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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.”
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 Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance — each part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations — 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.”
Mr. Carr has been the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners since 2016 and was also named the CEO of CDC Small Business Finance in 2021.
By bringing these companies together with one shared vision and mission, they will be able to achieve much more, and much faster, than they could working as separate entities.
The financial sector can play a greater role in helping build inclusive and equitable communities – by providing people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. Under the Momentus Capital umbrella, the family of companies will work holistically, and more deeply, to drive significant change that can help communities achieve the visions they have for themselves. At the center of this work: a focus on racial equity and those who have been overlooked, ignored, or systematically excluded from the current system.
“The biggest shift there is we don’t come in with a prescription of what communities need. We adopt a servant-leader mentality by going in and asking questions, being humble and empathetic and actively listening to support the communities’ visions they have for themselves, not necessarily our view,” Mr. Carr said. “We have built an organization all about listening, understanding, and building partnerships with communities and entrepreneurs that best serve their needs.”
To achieve that shared vision and mission, Momentus Capital is uniquely positioned to provide entrepreneurs and local leaders at every stage of their growth with a continuum of capital and opportunities under one roof. These key resources that address the challenges of — and support the solutions for — underestimated communities include:
Financial capital: a range of flexible debt and equity products to meet Momentus Capital’s partners’ needs, as well as access to new markets and potential investors
Knowledge capital: business advising, assistance, and training to develop the skills and insights that can help partners advance their enterprises
Social capital: connections to networks and people that can help Momentus Capital’s partners succeed
In DC and nationally, Momentus Capital is rethinking its credit parameters and developing new lending, grants, and investing products to create more equitable access to capital for borrowers and projects who have traditionally been denied. Momentus Capital further enhances its lending with programs that solve for systemic issues through training, mentorship and network building. And it works with local, regional and national stakeholders — including community-led groups, government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses.
Among the recent programs and initiatives from the Momentus Capital branded family of companies:
Working with Macy’s, Inc. to deploy $200 million for the retailer’s S.P.U.R. Pathways initiative, a multiyear, multifaceted funding program to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps, and shatter systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned and underrepresented businesses.
Activate Detroit, a new loan product that is empowering Black entrepreneurs by focusing on character-based evaluations, rather than credit scores.
Impower, which helps business owners who have been denied for a commercial real estate loan, assisting them with the opportunity to build wealth, create jobs and stay in the communities they serve.
The EDI, HEAF, and Growing Housing Developers (GHD) programs, all of which provide training, mentorship, connections, and pathways to financing for developers of color, helping them overcome racial barriers and systemic issues.
Expanding access to Ventures+, a proprietary loan processing and portfolio management tool that has become one of the top resources for small business and community lenders. This has helped other local lenders create an impact in their communities by providing access to high-level services they would otherwise be unlikely to manage on their own.
Coming Soon! We are developing an investment bank to better connect investors with community organizations through community-centric securities offerings.
Mr. Carr is part of a prestigious class. His fellow honorees at the December 8 event in Washington, D.C., included:
CEO of the Year: Sheila Johnson — Founder and CEO, Salamander Hotels & Resorts; Vice Chairman and Partner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment; President and Managing Partner, Washington Mystics
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Marriott — chairman emeritus, Marriott International Inc.
Small Business Leader of the Year: Margarita Womack — CEO, Mas Panadas
C-Suite Leadership Award: Mike King — Chief Growth Officer, Peraton
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion: Irma Becerra — President, Marymount University
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion: Bo Menkiti — CEO, The Menkiti Group
Nonprofit Leader of the Year (co-winner): Mike Curtin Jr. — CEO, DC Central Kitchen
This is the latest recognition for Momentus Capital in 2022:
Momentus Capital is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve.
Through our family of mission-focused organizations including Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance, and Ventures Lending Technologies, we are working to reinvent traditional financial systems that have failed to address systemic issues of inequality, economic empowerment, and the widening racial wealth gap.
We offer 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.
Each organization under the Momentus Capital brand will still operate as separate entities, but their clients will now have access to more resources and products.
Leveraging 80 years of combined experience, nearly $3 billion in assets, and strong community engagement, we have delivered $23 billion in financing, created and preserved 250,000 jobs, and served 12,000 small businesses and five 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.
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.
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.
This award will spur projects that increase access to social services in disinvested communities.
OCTOBER 28, 2022 (Arlington, VA) – Capital Impact Partners has been awarded a $55 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation 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 advance our mission to increase access to critical social services in disinvested communities, spur economic development and wealth creation, and create jobs,” said Mindy Christensen, senior vice president of community development real estate for Capital Impact Partners. “We are grateful that the CDFI Fund has again recognized our proven track record of working with communities to uplift their needs and solutions, and working alongside the private investors who help make that possible. It further enhances our ability to provide a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital.”
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