Data-Driven Strategies and Decision Making

Send us your investment data at the institution and transaction levels and we will create data visualizations and narrative content for more compelling funding applications to foundations, impact investors, corporations, governments, and CDFI Fund programs (e.g., Annual Certification, Financial Assistance, New Markets Tax Credit, Capital Magnet Fund). We also have extensive data on the entire CDFI industry to benchmark your organization’s performance and portfolio characteristics.

After you receive funding we will produce the reports you need to comply with funding programs and certifications so you can spend more time investing in underserved communities.

CDFIs and other impact investors need to assess portfolio impacts and evaluate the extent to which investments are achieving desired goals and objectives. Tract Advisors uses a variety of analytic methods and data sources to go beyond output measures and create a more comprehensive assessment of your investment portfolio’s socioeconomic outcomes and impacts.

But what good is an analysis without precise narrative content and data visualizations to convey results? We will translate data analysis into efficient narratives and visualizations to communicate your impacts on borrowers, investees, and their surrounding communities.

Impact investors with place-based strategies need to visualize and measure socioeconomic trends. Lance Loethen has used geographic information systems (GIS) for over 20 years to map and analyze the geospatial characteristics of CDFI investments. We can use story maps to combine presentations, storytelling, and analysis into an interactive mapping tool.

Examples of analytic geospatial models originally designed by Lance Loethen include the Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) analysis and the Supply Chain Matrix.

Jobs are not created or retained in isolation—they have ripple effects throughout the economy. Tract Advisors uses economic impact models to calculate direct, indirect, and induced job estimates for specific projects or your entire loan and investment portfolio. We can also estimate your portfolio’s impact on wages and overall economic output.

Our economic impact model uses BEA RIMS II input/output data and can be paired with geospatial analysis to create comprehensive economic development strategies and impact evaluations.

Lance Loethen has over 20 years of experience using location quotients, economic multipliers, fiscal models, and geospatial data modeling to inform economic development strategies. Our method identifies your economy’s key (basic) industries, analyzes historical and projected trends, and identifies geographic concentrations (agglomerations). Results can be used to tailor programs that retain, recruit, and grow employers that drive your regional economy; for example, tailoring direct incentives, infrastructure improvements, and/or job training to match vital employers’ needs.

Lance has helped design and build data collection systems for CDFIs since 2004. Tract Advisors can help you identify essential data points, coordinate multiple data collection platforms, and work with third-party consultants to design a custom database. We can also incorporate custom social and economic impact calculations into your data reporting, helping you create more compelling narratives and infographics for funding applications, websites, and other communications.