A graphic featuring the logo of the Washington Business Journal, the words "The Power 100 of 2024," the logo for Momentus Capital, a smiling photo of Ellis Carr dressed in a suit with a pair of glasses, and the words "Ellis Carr, Momentus Capital".

For Second Straight Year, Ellis Carr of Momentus Capital Named to the Washington Business Journal’s “Power 100”

“This recognition truly belongs to the talented team members throughout the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations,” said Mr. Carr. “We continue to seek out innovative ways of providing a continuum of capital — financial capital, social capital and knowledge capital — that small business owners, real estate developers and the communities they serve need in order to grow and thrive.”

A graphic featuring the logo of the Washington Business Journal, the words "The Power 100 of 2024," the logo for Momentus Capital, a smiling photo of Ellis Carr dressed in a suit with a pair of glasses, and the words "Ellis Carr, Momentus Capital".

October 30, 2024 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Ellis Carr, the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, has been named to the Washington Business Journal’s annual Power 100 list for the second straight year.

“The nation’s capital is a magnet for power. But look beyond the corridors of Congress and the White House: Some of the most powerful business leaders in the country are based in Greater Washington,” wrote the Washington Business Journal

Mr. Carr was one of 20 business leaders featured in the “Innovators” section.

Read the full press release.

Capital Impact Partners and InspereX Reach $500 Million Milestone in Distribution of Capital Impact Investment Notes

Capital Impact Investment Notes provide investors with an opportunity to fund social impact — aligning their financial goals and personal principles. 

October 3, 2024 (Arlington, VA) – Capital Impact Partners today announced that it has achieved a significant impact investing milestone by issuing more than $500 million of Capital Impact Investment Notes (Notes).

Investing in the Notes helps Capital Impact Partners create social impact in the communities it serves, supporting the creation of more affordable housing; access to quality health care, education and healthy foods; and other important pillars that help build healthy communities and generational wealth.

Capital Impact Partners has partnered with InspereX LLC to distribute the Notes through its Impact Investment Platform to a nationwide network of broker-dealers, institutions, and financial advisors. 

The first Notes were offered in October 2017, making Capital Impact Partners the first Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, with a programmatic public debt issuance program. The first $100 million of Notes had been issued by December 2018, and additional milestones have been reached since, passing $200 million in June 2021, $300 million in March 2023, $400 million in January 2024, and $500 million in July 2024.

Chart displaying and upward trend in the amount of notes issued and the date,, starting at $50 million in the 2017 launch to $500 million as of July 2024.
Disclaimer: The financial amounts noted in this graph1 only represent the total amount invested in the Capital Impact Investment Note over time and do not reflect the current amount outstanding or have matured.

“We are incredibly grateful that investors who want to align their financial goals with their personal principles have embraced Capital Impact Investment Notes to such a significant extent,” said Natalie Gunn, Chief Financial Officer of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, which are each part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations. “Reaching this latest milestone in less than seven years demonstrates that investors believe in our ability to deliver a strong financial performance while providing disinvested communities with the continuum of financial capital, knowledge capital and social capital so they can have the chance they deserve to thrive.”

“At InspereX, we believe in the power of investments to drive meaningful social impact alongside financial growth. Capital Impact Partners has exemplified this mission, resonating strongly with both individual and institutional investors,” said John DesPrez, CEO of InspereX. “We are excited to celebrate this milestone and look forward to more achievements to come.”

What are Investment Notes?

For some investors, the goal is not only to build wealth, but to do so through value-based investing — directing their money toward efforts that not only create financial returns, but social returns as well, contributing toward the overall community well-being.

Graphic depicting how Capital Impact Partners deploys funds from the Notes to communities and social sectors.

The Notes, which are offered at fixed interest rates with multiple terms, are one such tool for these investors. While the 15 largest investors have purchased a combined $326 million in Notes, individual and institutional investors can purchase the Notes for as little as $1,000. 

How does Capital Impact Partners utilize funding from the Notes?

Funding from the Notes helps expand Capital Impact Partners’ national footprint through our support of organizations that provide access to critical social services, including health care, education, healthy foods, affordable housing, cooperatives, and dignified aging facilities.

Since its founding more than 40 years ago, Capital Impact Partners has disbursed more than $3 billion to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs.

What are the ratings for the Notes?

Fitch Ratings assigned an A+ rating with a stable outlook to Capital Impact Partners and the Notes in September 2023.

S&P Global assigned Capital Impact Partners and the Notes an A+ rating with a stable outlook in September 2023.2 

For more information, visit the Capital Impact Investment Notes website.

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Disclaimer

This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Such an offer is made only by means of a current Prospectus (including any applicable Pricing Supplement) for each of the respective Notes. Such offers may be directed only to investors in jurisdictions in which the Notes are eligible for sale. Investors in such states should obtain a current Prospectus by visiting www.capitalimpact.org/invest/capital-impact-investment-notes. Investors are urged to review the current Prospectus before making any investment decisions. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No state or federal securities regulators have passed on or endorsed the merits of the offering of the Notes. Any representation to the contrary is unlawful. The Notes are not insured or guaranteed by the FDIC, SIPC or other governmental agency. As of the date hereof, the Notes are offered for sale in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, excluding the States of Arkansas and Washington.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Also, when Capital Impact Partners uses any of the words “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” or similar expressions, it is making forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guaranteed and are based on Capital Impact Partners’ present intentions and on Capital Impact Partners’ present expectations and assumptions. These statements, intentions, expectations, and assumptions involve risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond Capital Impact Partners’ control, that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. Purchasers of Notes should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as events described or implied in such statements may not occur. Except as required by law, Capital Impact Partners undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions, we champion key equity, social justice, and economic justice issues by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.

In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.

Capital Impact Partners has disbursed over $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.

Learn more at capitalimpact.org and momentuscap.org.

About InspereX

InspereX is transforming how fixed income securities and market-linked products are accessed, evaluated, and traded. Home to the pioneering BondNav® platform — one of the first cloud-native bond aggregation platforms — InspereX provides financial advisors, institutional investors, issuers, and risk managers deep access to fixed income market data across asset classes, as well as industry-leading origination, distribution, and education in market-linked products. Focused on delivering true price transparency, liquidity, execution targeting price improvement, and the information advantage gained through data aggregation, InspereX inspires greater confidence through the power of technology.

The firm is a leading underwriter and distributor of securities to more than 1,500 broker-dealers, institutions, asset managers, RIAs, and banks. InspereX represents more than 400 issuing entities and has underwritten more than $705 billion in securities. The firm has seven trading desks and more than 200 employees with principal offices in Delray Beach, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City.

Learn more at InspereX.com.


  1. This graphic is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Such an offer is made only by means of a current Prospectus (including any applicable Pricing Supplement) for each of the respective notes. Such offers may be directed only to investors in jurisdictions in which the Notes are eligible for sale. Investors in such states should obtain a current Prospectus by visiting www.capitalimpact.org/prospectus/. Investors are urged to review the current Prospectus before making any investment decision. No state or federal securities regulators have passed on or endorsed the merits of the offering of Notes. Any representative to the contrary is unlawful. The notes will not be insured or guaranteed by the FDIC, SIPC, or other governmental agency. ↩︎
  2. Please check the Pricing Supplement for the S&P Global and Fitch credit ratings assigned to Notes currently being offered for sale. A credit rating is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold Notes and may be subject to suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the applicable credit rating agency. ↩︎

Capital Impact Partners Awarded $6.8 Million Through the CDFI Program

Grants will support equitable lending products to housing, education and healthy food initiatives.

A graphic that says "$6.8 million CDFI FA Award" and "Expanding Lending for Housing, Healthy Food, & More to Foster Thriving Communities." The graphic also includes the words "housing" (accompanied by a drawing of a for sale sign) and "healthy foods" (drawing of an apple).

October 3, 2024 (Arlington, VA) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has announced (.xls) that Capital Impact Partners was awarded $6.8 million in grants through the fiscal year 2024 round of the CDFI Program.

Capital Impact Partners received the second-highest award. In total, the CDFI Program awarded $408.2 million to 357 organizations.

These grants will enable Capital Impact Partners to expand its efforts to create new, innovative lending products in the Atlanta Metropolitan area, and expand support for healthy food businesses and supportive housing in its core geographies.

“We are grateful to the CDFI Fund for this substantial support, which we will leverage with our balance sheet capital to expand our work bringing greater access to affordable housing, healthy foods, education, and other key social determinants of health,” said Mindy Christensen, senior vice president of Community Development Lending for Capital Impact Partners, which is part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations.

A $800,000 Financial Assistance (FA) grant was awarded to Capital Impact Partners to support the expansion of its work in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Funds will be deployed through existing loan products such as acquisition, predevelopment, bridge, and construction loans. 

These products address an identified need for capital for projects that conventional lenders consider higher-risk because they are located in areas that are experiencing high poverty, are smaller and generate smaller revenue streams, and fall outside of traditional underwriting standards. These loan products will benefit affordable housing projects, food access systems including food banks and retail groceries, and community facilities such as health centers and education facilities.

In addition, Capital Impact Partners received a $5 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance (HFFI-FA) award to build inclusive food systems that provide economic opportunities and access to healthy, affordable food in communities impacted by historic disinvestment. 

The HFFI-FA award will be targeted to support retail projects such as those in Washington, D.C., where Capital Impact Partners serves as the fund manager for the Nourish DC Collaborative. This will build upon the organization’s work with the Michigan Good Food Fund and Capital Impact Partners’ experience financing independent grocers, local wholesalers, food hubs, processors, and businesses providing healthy food access.

Capital Impact Partners also received a $1 million Disability Funds-Financial Assistance (DF-FA) award for supportive housing for people living with disabilities and other community service providers.

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions, we champion key equity, social justice, and economic justice issues by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.

In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.

Capital Impact Partners has disbursed over $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

Learn more at capitalimpact.org.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/MSRB/SIPC member), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging more than 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and 5.5 million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap.org.

Capital Impact Partners Awarded $50 Million in New Markets Tax Credits to Attract Private Capital and Advance Social Impact Efforts

This award will spur projects that increase access to social services in disinvested communities.

A graphic that says "$50 million new markets tax credit allocation" and "Creating Social Impact Through Private Investment Partnerships into Communities." The graphic also includes the words "health care" (accompanied by a drawing of a stethoscope), "education" (a drawing of a graduation cap) and "healthy foods" (drawing of an apple).

October 1, 2024 (Arlington, VA) – Capital Impact Partners has been awarded a $50 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation (PDF) from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). These tax credits incentivize private sector investors to partner in community financing efforts.

“This award will help us bring private investors and key partners together to increase access to critical social services in disinvested communities, including health care, education, and healthy foods,” said Mindy Christensen, senior vice president of Community Development Lending for Capital Impact Partners, which is part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations. “We plan to focus this funding on projects in major metro areas in the states of California and Texas, and in the cities of Atlanta; Detroit; New York City; and Washington, D.C.”

Capital Impact Partners is now an 12-time NMTC recipient – with awards totaling $792 million. To date, the organization has used NMTC allocations to support the financing of 94 transactions nationally.

Capital Impact Partners’ NMTC investment strategy prioritizes healthcare, education, and multi-service community organizations in the states of California and Texas, and in the cities of Atlanta; Detroit; New York City; and Washington, D.C:

  • Healthcare: Projects that address the lack of affordable health care in communities living with low incomes
  • Education: Projects that address the lack of quality, affordable education in communities living with low incomes
  • Multi-service community organizations: Projects that address the high levels of food insecurity in communities living with low incomes

This year’s announcement brings the total amount awarded by the CDFI Fund through the NMTC Program to more than $81 billion. Historically, NMTC Program awards have generated $8 of private investment for every $1 invested by the federal government. Through the end of fiscal year 2023, NMTC Program award recipients deployed almost $63.6 billion in investments for communities and businesses earning low incomes, with impacts such as the creation or retention of more than 894,000 jobs and the construction or rehabilitation of nearly 259.5 million square feet of commercial real estate.

“Today, we announce the 20th round of New Markets Tax Credit allocations, which has attracted billions in private capital into businesses and projects in communities living with low incomes nationwide as they continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic,” said CDFI Fund Director Pravina Raghavan. “These investments have spurred job creation, the rehabilitation of commercial corridors, and the development of community facilities like health clinics, charter schools, and food banks, all examples of how New Markets Tax Credit investments are vitally important for low-income urban, rural, and Tribal communities across the country.”

Creating High Impact Projects through NMTCs

Capital Impact Partners has deployed a variety of NMTC allocations to help launch projects nationwide. Examples of those high impact projects include:

Native American Health Center, California

With one of the largest national intertribal American Indian urban populations, the Native American Bay Area community first opened the Native American Health Center (NAHC) to meet the healthcare needs of an increasingly underserved population. Since 1972, the NAHC has become one of the oldest and largest Urban Indian Health Programs in the country. Today, the NAHC serves over 14,000 people every year through a network of clinics in the Bay Area, providing services such as primary medical care, comprehensive dental care, and community wellness services. 

The NAHC identified Oakland’s Fruitvale district — where 30% of neighborhood residents live in poverty, 84% of local families with children receive food assistance, and only 29% of the total population receives Health Center Program coverage — as an underserved community to provide its services to.

Along with Bay Area community leaders, the NAHC began plans for construction of a new Fruitvale location. Capital Impact Partners, in partnership with Community Hospitality Healthcare Services, LLC, provided $21.5 million in NMTC allocation to support the construction of a 14,000-square-foot health and cultural facility. Broadstreet Impact Services, through its Propel Fund, served as the NMTC investor.

In collaboration with Satellite Affordable Housing Associates, the NAHC will utilize NMTC and Low Income Housing Tax Credit financing to build a five-story, mixed-use development with a health center, cultural center, and 76 affordable residential units. The NMTC financing will allow the NAHC to operate 20 dental operatories, dedicated space for social services, and a large 300-person capacity cultural community center. 

The NAHC expects the health center to serve 10,000 individuals per year, provide 20,000 additional annual visits, and create or retain 47 long-term jobs for the Bay Area community. The NAHC broke ground for the project in March 2024 and is expected to open the facility for services in late 2025.

Coastal Bend Food Bank, Texas

Coastal Bend Food Bank (CBFB) is a nonprofit organization in Texas that solicits and distributes food which might otherwise go to waste or be discarded by manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. Since 1982, CBFB has been fighting hunger in the Coastal Bend by providing food and personal care products to various charity and service agencies. It is serving 13.7 million pounds of food annually to more than 50,000 individuals in 11 counties throughout South Texas. 

The construction of a new 108,200-square-foot warehouse and distribution center in Corpus Christi will enable CBFB to distribute more than 19 million pounds of food by 2028, a 43% increase over 2020.

The building opened in 2024 and aims to ease a community crisis where explosive growth for the food bank has led to urgent facility needs. As a smaller metro area, philanthropic dollars are limited, so NMTC is a critical means of supporting this expansion.

Capital Impact Partners joined with Raza Development Fund, Texas Mezzanine Fund, and US Bank on this $29.25 million NMTC project.

San Ysidro Health Center, California

San Ysidro Health (SYH), Inc. is the second largest health center network in the San Diego area and provides a range of services including medical, dental, pediatrics, women’s health, urgent care, and behavioral health across its more than 40 locations. SYH primarily serves racial and/or ethnic groups (92% of FY20 total patients), patients living with low incomes (95% of 2020 patients at or below 200% FPL), and uninsured patients (20% of 2020 patients). In 2020, SYH had 96,000 unique patients and almost half a million visits.

The ground-up construction of a 44,000-square-foot health clinic and PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) center in National City, California, is part of a larger master plan that also includes affordable housing. The new National City clinic will add up to 78,338 visits per year; additionally,  the new PACE center will be able to serve 600 older adults. It is expected to open in summer 2025.

Capital Impact Partners joined with National Cooperative Bank, Center Capital Fund (Capital Fund, a part of Capital Link), U.S. Bank, Corporation for Supportive Housing, and Border Communities Capital on this $58 million NMTC project. 

How Do New Markets Tax Credits Work?

Managed by the CDFI Fund, NMTC allocations make their way into the community through the following process:

  • A community development entity (CDE) submits an application to the CDFI Fund requesting the authority to allocate a specific dollar amount of tax credits.
  • If its application is approved, the CDE is awarded the authority to allocate tax credits to an investor.
  • The investor chosen by the CDE receives a tax credit totaling 39% of the cost of the investment. The investor can claim that tax credit over a period of seven years.
  • In exchange for those tax credits, the investor makes a qualified equity investment (QEI) in the CDE.
  • The CDE must use the QEIs it receives from the investor to finance businesses or real estate projects in communities living with low incomes, where the poverty rate is 20% or higher or the median income is 80% or lower than the Area Median Income. The CDE also has the option of investing in other CDEs making loans in areas with residents earning low incomes.

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions, we champion key equity, social justice, and economic justice issues by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.

In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.

Capital Impact Partners has disbursed over $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

Learn more at capitalimpact.org.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/MSRB/SIPC member), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging more than 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and 5.5 million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap.org.

Several people, including students, sit at a table with trays of food. One of the grantees in this year's Co-op Innovation Awards is planning to use their grant to bring down the cost of school meals through group purchasing.

Co-op Innovation Awards reaches two milestones: 10 years and $1 million in total grants

The 10th annual Co-op Innovation Awards provided $170,000 in grants to support four organizations’ work in Maryland; Michigan; Montana; and Washington, D.C.

September 24, 2024 (Arlington, VA) – Four innovative organizations in four regions have received a combined $170,000 in catalytic grant funding from Capital Impact Partners’ 2024 Co-op Innovation Awards, which aim to increase cooperative development in disinvested communities. This year brings two significant milestones. These are the 10th annual awards. Launched in 2015, the program has now surpassed $1 million. In total, a combined $1.025 million in grants have been awarded to 30 innovative organizations across the country. These awardees have subsequently leveraged their awards to secure more than $13 million in additional funding from foundations, investors, and government agencies. 

The 2024 awards, issued by Capital Impact Partners and National Cooperative Bank, are providing catalytic grant funding to projects such as:

  • Lowering the cost of school meals via group purchasing
  • Creating more cooperatively-owned real estate projects
  • Supporting more employee-owned restaurants nationwide
  • Developing a food distribution hub for rural and Native communities

“Ever since Capital Impact Partners was founded more than four decades ago — as part of a federal effort to encourage co-op development — we have deployed more than $300 million in financial capital to worker-owned and resident-owned cooperatives,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which includes Capital Impact Partners, among others. “The Co-op Innovation Awards have provided another key tool through our continuum of capital for building generational wealth while increasing access to quality jobs, healthy foods, affordable housing, and the other pillars that every community deserves in order to thrive.”

“Providing financial grants to spur new co-op development is critical in helping cooperatives grow and prosper across the United States,” said Casey Fannon, president and CEO of National Cooperative Bank. “We are proud to continue our support of the Co-op Innovation Award and to celebrate its 10th year in helping cooperatives thrive while improving the communities they serve.”

This year, the award pool was expanded through the participation of additional sponsors Rochdale Capital; Wells Fargo; Ford & Paulekas, LLC; National Co-op Grocers; and Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP.

A total of 60 organizations applied for this year’s Co-op Innovation Awards. The 2024 awardees are:

  • Community Purchasing Alliance Cooperative; Washington, D.C., $50,000
  • Commongrounds Cooperative; Traverse City, Michigan, $50,000
  • Red Emma’s Cooperative Corporation and Red Emma’s Education Fund; Baltimore, Maryland, $50,000
  • Montana Cooperative Development Center; Great Falls, Montana, $20,000

Grants Will Help These Organizations and Their Communities

“It has been really exciting to witness what so many organizations have been able to accomplish over these past 10 years thanks in part to the Co-op Innovation Awards,” said Alison Powers, director of economic opportunities for Capital Impact Partners. “We’ve seen co-ops innovate, replicate their work, raise additional funding for their efforts, and become leaders in their field. I’m looking forward to seeing the impact that this year’s awardees will be able to provide for their communities.”The innovative projects from this year’s awardees are:

Community Purchasing Alliance Cooperative — a purchasing cooperative that reduces operating costs for schools, houses of worship, and other community groups — is being awarded $50,000 to conduct a feasibility study on the group purchase of school meals in new regions, including Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington state, to support student access to nutritious food at budget-friendly rates while shifting contracts to local and disadvantaged businesses.

“Kids can’t learn when they’re hungry,” said Shelby Legel, vice president of program growth and development. “Through this grant funding, CPA Co-op can expand its cooperative purchasing to public charter schools outside of Washington, D.C., in feeding their students more affordable, healthier, and tastier school meals purchased together from local MWBE vendors.”  

Commongrounds Cooperative — a real estate cooperative that is building empowered communities in Northern Michigan through cooperatively owned places — is being awarded $50,000 to fund a sister nonprofit. This sister organization will expand Commongrounds Cooperative’s work into additional areas of the state by incubating and providing technical assistance to future cooperative real estate projects serving underserved communities.

“Commongrounds Cooperative is honored by this recognition and enthusiastically looks forward to continuing to learn from our cooperative community locally and nationally,” said Kate Redman, co-executive director of Commongrounds Cooperative. “This award will help operationalize a sister 501(c)(3) organization to develop new projects and share what we’ve learned with other communities.”

Red Emma’s Cooperative Corporation and Red Emma’s Education Fund — a 20-year worker-owned cooperative restaurant and bookstore demonstrating the power of a democratic workplace, and an education 501(c)(3) established in 2023 — is being awarded $50,000 to create the first in-person, national convening of worker cooperatives in the restaurant industry that will focus on building inclusive, democratic workplaces.

“Running a worker cooperative restaurant is both incredibly rewarding and incredibly challenging — and as a part of Baltimore’s growing ecosystem of democratic workplaces in the food service sector, we’ve seen firsthand how vital it is to have spaces to share hard-won lessons with our cooperative peers,” said Kate Khatib, worker-owner and co-founder at Red Emma’s. “We’re excited and honored that the 2024 Co-op Innovation Award will give us the chance to create a space for this kind of mutual support and learning on a much bigger scale, by making it possible for us to host a historic first ever national gathering of worker cooperative restaurants here in Baltimore.

Montana Cooperative Development Center — which utilizes the cooperative business model to address community and economic needs — is being awarded $20,000 to support the development of the Montana Food Hub, a multi-stakeholder cooperative that aggregates, processes, and distributes raw produce and value-added products to rural and Native communities.

“We are grateful to Capital Impact Partners and National Cooperative Bank for seeing our vision of a regional food hub that will redefine how food hubs operate. This award will support our membership recruitment and will help us find and build out a perfect location for our distribution food hub center,” said Mike Vetere and Sara Mayben, commissioners for the Montana Food Hub.

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions, we champion key equity, social justice, and economic justice issues by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.

In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.

Capital Impact Partners has disbursed over $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

Learn more at capitalimpact.org.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/MSRB/SIPC member), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging more than 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and 5.5 million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap.org.

About National Cooperative Bank

National Cooperative Bank is dedicated to strengthening communities nationwide through the delivery of banking and financial services, complemented by a special focus on cooperative expansion and economic development. NCB provides financial products and services for the nation’s cooperatives, their members, and socially responsible organizations. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Bank has offices in Alaska, California, New York, Ohio, and Virginia. To learn more, visit www.ncb.coop, National Cooperative Bank on Facebook and Instagram, or on X @natlcoopbank.

10 people sit on both sides of a long table, looking forward at a screen with a presentation titled "The Real Estate Pro Forma Modeling Master Class"

16 Emerging Real Estate Developers from Atlanta Region Selected for Capital Impact Partners’ Equitable Development Initiative

The Equitable Development Initiative helps developers who are focused on bringing affordable housing and other real estate projects to disinvested communities.

September 6, 2024 (Atlanta, GA) – Capital Impact Partners has selected 16 real estate developers from the city of Atlanta and its surrounding counties for the region’s inaugural cohort of the Equitable Development Initiative.

This free nine-month program will help Atlanta’s emerging real estate developers overcome the systemic obstacles that have prevented them from being more involved in the region’s booming real estate market — and, in turn, to bring more affordable housing and other real estate projects to disinvested communities.  

The Equitable Development Initiative is a landmark program created by Capital Impact Partners in 2018 in the Detroit region. Since then, the program has trained more than 250 real estate developers and expanded to several metropolitan areas throughout the United States.

From August 2024 through May 2025, program participants will receive the tools they need to grow their businesses — including training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and potential pathways for financing.

These 16 emerging developers are seeking to develop real estate in the city of Atlanta, as well as Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, or Gwinnett counties:

  • Ray Acosta, Dacula
  • Miles Alexander III, Jonesboro
  • Terry Brantley III, Atlanta
  • Shelita Compton, Kennesaw
  • Aaron Davis, Decatur
  • Ashley Davis, Mableton
  • Majesty Gayle, Atlanta
  • Derrick Holland, Tucker
  • Tomond Jack, Decatur
  • Michael Oden, Marietta
  • Marissa Phipps, Tucker
  • Melvin Phillips, Atlanta
  • Charles Robinson, Atlanta
  • Lester Simpson, College Park
  • Raven Thompson, Atlanta
  • Ramon Tookes, Atlanta

“I’m pleased to welcome these 16 real estate developers and am excited not only to work with them over these next nine months, but also to see the impact they will create in our region’s disinvested communities for the betterment of their residents,” said Tommy Lester, manager of Atlanta initiatives for Capital Impact Partners. The mission-driven lender is part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes CDC Small Business Finance.

A Need for More Affordable Housing Units in Atlanta

From 2010 to 2020, more than 800,000 people moved to the Atlanta region, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy. Home prices in Atlanta’s five-county core have increased by 73% since 2017, ​​according to a study by KB Advisory Group and Urban Land Institute Atlanta. Rent prices have also increased significantly, by 33%, and the five-county region has lost 130,000 units that had been priced at less than $1,000 per month. 

All of this has also made it more difficult for people living with low-to-moderate incomes to find housing, especially when they do not qualify for subsidies. And the increase in housing costs has also made it more expensive for the region’s residents to travel between their jobs and where they can afford to live. These increases in housing and transportation costs have particularly impacted communities that were already disinvested and in need of more opportunities.

How the Equitable Development Initiative Can Help

The Equitable Development Initiative is modeled after the successful program that Capital Impact Partners launched in Detroit in 2018. It has since expanded into several other regions facing similar situations, including the Washington, D.C. metro area; the San Francisco Bay Area; Dallas; and Cleveland. 

Capital Impact Partners also hosted a similar program in Austin called the Small Developer Training and has run other programs for more experienced developers.

Graduates of these programs have gone on to create important projects for their communities. For example, Edward Carrington, a graduate of the Detroit program, is building The Ribbon, a mixed-use building with one commercial unit and 18 affordable residential units; and Ayesha Hudson, a graduate of the D.C.-area program, recently created nine new affordable housing units and preserved four existing affordable housing units.

“The Equitable Development Initiative gave me a good foundation for how to do commercial real estate development,” said Ms. Hudson. “It opened doors for me, gave me instant access to an expanded network that would have taken much longer to build on my own, and accelerated my path forward.”

Historically, the real estate industry has been dominated by larger national and global firms. Helping Atlanta’s emerging real estate developers play a greater role not only helps them grow their businesses, but these developers are also often more focused on creating more affordable housing and adding mixed-use projects to historically disinvested areas. 

In Atlanta, the Equitable Development Initiative has been specifically crafted to confront the top challenges real estate developers face in the region. 

Developers will receive broad-based training — in areas such as obtaining funding, project budgeting, project and contractor management, site selection, sustainability, legal services, and community engagement — as well as local mentorship and network building. The curriculum will also include discussions about infill housing, missing middle housing, and transit-oriented development.

Program speakers will include representatives from government agencies as well as organizations that are seeking to create more opportunities for Atlanta’s disinvested communities. 

And Equitable Development Initiative participants will be connected with experienced real estate developers from Atlanta — including Leonard Adams, Daniel Alexander, Cassius Coleman, Joel Dixon, Darion Dunn, Sharon Guest, Cherie Ong, and Rod Teachy — who will serve as mentors or presenters. 

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions, we champion key equity, social justice, and economic justice issues by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.

In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.

Capital Impact Partners has disbursed over $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

Learn more at capitalimpact.org.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer and FINRA/MSRB/SIPC member), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging more than 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and 5.5 million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap.org.

Capital Impact Partners Surpasses $3 Billion in Lending Supporting Disinvested Communities

Capital Impact Partners Surpasses $3 Billion in Lending Supporting Disinvested Communities

Since 1982, this funding has helped provide access to fundamental social services so that all communities have a greater opportunity to thrive.

Capital Impact Partners Surpasses $3 Billion in Lending Supporting Disinvested Communities

August 19, 2024 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Capital Impact Partners, one of the leading mission-driven nonprofit lenders in the United States, has now deployed more than $3 billion in lending since its founding in 1982 — much-needed financial capital that helps invest in otherwise disinvested communities.

That financial capital supports affordable housing, quality health care and education, cooperative development, healthy food and dignified aging facilities. Capital Impact Partners reached the milestone by financing projects that increase access to these fundamental social services.

Capital Impact Partners was founded at the direction of the United States Congress to support the development of cooperatives in disinvested communities. In the decades since, Capital Impact Partners has broadened the types of projects it supports and has incorporated a place-based strategy, concentrating its work in several geographic focus areas throughout the country.

Capital Impact Partners reached its first $1 billion in lending nearly 25 years after its founding and has rapidly scaled up, surpassing $2 billion in 2014, $2.5 billion in 2018, and $3 billion in 2023.

“Reaching $3 billion in lending is a significant investment. More important than that is what that investment represents — funding that helps open the doors for the opportunities that everyone deserves and supports an economic system that respects and uplifts all peoples’ right to achieve the dreams they have for themselves and their communities,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, both of which are part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations.

Throughout its 42-year history, Capital Impact Partners’ lending has delivered social impact across these sectors:

  • Aging in Community: more than $125 million, supporting older adults with dignified community living
  • Cooperative Development: more than $300 million to worker-owned and resident-owned cooperatives
  • Education: nearly $1 billion, providing access to education for nearly 3,000 students annually
  • Healthy Food: more than $200 million, providing more than 1.1 million people with healthy food options
  • Health Care: more than $1 billion, expanding access for nearly 3 million patients
  • Affordable Housing: more than $650 million, creating nearly 45,000 units of housing

Of the more than $3 billion in financing from Capital Impact Partners, more than $1.6 billion has been invested in Momentus Capital’s focus regions, supporting communities in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Washington D.C. region.

And as part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, Capital Impact Partners is poised to do even more in the years to come.

Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Partners, two nationally renowned nonprofits with decades of experience, formally came together under a shared mission and vision in 2021 and launched the Momentus Capital brand in 2022. The family of organizations also includes their affiliates: Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (a FINRA-member broker/dealer), and Ventures Lending Technologies.

Joining together as Momentus Capital has created an ability to support economic and community development more effectively, and at a larger scale. And it provides clients with access to more resources and products.

For example, in 2023, Momentus Capital deployed more than $531 million in financial capital, which:

  • Served 627 small businesses and real estate developers
  • Created or preserved 5,700 jobs
  • Created or preserved 1,628 affordable housing units
  • Funded educational facilities and businesses serving a total of 948 students
  • Funded health care facilities and businesses serving a total of 57,807 patients
  • Funded healthy food businesses providing an estimated 424,000 people with expanded access to food

Momentus Capital continues to seek innovative ways to drive more financial capital to those who need it. 

That includes launching Momentus Securities, an investment bank with a social purpose, which seeks to break up the logjam between the small business owners and community organizations that need financing, the mission-driven lenders that want to help them, and the institutional investors that seek to support these transactions.

And it also includes raising $171 million through the Equitable Prosperity Fund for impact investments, which differ from traditional debt capital and traditional venture capital by providing entrepreneurs with options beyond traditional debt, and by ensuring that these entrepreneurs maintain control of their companies. Momentus Capital’s impact investments aim to accelerate the growth of companies that are creating positive impact in underestimated communities, including through access to health care and healthy food.

Capital Impact Partners and the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations also recognize that financial capital is not the only way to support entrepreneurs and communities. Knowledge capital (what you know) and social capital (who you know, who knows you) are also important. That is why Capital Impact Partners provides free, extensive training programs for real estate developers throughout the country who are working to bring more affordable housing and other needed developments to disinvested communities.

“I am proud of the continued commitment shown every day by our talented and passionate team. We also did not get here alone — nor will we be moving forward on our own,” Mr. Carr said. “Momentus Capital cannot fulfill its mission without the support of the community leaders and stakeholders who guide us on how best to help; the local and national partners who join alongside us on projects and initiatives; and the organizations and investors who provide us with grants and other key funding that makes all of this possible.”

 

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We work to champion key issues of equity and social and economic justice by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, Capital Impact Partners has disbursed more than $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch, and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

Learn more at capitalimpact.org.

About CDC Small Business Finance

CDC Small Business Finance is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As the nation’s leading mission-based small business lender, CDC delivers small business and commercial real estate loans paired with small business owner assistance to bolster entrepreneurship, economic development, and job creation.

CDC offers numerous financing products including the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 commercial real estate loans; SBA Community Advantage working capital loans; and the SBA Microloan. We also offer non-SBA products to provide more equitable access to credit for those who are unable to qualify for traditional financing. CDC also provides free business advising to support both potential borrowers to get loan-ready as well as to help existing small business borrowers grow and expand their business.

Since 1978, CDC has provided more than $21.3 billion in funding to 12,000 borrowers and helped create and preserve over 214,000 jobs.

CDC’s subsidiary, Ventures Lending Technologies, offers proprietary loan processing and a portfolio management tool that has become one of the top resources for small business and community lenders. This cloud-based platform provides a low-cost way for smaller lenders to offer services throughout the entire lifecycle from a borrower prospect to loan payoff. Through this work, the Ventures team helps scale the ability of local lenders to create impact in their communities by providing access to high-level services they would otherwise be unlikely to manage on their own.

Learn more at cdcloans.com and venturesgo.com.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (a FINRA-member broker/dealer), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and five and a half million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap.org.

Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance Receive $950,000 in Grants from the U.S. Bank Foundation

The grant funding will support the Equitable Development Initiative program for real estate developers, as well as business advising and technical assistance for small business owners

JULY 15, 2024 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance — two mission-driven nonprofits that are part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations — have been awarded a combined total of $950,000 in multi-year grants from the U.S. Bank Foundation.

“We are grateful for our ongoing collaboration with U.S. Bank and its continued support of our mission to provide people and communities with the opportunities they deserve,” said Natalie Gunn, chief finance officer for the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations. “This grant funding will significantly help our ability to offer programs that help developers and other small business owners to grow their businesses, build generational wealth, create jobs and bolster the communities they serve.”

“We’re proud to work with organizations like Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance that are creating access and opportunities for more people, helping drive economic growth and building thriving communities,” said Erica Opstad, head of community affairs and managing director of the U.S. Bank Foundation.

Read the full press release

Participants in an Equitable Development Initiative cohort in Detroit sit in high chairs behind a table, making a presentation about a proposed real estate development. One person holds a microphone in his right hand and gestures with his left arm outstretched, gesturing toward a screen showing two images of the proposed building.

Capital Impact Partners Launches Free Training Program for Atlanta’s Emerging Real Estate Developers

The Equitable Development Initiative helps developers who are focused on bringing affordable housing and other real estate projects to disinvested communities.

June 17, 2024 (Atlanta, GA) – A new program will help Atlanta’s emerging real estate developers overcome the systemic obstacles that have prevented them from being more involved in the region’s booming real estate market — and, in turn, to bring more affordable housing and other real estate projects to disinvested communities.  

The Equitable Development Initiative is a free nine-month program led by Capital Impact Partners. Since 2018, the program has trained more than 250 real estate developers in five metropolitan areas throughout the United States. The Atlanta region will become the sixth.

The Equitable Development Initiative provides emerging developers with the tools they need to grow their businesses — including training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and potential pathways for financing.

“The Equitable Development Initiative is designed to help developers who are working to develop disinvested communities for the betterment of their residents. Many of these developers have been held back by not having access to the financial capital, social capital, and knowledge capital that other developers have,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, two nonprofit mission-driven lenders that are part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations.

“Empowering developers is important everywhere, including in the Atlanta metropolitan area, where continued growth is being accompanied by skyrocketing housing prices and an even greater need for more housing throughout the spectrum of affordability,” Mr. Carr said. “We are proud to join in with the many local stakeholders who have been working to ensure that everyone in Atlanta has the opportunities they deserve in order to thrive.”

Applicants must be emerging developers seeking to develop real estate in — and preferably also live in — the city of Atlanta or Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, or Gwinnett counties. For more information, applicants should visit the Equitable Development Initiative website.

The application deadline is July 10, 2024.

A Need for More Affordable Housing Units in Atlanta

From 2010 to 2020, more than 800,000 people moved to the Atlanta region, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy. Home prices in Atlanta’s five-county core have increased by 73% since 2017, ​​according to a study by KB Advisory Group and Urban Land Institute Atlanta (PDF). Rent prices have also increased significantly, by 33%, and the five-county region has lost 130,000 units that had been priced at less than $1,000 per month. 

All of this has also made it more difficult for people living with low-to-moderate incomes to find housing, especially when they do not qualify for subsidies. And the increase in housing costs has also made it more expensive for the region’s residents to travel between their jobs and where they can afford to live. These increases in housing and transportation costs have particularly impacted communities that were already disinvested and in need of more opportunities.

How the Equitable Development Initiative Can Help

The Equitable Development Initiative is modeled after the successful program that Capital Impact Partners launched in Detroit in 2018. It has since expanded into several other regions facing similar situations, including Washington, D.C.; the San Francisco Bay Area; Dallas; and Cleveland. 

Capital Impact Partners also hosted a similar program in Austin called the Small Developer Training and has run other programs for more experienced developers.

Graduates of these programs have gone on to create important projects for their communities. For example, Edward Carrington, a graduate of the Detroit program, is building The Ribbon, a mixed-use building with one commercial unit and 18 affordable residential units; and Ayesha Hudson, a graduate of the D.C.-area program, recently created nine new affordable housing units and preserved four existing affordable housing units.

“The Equitable Development Initiative gave me a good foundation for how to do commercial real estate development,” said Ms. Hudson. “It opened doors for me, gave me instant access to an expanded network that would have taken much longer to build on my own, and accelerated my path forward.”

Historically, the real estate industry has been dominated by larger national and global firms. Helping Atlanta’s emerging real estate developers play a greater role not only helps them grow their businesses, but these developers are also often more focused on creating more affordable housing and adding mixed-use projects to historically disinvested areas. 

In Atlanta, the Equitable Development Initiative has been specifically crafted to confront the top challenges real estate developers face in the region. 

Developers will receive broad-based training — in areas such as obtaining funding, project budgeting, project and contractor management, site selection, sustainability, legal services, and community engagement — as well as local mentorship and network building. The curriculum will also include discussions about infill housing, missing middle housing, and transit-oriented development.

Program speakers will include representatives from government agencies as well as organizations that are seeking to create more opportunities for Atlanta’s disinvested communities. 

And Equitable Development Initiative participants will be connected with experienced real estate developers from Atlanta — including Leonard Adams, Daniel Alexander, Cassius Coleman, Joel Dixon, Darion Dunn, Sharon Guest, Cherie Ong, and Rod Teachy — who will serve as mentors or presenters. 

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We work to champion key issues of equity and social and economic justice by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, Capital Impact Partners has disbursed more than $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch, and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (a FINRA-member broker/dealer), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and five and a half million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, the Atlanta region, California, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington metro area.

Learn more at momentuscap.org.

Capital Impact Partners Honored by Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits in QLICIs of the Year Awards

The award recognizes Capital Impact Partners for its financial support of Whitman-Walker’s new Max Robinson Center medical and research facility in Southeast Washington, D.C.

June 4, 2024 (Washington, D.C.)  – Capital Impact Partners has received the Real Estate QLICI of the Year award — which recognizes investments in the development, management or leasing of real estate — for its work with Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center in Washington, D.C.

The award is featured in Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits’ annual Community Development QLICIs of the Year Awards, which celebrate community development entities that made exceptional qualified low-income community investments, or QLICIs.

In 2023, Whitman-Walker opened a new, larger site for its Max Robinson Center in the southeast D.C. neighborhood of Congress Heights, helping ensure quality health care for community members in a long-disinvested region of the city. The 118,000-square-foot medical facility provides a variety of primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services, as well as important health care and policy research.

Capital Impact Partners provided the project with $4 million in financing through New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation. In total, this project received more than $32 million of NMTC allocation from Capital Impact Partners, Chase, Jubilee Manna Community Development Enterprise, D.C. Housing Enterprises, and Industrial Bank. Additional financing support was provided by Chase as the NMTC investor and EagleBank as lender. Diarra McKinney, a D.C.-based developer who runs Rosewood Strategies, was the project’s NMTC consultant. Mr. McKinney is also a participant in Capital Impact Partners’ Growing Diverse Housing Developers program for training and mentoring diverse developers. 

“We’re proud to support Whitman-Walker, a longstanding and respected health organization that provides quality, affordable care to individuals from disinvested communities,” said Mindy Christensen, senior vice president, community development lending for Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations. “This expansion allows Whitman-Walker to serve more than 15,000 unique patients per year, an increase of 10,000 patients. This new site for the Max Robinson Center also means Whitman-Walker’s team can continue to perform life-saving research to end the HIV epidemic, eliminate health disparities, and promote wellness and resiliency. And the additional space also means the creation of more new jobs.”

With three locations in the city, Whitman-Walker provides primary medical care, behavioral health care, dental care, and a range of health-related legal and support services to more than 20,000 individuals and families annually in the greater Washington, D.C. region. 

“Whitman-Walker envisions a society where all people are seen for who they are, treated with dignity and respect, and afforded equal opportunity to health and wellbeing. That’s why for more than 30 years, our Max Robinson Center has been located in Ward 8 of Washington, D.C., where many of our community members live well below the poverty line,” said Naseema Shafi, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health. “The funding we’ve received allowed us to expand the Max Robinson Center into a new location, which means we have been able to expand our services to care for more people in an area where health care is crucial yet often not as accessible.”

The federally administered New Markets Tax Credit Program helps mission-driven lenders like Capital Impact Partners attract private investment capital to disinvested communities. The program provides individual and corporate investors with a federal tax credit in exchange for making investments in businesses or economic development projects. This incentive bolsters mission-driven lenders’ ability to provide loans to projects delivering social impact in communities across the country.

Capital Impact Partners has received $742 million in New Markets Tax Credit Allocation and deployed $729 million to 91 projects that have delivered social impact and created economic mobility and wealth creation. Capital Impact Partners is primarily focused on using its tax credit allocation in support of health care, education, and inclusive food system developments.

Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance are each part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (a FINRA-member broker/dealer), and Ventures Lending Technologies. Momentus Capital works to expand equitable capital and opportunities for communities, providing them with the momentum they need for success.

This is the latest recognition for the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations:

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About Capital Impact Partners

Capital Impact Partners is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We work to champion key issues of equity and social and economic justice by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.

A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, Capital Impact has disbursed more than $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact’s leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch, and recognized by Aeris for its performance.

About the Momentus Capital Brand

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities (a FINRA-member broker/dealer), and Ventures Lending Technologies. While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.

The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening wealth gap by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth. This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology services that advance locally-led solutions.

Leveraging 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 293,000 jobs, and served 13,800 small businesses and five and a half million people across their history.

With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and San Diego, California, Momentus Capital operates nationally with a focus on larger urban areas and cities in Arizona, California, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington metro area. Learn more at momentuscap.org.

About D.C. Housing Enterprises

D.C. Housing Enterprises is a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit community development entity and subsidiary of the District of Columbia Housing Authority. DCHE was established in 2009 to attract greater investments to the District of the Columbia to support the financing of commercial, mixed-use and community facility projects that are critical to the creation of healthy and economically vibrant mixed-income neighborhoods. Since its founding, DCHE has closed on $147 million in funding for projects in education, affordable housing, health care and other services needed by low-income District residents.

About Eagle Bancorp, Inc. and EagleBank

Eagle Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for EagleBank, which commenced operations in 1998. EagleBank is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and conducts full service commercial banking through 12 offices, located in Suburban, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. EagleBank focuses on building relationships with businesses, professionals and individuals in its marketplace.

About Manna Homes

Manna Homes is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education, and housing solutions for individuals and families facing housing insecurity in the Washington DC region. Established in 1982 with a commitment to community, Manna Homes’ mission is to offer and advocate for quality, equitable, and sustainable housing through preservation and the creation of new affordable for-sale and rental housing, as well as pathways to long-term homeownership. The Jubilee Manna Sub-CDE IV, LLC is a partnership between Jubilee Housing, and Manna Homes

About Rosewood Strategies

Rosewood is an integrated real estate finance and development company focused on strategic high-impact development opportunities in the Washington, D.C. metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast United States. As a full-service real estate financing and development firm, Rosewood provides a range of services focused on identifying and nurturing high-performing assets. Our commitment lies in helping our Owner-Clients to effectively navigate the complex terrain of real estate development, facilitating the successful achievement of their projects. Throughout every phase of the development process, we diligently work to ensure that each project, from its initial concept to final completion, meets its intended design and financial objectives.

About Whitman-Walker

For over 50 years, Whitman-Walker has been part of the fabric of the local D.C. and national community as first responder and care-provider for those living with HIV; a leader in LGBTQ care and advocacy; a research center working to discover breakthroughs in HIV treatment and prevention science; and one of D.C.’s most trusted partners during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Whitman-Walker envisions a society where all people are seen for who they are, treated with dignity and respect, and afforded equal opportunity to health and wellbeing. More info can be found at whitman-walker.org.