Independent Drivers Guild members pose together as a group in front of their signage.

Our Impact in 2023

As we begin 2024, we at the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations want to thank all of you – whether you are a borrower, a partner, an investor, or a member of the Momentus community –  for being part of our work to reimagine and build an economic system that includes everyone.

Read what our President and CEO, Ellis Carr, has to say about the impact you helped us create in 2023 and about the outlook for the year to come on the Momentus Capital blog

A mother poses with her two sons in a school library.

Momentus Capital’s Approach to Social Impact Measurement

Across the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, we know that to maximize our impact, we need to first understand it. Building and sustaining healthy, inclusive, and equitable communities requires capital and resources – but without measuring outcomes, it’s impossible to develop effective interventions at scale.

That’s why we’ve developed a comprehensive Impact Framework to help us track the results of not only our loan offerings but also the capacity-building programs, technical assistance, and tools that make up our continuum of capital (PDF).

This framework is at the center of our decision-making process as we work toward our mission of helping to build inclusive and equitable communities by providing people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve.

So, what are we measuring, and why?

To learn more about what we are measuring and why, read the full article on Momentus Capital’s blog.

A family poses in front of a produce section at the supermarket.

How Momentus Capital Supports Economic Stability

Across the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, our mission is to ensure people and communities have the capital and opportunities they deserve to overcome a history of systemic disinvestment.

To support underestimated communities in achieving positive social and economic outcomes, we need a shared understanding of what that looks like, and why those outcomes are so important. This blog will outline how we at Momentus Capital define economic stability and why it is important, how it is tied to the other social determinants of health, and how we are working to promote economic stability through our work.

Read the full article on Momentus Capital’s blog.

Group photo of the Momentus Capital lending operations team.

Driving Change with a Human Approach to Lending Operations

By Alexander McDonald, Senior Director of Lending Operations

For communities to thrive, they need resources — but too often, small business owners, developers, and local community development leaders lack access to the capital they need to drive progress.

Across the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations we are on a mission to change that through a community-first approach to lending grounded in our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. And for us, that includes much more than the actual continuum of capital we deliver, but also HOW engage with our borrowers and partners to do that. Every aspect of our lending operations is built on our values, which means taking out a loan from Momentus is a much different experience than borrowing from a traditional financial institution. 

But our approach doesn’t just feel good. It also leads to exceptional outcomes. The secret to our success? Putting the borrower first with superior client service, competitive products, and scaffolded support.

And our lending operations team is at the heart of what makes Momentus unique. 

To learn more about how our lending operations team works with borrowers and supports social impact, please read our full blog on the Momentus Capital website.

Four developers of color smiling

How We Updated Our Credit Guidelines to Support Diverse Developers

By Masouda Omar, Head of Small Business & Community Development Credit – Lending Operation

As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Capital Impact Partners has played a part in both upholding and dismantling systemic racial bias in the credit system.

Since our inception, we have served sectors, industries, and borrowers not served by the traditional financial system.

Like many CDFIs, Capital Impact provides more flexibility than traditional lenders in some key areas like loan-to-value limits and financial covenants that borrowers must meet.

However, our credit guidelines – the policies that guide our loan structures and lending decisions – are built on the traditional approach to credit that has deep roots in a financial system that intentionally excluded people of color for much of its history. Often, our lending team seeks one or several “exceptions” to our credit guidelines to accommodate the diverse needs of our diverse borrowers.

Creating flexible financing is both a mindset and an approach. To do so, we need input from our clients and communities to rethink and reshape our products and requirements. When done correctly, this approach gears us away from the extractive patterns of traditional financing and closer to confirming that when people are given the opportunity to succeed, their communities, local residents, and our country thrive.

Exterior of Supreme Court showing inscription saying: "Equal Justice Under Law"

Momentus Capital President & CEO Ellis Carr Reflects on Supreme Court Rulings

At Momentus Capital, we envision a future where everyone has the capital and opportunities they deserve – especially those who have been excluded from both for so long. 

Our President and CEO Ellis Carr reflected on the contrast between Independence Day celebrations and a set of Supreme Court decisions that challenged promises about democracy, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness. 

His reflections tackle a few areas:

  • How promises about democracy, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness have been shaken;
  • How these decisions will have negative consequences on fellow citizens who have faced long decades of discrimination; and
  • Momentus’ commitment to continue to speak and work in support of underestimated communities. 

Read Ellis’ reflections on the Momentus Capital website.

Graphic with five colorful blocks each illustrating one of the five building blocks to increase racial equity in CDFI lending

Five Ways CDFIs Can Increase Equity in Lending Practices

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. Yet, CDFIs are part of a financial system embedded with discriminatory lending practices which need to collectively be addressed in order to fully achieve the intended goal of equalizing access to financial resources for all people. 

Momentus Capital’s family of organizations, including Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance, and Ventures Lending Technologies, is working to help support economic mobility and wealth creation through more equitable access to capital for communities that have been long overlooked by traditional financial organizations. 

In line with this commitment, and in recognition of discriminatory lending practices identified within CDFIs, Capital Impact Partners collaborated with Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to identify and address policies and practices that contribute to it. We conducted research to understand how some local and national CDFIs have successfully taken steps to address inequity within their own lending practices. 

Learn more about the partnership and read the full report here.

Headshot of Black female

Women Leaders of Color in Real Estate: Five Minutes with Our HEAF Fellow Ronette Slamin

This blog originally appeared on the HAND blog. You can read the original post here.

Affordable housing development firms led by people of color – both nonprofit and for-profit – are highly underrepresented in the housing industry, yet are a critical resource for strengthening the housing development ecosystem as a whole and expanding the supply of homes that are affordable. Currently, people of color are estimated to make up less than 5% of the developers in the country. 

To support the growth of and opportunities for developers of color in the Washington metro area, as well as increasing the amount of affordable housing regionally, Capital Impact Partners partnered with Amazon to create our Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship (HEAF). The fellowship provides training, mentorship, and grant capital to support wealth building for developers and their firms, and community building through increased affordable housing. 

One of our HEAF participants is Ronette “Ronnie” Slamin, founder of Embolden Real Estate. In this blog profile by HAND, she discusses her journey to becoming a real estate developer, how she views real estate development as a tool to address infrastructure issues, and being intentional about creating space for women and people of color.

Graphic with a yellow background, computer, cell phone, and other office accessories with 2023 goals ahead.

Predictions 2023: What to Expect for Capital Deployment, Small Businesses, and Mission-Based Lending

Graphic with a yellow background, computer, cell phone, and other office accessories with 2023 goals ahead.

As the first quarter of 2023 unfolds, Momentus Capital team members are starting to see trends for an exciting year ahead. And while 2022 proved to be another rollercoaster ride for the economy and small businesses, our experts still forecast plenty of opportunities to make 2023 a groundbreaking year in mission-based lending.

In this year’s predictions, we take a deep dive into a wide range of topics, including how communities can lead the way to greater economic prosperity, how we can get more capital into the hands of small businesses, and potential legislative changes on the horizon. Ultimately, we remain focused on how these factors could impact our borrowers, partners, investors, and the communities we serve. This valuable foresight serves as a compass for existing entrepreneurs and those embarking on their ventures.

Please read the rest of this blog on the Momentus Capital website.

graphic announcing Ellis Carr's keynote session at Yale's economic development symposium

How Place-based Inclusive Development is Essential to Building Community Resilience

graphic announcing Ellis Carr's keynote session at Yale's economic development symposium

At Momentus Capital, we believe that residents from all walks of life should have equitable access to the things that contribute to their health and wealth. This is especially vital for underestimated communities that often have a harder time accessing resources like good jobs, affordable housing, accessible health care, and more. When these things are present in communities, local and global economies become more prosperous and resilient. 

Our CEO Ellis Carr recently spoke about building community resilience at the Yale School of Management (SOM)’s Economic Development Symposium. This annual student-run conference brings together senior thought leaders, practitioners, and investors from academia, government, NGOs, and the private sector to discuss the latest issues in economic development. 

His speech tackled a few areas:

  1. The history of law and policies that have deliberately excluded communities of color;
  2. Where we stand today in terms of health and wealth disparities, despite signs of progress; and
  3.  A vision for the future including things that the public sector, private sector, and individuals can do together to support the growth of healthy, inclusive, equitable, and resilient communities.

Please read the rest of this blog on the Momentus Capital website.