Fostering equity and inclusion through lending and programmatic initiatives is driving opportunities for community wealth building
Arlington, VA (December 5, 2019) – In the third quarter of 2019, Capital Impact Partners continued to center equity and inclusion in our work with communities. Championing community assets as a starting point for building community wealth both builds the inherent power of our neighbors and addresses the systemic cause of inequities, increasing the sustainability of solutions. As part of this effort, Capital Impact announced today that its financing and investment efforts in the third quarter served nearly 41,000 beneficiaries and created nearly 250 permanent and construction-related jobs.
CDFI Program awards will support innovative initiatives for equitable community development
Arlington, VA (November 20, 2019) The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) announced yesterday that Capital Impact Partners was awarded $2.8 million in grants through the 2019 round of the CDFI Program. The organization was the 5th highest awardee among 412 applicants. The awards will enable Capital Impact Partners to expand its Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) in Detroit and develop a new loan product for EDI graduates; support job training, supportive housing, and health services for individuals with disabilities in California; and expand its Michigan Good Food Fund.
November 19, 2019 (Washington, D.C./Arlington, VA) – While the local real estate market is booming across the Washington Metropolitan area, developers of color are severely underrepresented in a market dominated by large global and national firms. In an effort to reverse this alarming trend, Capital Impact Partners announced the expansion of its EDI program into the D.C. area to help local minority real estate developers who represent the region’s diversity take a leadership role in shaping the development landscape within the local context. The program’s first cohort will provide 35 new minority developers with training, mentorship and networks, and pathways to access the capital necessary to grow their businesses.
This initiative is modeled after the successful program that Capital Impact launched in Detroit in 2017, which is now taking applications for a third group of participants. EDI provides a combination of formalized training, mentorship with local experts, and access to real estate networks to bolster inclusivity within Washington, D.C.’s real estate market.
Tailored to the needs of local communities where rising costs and displacement are increasing, the two-year program is designed to kick start the development and preservation of multifamily, affordable housing options across the D.C. region. Participants will receive broad-based training, including project budgeting, real estate finance, project and contractor management, legal services and community engagement.
“Across the D.C. Metro area, historically African-American communities are being squeezed out of the region by development that does not prioritize inclusive and equitable growth. One reason for this is the lack of developers of color who understand the city and who are best positioned to meet the needs of these communities,” said Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact. “Like so many other issues facing communities of color, the root causes of this include systemic efforts to prevent these developers from accessing capital, training, and networks. As we are doing in Detroit, our EDI program will begin to address these important issues here in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.”
Capital Impact, with investments from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation and JPMorgan Chase, will engage a variety of local partner organizations, including the Housing Association for Non-Profit Developers (HAND), Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif), and local mentors to support the initiative.
“The largest contributing factor to the racial wealth gap in the country to date is the fact that people of color have not had the opportunity over time to own and profit from real estate,” said John Green, co-founder, Blackstar Real Estate Partners and an EDI mentor. “So, the EDI program is extraordinarily important because it addresses the epicenter of one of the most important problems of our time.”
“Capital Impact Partners’ EDI program is an excellent example of how HAND members are creating communities where all can participate and reach their full potential. We’re excited to welcome the cohort into our collective of over 400 change-makers, which will provide access to educational opportunities designed to build capacity and foster critical connections that support the growth trajectories of minority real estate developers,” said Heather Raspberry, executive director, HAND.
“Through my experience in the Detroit EDI, where I was one of 19 developers chosen to participate in the program, I was given the opportunity to deepen and expand my knowledge into real estate development and project management,” said Sherita Smith, EDI Detroit participant and executive director of Grandmont Rosedale. “I am currently working on my first-ever mixed-use, mixed-income project, and this program has helped me navigate the development through engaging a co-developer and partner who can mentor me and serve as a resource through the process.”
According to a study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, about 40 percent of the District’s lower-income neighborhoods experienced gentrification between 2000 and 2013, giving the city the greatest “intensity of gentrification” of any in the country. The District also saw the most African-American residents — more than 20,000 — displaced from their neighborhoods during that time, mostly by affluent, white newcomers, researchers said.
In addition to its EDI program, Capital Impact is also working to reverse this trend by serving as the manager of the D.C. Affordable Housing Preservation Fund (AHPF), initiated by Mayor Muriel Bowser. To date, financing to projects through the fund have helped preserve more than 1,000 affordable homes in D.C.
One example includes 1101 Euclid, which was originally constructed in the 1900s. Over the past several years, the neighborhood has experienced a rapid loss in affordable housing, and the building has fallen into disrepair. Through AHPF, Capital Impact provided a $3.2 million loan, helping the tenants work with a black-owned developer to acquire their building and make critical repairs while maintaining affordability for up to 78 residents.
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About Capital Impact Partners
Through capital and commitment, Capital Impact Partners helps people build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success. We deliver strategic financing, incubate new social programs, and provide capacity building to help ensure that low-to-moderate-income individuals have access to quality health care and education, healthy foods, affordable housing, and the ability to age with dignity. A nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, Capital Impact Partners has disbursed more than $2.7 billion to revitalize communities over the past 35 years. Our leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in Capital Impact earning an “A+” rating from S&P Global and being recognized by Aeris since 2005 for our performance. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, Capital Impact Partners operates nationally, with local offices in Detroit, MI, New York, NY, and Oakland, CA. Learn more at www.capitalimpact.org.
Institutions and individuals can earn a financial, as well as a social, return on their investments through Capital Impact’s social impact investment notes
Arlington, VA (August 23, 2019) — 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 the launch of its 2019 Capital Impact Investment Notes (Notes) Prospectus, and S&P Global A+ rating. The Investment Notes allow retail and institutional investors the opportunity to invest in the mission-driven organization’s nationwide efforts to create social impact for underinvested communities. Available for as low as $1,000, individual and institutional investors can purchase Notes through their brokerage accounts and earn a financial, as well as a social, return on their investments.
Amplifying community assets to achieve equity and justice through community development investments has enabled individuals and families to break barriers to success
Arlington, VA (August 20, 2019) – In the first two quarters of 2019, Capital Impact Partners’ activities aimed to build the power of our community members by leveraging their community assets alongside our flexible capital and capacity building. From affordable housing to workers’ rights to entrepreneurship, we are invested in empowering communities of color and underinvested individuals across the country. Capital Impact announced today that our financing and investment efforts in the first half of the year served more than 124,000 beneficiaries and created nearly 1,200 permanent and construction-related jobs.
Two New Housing Projects Support Affordable Housing in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8
WASHINGTON, D.C. and Arlington, VA (July 12, 2019) – Capital Impact Partners, Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) today announced the financing of the first two projects through their partnership under the D.C. Affordable Housing Preservation Fund launched in the spring of 2018. The two projects have helped protect more than 600 affordable housing units, and pushed the total number of affordable units under the Fund to more than 1,000.
IDG and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: United Workers’ Center each receive $25,000; CLEAN Carwash receives $50,000 prize
Arlington, VA and New York (May 7, 2019) – Co-ops have real power to transform structurally disinvested communities into strong, vibrant places of opportunity. Through Capital Impact Partners’ Co-op Innovation Award, three cooperative organizations have the chance to create systemic change in their communities. For the fifth annual Co-op Innovation Award, Capital Impact Partners and The Workers Lab partnered to award grants totaling $50,000 to the Independent Drivers Guild and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: United Workers’ Center, and to award a $50,000 grant to CLEAN Carwash. These awards recognize organizations leading initiatives that address workers’ rights as well as wealth building and asset creation for immigrant workers.
(DETROIT, April 30, 2019) – Capital Impact Partners is pleased to announce the second cohort of participants in its Detroit EDI Program. In the long term, this program aims to support wealth building for local real estate developers while also encouraging mixed-income neighborhood development throughout the city. In the short term, it connects participants with the knowledge, connections, and resources necessary to engage in small- to mid-scale multifamily and mixed-use real estate development projects in Detroit.
The first year of Capital Impact’s Detroit EDI pilot program received great interest, and, as of early April, Capital Impact finalized an agreement to provide project financing—in the form of a predevelopment loan—to support Ron Bartell’s new mixed-use project on Livernois.
“It is hard to put into words how grateful I am for the skills and opportunities the EDI program gave to me,” said Sean Tidwell, participant in the program’s first cohort. “Being a participant helped kickstart my work in commercial real estate development and afforded me the opportunity to connect with developers that wanted to support and offer me the resources I needed to get my project moving forward. I am forever grateful to Capital Impact and JPMorgan Chase for their commitment to implementing such a program and supporting minority entrepreneurs in Detroit.”
This year, more than 70 developers applied to the program, and 19 are participating. Second cohort participants include: Ashley McLeod, Beverly Beard, Corey Williams, Diamond Bates, Duane Washington, Edward Carrington, Essence Hickman, Frank Romo, John Davis, John Truong, Kyra Jefferson, Marc Johnson, Marcel Pearl, Marcus Jones, Ronald Weaver, Randal Jean-Baptiste, Sherita Smith, Tarolyn Buckles and Tracey Yurko.
The program kicked off in February 2019 and will run through June 2019. Over the course of the program, participants are engaging in multifamily/mixed-use real estate development training and engagement with local experts including a project advisor with local development expertise. Organizations and individuals providing program support and technical assistance include Woodborn Partners, 313 Creative, the National Development Council, Hosey Development, Ethos Development Partners, the Roxbury Group, American Community Developers and the Platform.
“Over the two-year pilot phase of the initiative, we are honing in on what does and doesn’t work when it comes to supporting local developers in their efforts to scale up and work on larger, transformative real estate development projects,” said Elizabeth Luther, Detroit Program Manager, Capital Impact Partners. “We have fine-tuned the training component of the program and are looking for additional ways to help program participants and graduates move their projects to completion. Our long-term goals include local wealth building and neighborhood stabilization.”
There are approximately 50,000 minority-owned small businesses in Detroit, making it the fourth largest city for minority entrepreneurship in the United States. As the city’s recovery continues, more real estate developers are needed for the rehabilitation and construction of housing, commercial and community space in Detroit’s neighborhoods. With financial support from JPMorgan Chase, the EDI program is designed to contribute to ongoing stabilization efforts throughout Detroit’s mixed-income neighborhoods, by supporting small- and mid-sized mixed-use and multifamily projects in those areas.
“Helping minority developers start and grow their businesses will both build a larger pool of talent available to help the city of Detroit rebound while also ensuring more Detroiters will benefit in the economic recovery,” said September Hargrove, Vice President, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase. “Driving sustainable growth to support long term residents of the city’s neighborhoods is a key priority for JPMorgan Chase.”
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About Capital Impact Partners
Through capital and commitment, Capital Impact Partners helps people build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success. We champion social and economic justice for underserved communities to foster good health, economic opportunity, and interconnectedness. Through mission-driven lending, incubating social impact programs, impact investing, and policy reform we partner with local communities to create equitable access to health care and education, healthy foods, affordable housing, and dignified aging for those most in need. We have disbursed more than $2.5 billion to revitalize communities over the past 35 years. Our leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in Capital Impact earning a “AA-” rating from S&P Global and being recognized by Aeris since 2005 for our performance. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, Capital Impact Partners operates nationally, with local offices in Detroit, MI, and Oakland, CA. Learn more at www.capitalimpact.org.
About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.6 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
Catalyzing community engagement and investing in communities of color in regions nationwide is enabling underinvested communities to raise their voices to overcome structural racism and discrimination
Arlington, VA (March 13, 2019) – In 2018, Capital Impact Partners invested time and capital to empower communities of color and underinvested individuals across the country. Capital Impact announced today that its fourth-quarter financing and investment efforts are expected to serve more than 153,000 beneficiaries and create more than 2,200 permanent and construction-related jobs. The organization convened community members to envision what is needed to foster inclusive food systems that support prosperity for all community members. Capital Impact also reached a milestone with its S&P-rated Investment Notes, selling more than $100 million to institutional and retail investors.
Free Online Database Connects Investors to Fund Managers that Deliver Social, Environmental, and Financial Returns
Arlington, VA (February 26, 2019) – Capital Impact Partners, a leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institution, announced today that it has been named to ImpactAssets’ 2019 impact investing showcase, the ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50). The eighth annual guide features fund managers representing private debt and equity investments that deliver social and environmental impact as well as financial returns. This represents the second year in a row that Capital Impact has been named to the IA 50.
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