PRI Fundamentals for Grantmakers: Opening

Greg Ratliff

Greg Ratliff is a leading authority in the field of community and economic development and a seasoned advisor to the U.S. philanthropic community. A pioneering thought leader in the field in the early 1990s, Greg's consulting practice has focused on strategic planning for innovative business models blending financial and social returns. Greg advises major foundations and nonprofit organizations from concept through implementation on top level strategic planning, board development and program creation. Selected clients include Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Heron Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, Shorebank Corporation, and the Aspen Institute. His practice includes significant work in the field of Community Development Financial Institutions, (CDFIs) and he currently serves on the team implementing the CDFI Assessment and Rating System (CARS), an evaluation tool designed to increase the transparency of CDFIs for institutional investors by providing a rigorous third party assessment of financial and social investment returns. Greg also recently completed research into business models for expanding the scale and sustainability of operations of CDFIs and other public purpose businesses. The findings were published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in Profitwise (December 2004). Prior to his consultancy, Greg spent ten years at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation where he directed and managed a $15 million grant program and a $190 million portfolio of program related investments. During his tenure, both ventures broke new ground for MacArthur in the area of creating economic opportunity. Greg received a BA from UCLA and an MBA from Northeastern University, where he combined graduate work in Urban Studies at MIT.