Our 2025 Year In Review

At the Public Finance Initiative, we partner with governments and mission-driven organizations to embed values into public finance decision-making because how public dollars are invested shapes what communities can become. In moments like this, as communities in Minnesota and around the world grapple with loss and uncertainty, the consequences of public choices feel especially immediate and human. In 2025, our work focused on public finance across nature and the built environment, guided by a core question: How might communities that have historically received the least investment receive more when public finance is approached through an integrated lens that also centers place-based outcomes?

We started asking this question in 2024, with the Kresge Foundation and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, examining how and whether there could be greater convergence between public finance and community investment ecosystems and continued the discussion this years in our webinar with leaders at Impact Alpha. Throughout 2025, we explored how blending and braiding public finance with other forms of capital—such as development finance and investments from community development financial institutions—can help expand investment in communities with the greatest need. Our work sought to test approaches that better align capital toward long-term, community-defined place-based outcomes via several projects that served as highlights of this past year: 

·       We served as a steering committee member of the Wealth Solutions Accelerator, an initiative convened by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and a cross-sector group of leaders in Connecticut, working to design a regional effort focused on providing underrepresented New England residents with accessible and effective strategies to build and retain wealth, advancing household economic security.

·       We began publishing new case studies demonstrating how bond markets can be a catalyst for changing racial equity, starting with the example of St. Paul, Minnesota – one of the governments selected for our Bond Markets and Racial Equity Program.

·       We grew our team, recruiting Katy Hansen, who joined PFI from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to direct our Rural and Small Cities Program that brings public resources and philanthropy together to reverse decades of disinvestment in America’s rural and small cities, guided by a national advisory council of experts.

·      We onboarded 6 government and quasi-governmental entities in the states of Maryland, Arizona, Illinois, Hawaii and Vermont to the Rural and Small Cities Program. Each selected entity is working on a range of projects that will support rural and small cities and their residents in a range of sectors- click to read and learn more about what they're working on East Maui Water Authority, State of Maryland Department of Just Communities, and the State of Vermont.

·       We published a report on Nature Based Solutions, co-authored by external expert Ryan Littman-Quinn, PFI’s Peter Hamlin and our Executive Director, Lourdes German.

·       We supported the Bloomberg Philanthropies What Works Cities Certification program as a member of the Certification Standards Committee -  a program that sets the standard of excellence for well-managed, data-driven local government.

Across our work this year, learning remained central. We tested ideas in practice, refined frameworks through collaboration, and listened closely to partners on the ground, growing our work to over 476 local governments across over 47 states.

Rather than prescribing solutions, we focused on creating space for insight to emerge from real-world application. As we close out the year, we carry forward momentum, clarity, and a deepened commitment to supporting communities in building financial systems that reflect their values and expand what’s possible.

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