Logo for Aeris ratings showing four stars for impact management and AA+ rating for financial strength and performance

Aeris Issues Strong Ratings for the Momentus Capital Branded Family of Organizations

AUGUST 3, 2023 (Arlington, VA/San Diego,CA) – The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations announced today that Aeris — a leading expert in the financial and impact performance of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and other private impact loan funds — has recognized it with strong ratings in the areas of impact management, financial strength and performance, and contribution to public policy.

Read the full press release.

Black real estate developers work in hard hats on construction site

Cleveland Moves to Level the Playing Field for Historically Excluded Real Estate Developers of Color

New program is being launched to increase diversity in Cleveland’s real estate industry and is expected to, in turn, uplift communities of color

July 19, 2023 (Cleveland) –– Entrepreneurs of color trying to develop real estate in Cleveland now have access to an innovative new program aimed at eliminating barriers to success and providing them with the tools they need to shape the future of the city’s communities.

Applications open today to register through August 6th for the Cleveland Equitable Development Initiative, which is designed to seed, mentor, support and create more opportunities for emerging real estate developers of color, particularly as they develop projects in the very communities they are from.

Woman in commercial kitchen holding a tray of vegetables in front of a cold storage refrigerator

Capital Impact Partners, with Transformational Funding from The Morningstar Foundation, Awards $430,000 to Support Small Food Businesses and Nonprofit Organizations’ Cold Storage Needs in the Washington, D.C. Region

Twelve grantees were awarded funds to support a variety of cold storage-related needs, from refrigerated vans to refrigerators in corner stores.

July 19, 2023 (Washington, D.C.) – Capital Impact Partners is pleased to announce the grantees for the inaugural round of Keeping it Cool, a new grant initiative conceived and supported by The Morningstar Foundation. Keeping it Cool is designed to close the cold storage gap in the region, furthering access to healthy, nutritious foods across Washington, D.C. and the surrounding jurisdictions including Arlington, VA; Alexandria, VA, Fairfax County, VA; Montgomery County, MD; and Prince George’s County, MD.  With so many small food businesses and nonprofit organizations working with and distributing perishable foods, cold storage is a critical component of offering, serving and distributing healthy food in the region.

An image showing photos of Gary Cunningham, the new chair of the boards of directors of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance; and Kurt Chilcott, the vice chair of the boards of directors of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. The graphic has a yellow and black background with the Momentus Capital logo and the words "New Board of Directors Leadership."

Former Prosperity Now President and CEO Gary Cunningham Named New Chair of the Boards of Directors for Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance

July 10, 2023 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance have announced that Gary Cunningham, the former president and CEO of Prosperity Now, has been named the new chair of the boards of directors for the two mission-driven lenders, effective June 13, 2023.

The previous chair, Kurt Chilcott, who also was the longtime president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, will now serve as vice chair of both boards.

Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance operate under a combined mission and vision as part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes Momentus Direct Capital, Momentus Securities, and Ventures Lending Technologies, among other organizations.

Logo for Momentus Securities

Institutional Capital for Social Impact: New Investment Bank Focused on Bringing Capital to Disinvested Communities

Momentus Securities aims to deliver more than $3 billion in community-based investments by 2026

May 22, 2023 (New York, NY) – Momentus Securities has launched with the goal of driving institutional capital to America’s small businesses and nonprofits — and positioning “social impact” as a fully investable asset class for institutional investors.

Momentus Securities — a registered broker-dealer and FINRA member — seeks to disrupt the mission-driven investing space by addressing the current scale and liquidity limitations in the sector that inhibit the deployment of institutional capital. Momentus Securities intends to facilitate the deployment of $3 billion of social capital by 2026.

“This is an innovative approach. We are transforming how institutional investment capital is unlocked and channeled into high-need community investments,” said Momentus Securities President and CEO Alicia Reyes, who brings 27 years of experience in investment banking and private equity to Momentus Securities. “The lending market in the impact sector is decentralized and highly dispersed. This is a challenge for institutional investors that want to fully incorporate the ‘S of ESG’ into their mainstream strategies because of the lack of liquidity.

“We see this as an opportunity to launch ‘social Collateralized Loan Obligations’ and, initially, intend to open warehousing lines to aggregate portfolios of loans across five key segments: affordable housing, healthcare, education, small businesses and food. Once ramped up, the portfolios will be securitized, and we will distribute the bonds as a takeout. These portfolios will offer institutional investors the opportunity to support communities and participate and invest at a scale not previously available. Lenders will achieve better terms while providing investors an improved risk return profile,” Ms. Reyes added.

Read the full press release.

 

A child and an adult in a classroom. Funding from Capital Impact Investment Notes helps expand Capital Impact Partners' national footprint through organizations that provide access to critical social services, including health care, education, healthy foods, affordable housing, cooperatives, and dignified aging facilities.

Capital Impact Partners and InspereX Reach $300 Million Milestone in Distribution of Capital Impact Investment Notes

Capital Impact Investment Notes help fund increased equitable access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy foods

MAY 2, 2023 (Arlington, VA) Capital Impact Partners today announced that it has achieved a significant impact investing milestone by issuing more than $300 million of Capital Impact Investment Notes (Notes).

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

Individual and institutional investors can purchase Capital Impact Investment Notes for as little as $1,000. Capital Impact Investment Notes provide investors with a unique opportunity to align financial goals with personal principles through values-based investing. 

“Capital Impact Investment Notes help create a unique opportunity for funders and investors to work through Capital Impact to support communities,” said Natalie Gunn, Chief Financial Officer of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance are two of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes Ventures Lending Technologies, among other organizations. “Investors continue to recognize that Capital Impact Partners delivers a strong financial performance while bringing a continuum of capital to disinvested communities, helping these communities have the chance they deserve to thrive.”

An image depicting the five building blocks to increase racial equity in CDFI lending, including community trust; client service orientation; customized technical assistance; flexible capital solutions; and appropriately priced capital.

New Report Helps Financial Institutions Address Inequity and Systemic Discrimination in Lending

The Catalyzing Finance for Racial Equity Report from mission-driven lenders Nonprofit Finance Fund and Capital Impact Partners surfaces community and peer recommendations.

APRIL 26, 2023 (New York, NY/Arlington, VA) – Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) were born out of the Civil Rights Movement to ensure that nonprofits and businesses — particularly those in communities of color and communities with lower incomes — have equitable access to loans. However, much work still needs to be done.

A new report examines ways that CDFIs, and other financial institutions, can further change their business practices to embed racial equity in their lending and investment practices.

The Catalyzing Finance for Racial Equity Report (PDF) is the result of a partnership between Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) and Capital Impact Partners, two mission-driven CDFIs. The recommendations are derived from interviews with 15 organizations in five states, including CDFI peers and community organizations. Those in-depth conversations covered subjects such as their experiences with community development and lending, as well as how CDFI practices and services could be improved to better support community health.

“Advancing racial equity requires that we listen to communities of color and constantly interrogate and improve our practices and policies,” said Aisha Benson, CEO of NFF. “By sharing our experiences of what’s working and what isn’t among peer CDFIs, we can speed progress toward shared equity goals.”

Alumni from the Equitable Development Initiative cohort in Dallas, Texas. A similar program, called the Austin Small Developer Training, is now accepting applicants in Austin, Texas.

New Program Will Help Historically Excluded Real Estate Developers, Bringing More Affordable Housing to Austin and Boosting the Local Economy

Capital Impact Partners and HousingWorks Austin are now accepting applications for their Austin Small Developer Training program, expanding on a nationwide initiative that has already supported more than 200 developers.

April 24, 2023 (Austin, TX) – A new program will provide small-scale real estate developers from underrepresented communities in Austin with the tools they need to grow their businesses — helping them to be more involved in the region’s booming real estate market and, in turn, to create more affordable housing.

Applications are being accepted from April 24-May 19, 2023, for the Austin Small Developer Training program, which seeks to assist developers who have been historically excluded or overlooked. 

The free, four-month program will provide developers with training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and potential pathways for financing.

The Austin Small Developer Training program is being led by Capital Impact Partners, which has trained more than 200 developers through its Equitable Development Initiative in four regions nationwide, including the Dallas region, and has been working to help disinvested communities in Austin since 2015. Capital Impact Partners is one of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes CDC Small Business Finance and Ventures Lending Technologies, among other organizations.

The Austin region continues to grow, but that growth has also led to rising housing costs, pushed longtime residents out of the city, and contributed to low rates of homeownership and business ownership in communities of color. Helping small-scale Austin real estate developers can also help close wealth gaps while bringing more affordable housing and investment into historically underserved communities.

Black developer wearing a hard hat stands on a construction site

Capital Impact Partners Awarded $4.95 Million to Support Housing Developers of Color Through the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program

These funds will be used to provide loans, grants, and development services to developers of color who build rental housing in disinvested communities across the United States

APRIL 14, 2023 (Arlington, VA) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has announced that Capital Impact Partners was awarded a $4.95 million grant through the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program.

The CDFI Equitable Recovery Program will strengthen the ability of CDFIs to ensure that low- and moderate-income communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in long-term prosperity. The CDFI Fund awarded $1.73 billion to 603 organizations nationwide.

“This award will help us address the decreased access to affordable housing for low-income families, a problem that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mindy Christensen, senior vice president of community development real estate for Capital Impact Partners. “With these funds, we can expand our strategy of creating more affordable housing while also building up the capacity of local real estate developers of color.”

The NonProfit Times' logo for the Top Nonprofit awards of 2023

Top Honors: Capital Impact Partners Named the Best Medium-Sized Nonprofit to Work For, #2 Out of All Nonprofits Nationwide

In its 2023 rankings, The NonProfit Times also honored CDC Small Business Finance as the #17 medium-sized nonprofit and #43 overall

April 11, 2023 (Arlington, VA / San Diego, CA) – With a mission that inspires employees — and a management team that invests in them — two organizations from the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations have been named among the best medium-sized nonprofits in the United States, according to The NonProfit Times, the leading publication for nonprofit managers.

Capital Impact Partners is ranked the #1 nonprofit in the medium-sized category, which includes organizations with 50-249 employees. And the organization is also among the best nonprofits of any size, ranked #2 overall.

CDC Small Business Finance is also honored in this year’s rankings as the #17 medium-sized nonprofit and #43 overall.

Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance are both part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes Ventures Lending Technologies, among other organizations.