2020 Grunin Prize for Social Entrepreneurship Awarded at NYU Law
NEW YORK, November 2—The 2020 Grunin Prize for Law and Social Entrepreneurship was announced today. This prize recognizes lawyers’ participation in the ways in which business is increasingly advancing the goals of sustainability and human development, and rewards the innovation and potential impact of projects and solutions developed by lawyers to advance the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing.
Members of the Grunin Prize-winning team are David A. Goldstein (Managing Partner), Jason Labate (Senior Associate), Gabriel Gerbi (Special Counsel), and Ryan Thompson, (Special Counsel) of the law firm, Goldstein Hall. They provided legal advice to support the creation of the joint ownership entity or “JOE,” a nonprofit membership organization that owns and manages a portfolio of affordable multifamily properties contributed by community development corporations (CDCs). The JOE is a new model for preserving the long-term affordability of housing by allowing CDCs to collaborate in a joint ownership and management structure to achieve scale through increased financial stability, improved operational efficiencies, and reduced expenses. The first JOE is spearheaded by some of NYC’s leading CDCs.
“In this post-pandemic economy, nonprofit CDCs’ services and expertise are in greater demand, yet they have less access to the resources needed to create and maintain affordable housing. The JOE is a viable model for strengthening mission-driven organizations, pooling their resources, and keeping affordable housing affordable for residents who need it most,” said David Goldstein, managing partner, Goldstein Hall. “We’re incredibly honored and grateful to the Grunin Prize and the Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship at NYU School of Law for recognizing the JOE and the role lawyers play in advancing social entrepreneurship and impact investing.”
The prize was awarded by NYU School of Law’s Grunin Center for Law and Social Entrepreneurship, which was established in 2017 with a generous endowment from NYU Law graduates Jay Grunin ’67 and Linda Kalmanowitz Grunin ’67, and the Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation. Through education, knowledge dissemination, and field-building collaborations, the Center is dedicated to enhancing the community of lawyers and legal institutions engaged in social entrepreneurship and impact investing and accelerating its effective participation in these fields.
“When the idea of the Grunin Prize was first proposed and eventually adopted, little did we imagine the magnitude of lawyer involvement in this space,” said Jay Grunin, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation. “The innovative and scalable contributions of all of the nominees, past and present, from around the globe, in this burgeoning legal field of social entrepreneurship and impact investing makes me so proud of my chosen profession, and so humbled to be a part of this recognition process.”
“This year’s six Grunin Prize finalists represent some of the most innovative legal work taking place today in the fields of social entrepreneurship and impact investing. In awarding this prize, we are acknowledging and celebrating the extraordinary contributions of this growing legal community of practice,” said Deborah Burand, professor of clinical law and faculty co-director of the Grunin Center at NYU Law.
The call to submit applications for the 2021 Grunin Prize will open on Thursday, November 5, 2020. Please visit the Grunin Center website at https://www.law.nyu.edu/centers/grunin-social-entrepreneurship/grunin-prize for more information on how to apply.
Media Contacts
Michael Orey
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Stephanie Ramirez
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