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. 

ImpactAssets 50 2023 emeritus manager logo

Capital Impact Partners Named to ImpactAssets 50 For Sixth Straight Year, Earning Emeritus Impact Manager Distinction

The ImpactAssets 50 is a publicly available, searchable resource of impact investment fund managers who deliver social and environmental impact as well as financial returns

March 28, 2023 (Arlington, VA) – For the sixth straight year, Capital Impact Partners has been selected for the ImpactAssets 50 – a free, annual database for impact investors, family offices, corporations, foundations, and institutional investors that features a diversified listing of private capital fund managers delivering social and environmental impact as well as financial returns.

This year, Capital Impact Partners was elevated to ImpactAssets’ Emeritus Impact Managers list, which illuminates impact fund managers that have achieved consistent recognition on the Impact Assets 50. Only 41 of the 163 fund managers on this year’s ImpactAssets 50 have received the Emeritus Impact Managers label.

Capital Impact, a leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), began offering its Capital Impact Investment Notes in 2017. The Investment Notes allow retail and institutional investors the opportunity to invest in the organization’s nationwide efforts to create social impact for disinvested communities. 

Fitch Assigns a Pair of A+ Ratings, Stable Outlooks to Capital Impact Partners and Capital Impact Investment Notes

Independent rating recognizes Capital Impact for its financial performance and strong management

March 13, 2023 (Arlington, VA) – Capital Impact Partners, a nonprofit corporation, certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), announced today that Fitch Ratings, one the world’s leading providers of independent credit ratings, has assigned an A+ rating with a stable outlook to both Capital Impact and the issuance of up to $275 million of its Capital Impact Investment Notes (Notes). The issuer rating was assigned on August 31, 2022 and the Notes rating was assigned on September 22, 2022.

“These ratings from Fitch are an endorsement of our strong financial performance, our proven track record with impact investing, and our Investment Notes program” said Natalie Gunn, chief financial officer of Capital Impact Partners. 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. 

“We are one of just a select number of mission-driven financial institutions to receive ratings from multiple agencies, which is important as this is one of the tools used by corporate and philanthropic investors when evaluating investment decisions,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners. “More important, these investments allow us to invest deeper into underestimated communities and provide the capital and resources they deserve.” 

The Nourish DC logo

13 DC Food Businesses Owned By People of Color Receive $500,000 in Grant Funding from the Nourish DC Collaborative

Applications are now being accepted for an additional grant round totaling $400,000

March 10, 2023 (Arlington, VA/Washington, DC) – The Nourish DC Collaborative has announced their second round of grantees in neighborhoods with limited access to grocery stores and other food amenities. The $500,000 in grant funding will help create more opportunities for 13 food businesses owned by people of color in Washington, DC, as well as for the communities they serve, through access to healthier food, economic prosperity, and high-quality jobs.

The Nourish DC Collaborative provides food businesses with grants, technical assistance, and loans — focusing on communities that have experienced systematic underinvestment, poor health outcomes, and limited economic opportunities. Nourish DC was created in 2021 in partnership with DC’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), and additional funding for this grant was provided by the Bainum Family Foundation. Capital Impact Partners, a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) headquartered in the DC region, serves as fund manager for the collaborative, which also includes several other local CDFIs and technical assistance providers.

The latest round of grant awards brings the total of grants from the Nourish DC Collaborative to $900,000 since 2021. To date, the collaborative has also provided over $15 million in loans and given technical assistance to more than 200 food businesses.

Some of the grant funding will go toward launching an affordable and flexible acquisition loan product for developers of color in Texas, like these 2022 graduates from the first Dallas cohort of Capital Impact Partners' Equitable Development Initiative.

Capital Impact Partners Awarded $6.14 Million Through the CDFI Program

Grants will support equitable lending products, healthy food initiatives, and supportive housing

MARCH 3, 2023 (Arlington, VA) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced this week that Capital Impact Partners was awarded $6.14 million in grants through the fiscal year 2022 round of the CDFI Program. 

The CDFI Program awarded a total of $199.4 million to 435 organizations.

These grants will enable Capital Impact Partners to expand its efforts to create new, innovative lending products for emerging developers of color in Dallas, expand support for healthy food businesses in Washington, D.C., and increase supportive housing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

“We are grateful to the CDFI Fund for this substantial support that will be leveraged with our balance sheet capital to significantly expand three critically important financing initiatives,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners. “These awards will increase our work to build healthy communities and generational wealth in disinvested communities in Texas, the District of Columbia, and California.”

Logo for the Dallas Business Journal's Leaders in Diversity Awards

Aaron Gougis of Momentus Capital Wins “Leaders in Diversity” Award From the Dallas Business Journal

Mr. Gougis launched the first cohort of Capital Impact Partners’ Equitable Development Initiative in Dallas, helping developers of color with training, mentorship, and pathways to financing that are often unavailable due to systemic racism.

FEBRUARY 27, 2023 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Aaron Gougis, the Dallas Initiatives Manager for the Momentus Capital branded family of companies, has been honored by the Dallas Business Journal in the publication’s annual “Leaders in Diversity” awards.

Mr. Gougis received the “Community Champion” award, which recognizes an individual who has gone above and beyond in the promotion of initiatives, resources, or community involvement to advance diversity in the Dallas region.

Mr. Gougis launched the first cohort of Capital Impact Partners’ Equitable Development Initiative in Dallas and then managed the first cohort of the six-month program in 2022. The Equitable Development Initiative helps developers of color with training, mentorship, and pathways to financing that are often unavailable due to systemic racism.

“I’m proud of the work we’ve done to bring the Equitable Development Initiative to Dallas, what the program has already meant for the developers who participated in it, and what it will continue to mean for the community,” said Mr. Gougis. “And I’m excited for what ’s still to come — how we can better support the Dallas area as an organization, to learn about the challenges that community members of color are facing, their goals, and their needs.”

Ellis Carr, president and CEO of the Momentus Capital branded family of companies

Ellis Carr of Momentus Capital Named “Nonprofit Leader of the Year” by the Washington Business Journal

Mr. Carr is part of a prestigious class of honorees recognized on December 8 in Washington, D.C.

DECEMBER 9, 2022 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Ellis Carr, the president and CEO of the Momentus Capital branded family of companies, has been named “Nonprofit Leader of the Year” by the Washington Business Journal.

The Washington Business Journal’s annual CEO of the Year awards highlight top leaders in the area that have demonstrated great innovation, strength and perseverance while also maintaining a commitment to the community.

“I am honored to be recognized on behalf of the important and innovative work that my colleagues do in the Washington Metro area and throughout the country,” said Mr. Carr. “What we do is really about giving someone a fair and equitable opportunity. An opportunity to fulfill their dreams for themselves and their community, an opportunity to build a life for their family, in a community that has the resources they need to thrive. That’s the work that we’re doing here, and that’s our reason for being, and that’s what we should always be striving for.”

Obran Cooperative is working to fundamentally change systems by improving outcomes for worker-owners. This means thinking about how its affiliates provide services to patients and how they can further help health care providers get more out of their careers.

Momentus Capital Begins Innovative Impact Investments: Growth Capital for Companies Creating Social Impact

These investments will help companies grow and create impact in their communities, filling a crucial gap in the CDFI space while taking a different approach than traditional venture capital.

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – The Momentus Capital branded family of companies is proud to launch its Impact Investments line of business to jumpstart growth-stage, for-profit businesses that are creating social impact. These investments will focus on companies with diverse leadership and/or are operating in communities of color.

Many of these companies need something other than traditional debt — so that they can instead concentrate their resources on growing their enterprises. However, those opportunities are often not available. For example, less than 1% of venture capital funding nationally goes to Black founders. And equity investments make up less than 2% of CDFI portfolios in the United States.

“As a mission-focused organization, we provide support in a way that helps owners maintain control over their companies. We work alongside these owners to help them grow — seeking a modest, short-term return while enabling owners to maximize their impact within the community through economic growth and job creation,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance and Capital Impact Partners, each of which is part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations.

Image shows the logos for Macy's, Inc. and Momentus Capital

Momentus Capital Collaborates With Macy’s, Inc. to Deploy $200 Million to Diverse-Led Businesses

Momentus Capital is proud to announce that it is working with Macy’s, Inc. on S.P.U.R. Pathways: Shared Purpose, Unlimited Reach — a multiyear, multifaceted funding program to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps, and shatter systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned and underrepresented businesses.

This innovative effort advances a longstanding Macy’s, Inc. commitment to underrepresented businesses and aims to galvanize the retail industry to invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs.

It features a comprehensive range of financing options, from growth equity capital to loans for working capital and commercial real estate. Additionally, this effort will provide a full suite of educational resources, fueling a holistic supplier ecosystem and acting as a catalyst for outsized growth.

The program is another example of how the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations — which includes Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance, and Ventures Lending Technologies — looks for innovative ways to offer a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth.

Read the full press release on the Momentus Capital website.