By Ellis Carr, President and CEO of Momentus Capital, Capital Impact Partners, and CDC Small Business Finance
Healthy communities are built by their residents. Small business owners, local real estate developers, and other local leaders are the engines of job creation and economic activity in communities across the country. When these leaders have the opportunity to succeed, their communities, their residents – and our country – thrive.
Unfortunately, leaders in communities all across the country are missing a key ingredient to success: access to the capital. For too long, people in underestimated communities and people of color have been denied the types of capital and support they need to realize the dreams they have for themselves, their families and their neighborhoods.
In 2019, Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Financebegan an incredible journey with an ambitious – some might say audacious – goal: to devise new, transformative ways to meet the capital needs in communities across the country. We asked ourselves a question: How does the financial sector – including mission-driven financing organizations in our sector – need to change to really support communities? What can we do differently to help our communities really thrive?
Dallas becomes the fourth region for Capital Impact Partners’ Equitable Development Initiative, which helps developers of color overcome systemic issues and lead affordable real estate projects
April 7, 2022 (Dallas, TX/Arlington, VA) – A new program will break down the barriers for real estate developers of color in the Dallas area, helping them be more involved in the region’s booming real estate market – and, in turn, to create more affordable housing.
The Equitable Development Initiative is led by Capital Impact Partners and has trained nearly 200 developers of color since 2018 in three major metropolitan areas. The Dallas region will become the fourth.
Like 2020, 2021 presented challenges for small business owners, often revealing historical and systemic disinvestment in communities of color. It also created opportunities for businesses to adapt and rebuild.
While communities and businesses are still dealing with the repercussions of the pandemic, we can work together to foster a positive outlook for the year ahead.
With our sister organization CDC Small Business Finance, our team has taken a look at what our community members, partners, and investors may experience in 2022.
Take a look at our predictions for this year and how trends and policies may affect you and others in the community development/small business space.
Nine Awardees are Locally Owned Food Businesses in Wards 5, 7, and 8
Arlington, VA (March 9, 2022) – While Washington, DC has a vibrant food and restaurant community, food businesses owned by people of color still struggle to participate due to the lack of opportunities to access capital. In an effort to build a more equitable food ecosystem, the Nourish DC Collaborative – in partnership with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser – announced its first round of grants – totaling $400,000 – to support locally owned food businesses, especially in neighborhoods underserved by grocery stores and other food businesses. The nine awardees are local BIPOC-owned food businesses in Wards 5, 7, and 8 that are providing healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food for DC residents. Seven of the awardees are women-owned businesses.
Over the past 10 years, Capital Impact Partners has invested more than $300 million to foster equitable and inclusive Detroit communities, and we are committed to achieving that vision with the city’s residents. To celebrate our 10th anniversary of working side-by-side with Detroiters, we look back at what worked and the work that remains in a video series with our staff and partners. Watch all the videos in our series here!
During the 1963 March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs, attendees peacefully and constructively protested for the end of systemic barriers and racial segregation. These barriers kept members of disinvested communities from good-paying jobs or from owning businesses wherever they chose, which would allow them to share in the prosperity that others experienced.
Welcome to our Spotlight series where we highlight members of our new enterprise with Capital Impact Partners.
Earlier this year we announced the formation of our exciting new enterprise that united Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance under a single strategy and leadership team.
We believe that in order to ensure that traditional and mainstream financial systems are equitably serving Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities to drive solutions that support economic mobility and wealth creation, we must think differently. This series is designed to introduce you to the many people who are working hard to drive change and create a powerful new voice for communities and small businesses.
In this Spotlight, meet LaKisha Gant. LaKisha is our Senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate Lending.
Welcome to our Spotlight series where we highlight members of our new enterprise with Capital Impact Partners.
Earlier this year we announced the formation of our exciting new enterprise that united Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance under a single strategy and leadership team.
We believe that in order to ensure that traditional and mainstream financial systems are equitably serving Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities to drive solutions that support economic mobility and wealth creation, we must think differently. This series is designed to introduce you to the many people who are working hard to drive change and create a powerful new voice for communities and small businesses.
In this Spotlight, meet Shelli Hayman. Shelli is our Senior Vice President of Small Business Lending.
Welcome to our Spotlight series where we highlight members of our new enterprise between CDC Small Business Finance and Capital Impact Partners.
Earlier this year we announced the formation of our exciting new enterprise that united Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance under a single strategy and leadership team.
We believe that in order to ensure that traditional and mainstream financial systems are equitably serving Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous communities to drive solutions that support economic mobility and wealth creation, we must think differently. This series is designed to introduce you to the many people who are working hard to drive change and create a powerful new voice for communities and small businesses.
This Spotlight is onKim Dorsett. Kim is our Chief Human Resources Officer.
A decade ago, Detroit was on the verge of a landmark municipal bankruptcy. Emergency response times were among the slowest in the nation. Blight abounded in nearly every neighborhood. In the prior decade, Detroit had lost one-quarter of its population—more than 244,000 residents.
