Green Liberty Notes to expand: project‑specific offerings and optional donor feature approved

The board approved a proposal to expand the Green Liberty Notes crowdfunding program to enable periodic project‑specific or portfolio offerings and to pilot options for longer terms, staff told directors at the June meeting. David Beach described the program’s history—minimum investments reduced from $1,000 to $100 and nearly $5 million raised across prior issuances—and presented proposed criteria for linking future notes to specific Green Bank projects.

Stephanie Cohen said staff are working with the Honeycomb platform selected through an RFP and are proposing a flexible term structure (one to up to five years depending on project characteristics). She described a potential optional feature that would let investors accept a lower interest payment so the Bank can donate the interest differential to a vetted, mission‑aligned nonprofit. Stephanie said the Bank would handle donations centrally rather than issuing tax receipts to many small investors to avoid heavy administrative costs.

Board members asked about selection criteria and timing; staff said they will prioritize recently completed or operating projects to reduce construction timing risk and will maintain a baseline cadence of quarterly SBEA raises while layering in project‑specific raises when appropriate. Joanna and others asked about due diligence and nurturing for environmental infrastructure projects; staff said investment and marketing teams will vet candidates and that the due‑diligence criteria are included in the board packet.

The board approved resolution 8 to permit the proposed Green Liberty Notes expansion and authorized staff to proceed with platform and process implementation.