July 21, 2022 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – The financial sector can play a greater role in helping build communities — by providing people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. Opening up these doors is fundamental for local leaders and entrepreneurs to contribute not only to their communities, but to our shared economy.
In a first-of-its-kind announcement, Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance, and Ventures Lending Technologies are coming together as Momentus Capital to create the transformational change needed in the financial sector to achieve this vision.
“Small business owners, 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,” said Ellis Carr, President and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. “We need bold thinking and a holistic approach to unleash solutions for communities. Momentus Capital was created to meet that challenge.”
Each organization under the Momentus Capital brand will continue operating as a separate entity committed to serving its key market and clients, albeit with additional resources and product offerings.
By unifying as Momentus Capital with one shared vision and mission, these leading, mission-driven financial organizations can achieve even more than they could working as separate entities.
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 — 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
Momentus Capital further amplifies this approach through technology solutions — including the industry-leading Ventures+ loan software — that assist its partners in making a greater impact in their communities.
Investments & Innovations
Momentus Capital is the culmination of a vision that Mr. Carr and Kurt Chilcott, the longtime leader of CDC Small Business Finance, began to develop in 2019. These leaders sought a way that both organizations, impactful in their own right, could accelerate their work. Mr. Carr, the president and CEO of Capital Impact since 2016, was named the CEO of CDC Small Business Finance in 2021, while Mr. Chilcott transitioned to a role as chair of both organizations’ boards. Under their leadership, Momentus Capital will continue to innovate how capital and investments flow into communities.
Momentus Capital combines its national presence with a local, place-based approach. It works with local leaders — including small business owners, community-minded developers, policy-makers, and builders of community facilities — to identify issues and drive solutions.
This approach is supported by the organization’s lending and investment activities: over $700 million annually deployed to support small business owners, developers, and other community leaders. That, in turn, builds on more than $23 billion of investments that the Momentus Capital family of companies already made to support community solutions throughout their histories.
To support these community solutions, Momentus Capital is:
- Rethinking its credit parameters, and developing new lending and investing products to create more access to capital for borrowers and projects.
- Enhancing its lending with programs that solve for issues through training, mentorship, and network building.
- Deploying technology solutions for community-focused partners and lenders to amplify their work.
- Working alongside partners in shaping national, regional, and local policy and expanding funding opportunities.
- Combining robust financial experience with community trust to attract mainstream dollars and deliver them to locally-led projects.
“We are constantly working to rethink outdated approaches that limit who has access to capital,” said Mr. Carr. “Where others see risk, we see the opportunity to demonstrate that communities deserve investment. As more capital flows into these communities, the residents benefit — as do we all.”
Among the recent programs and initiatives from the Momentus Capital family of companies:
- 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, Housing Accelerator Fellowship (HAF), and Growing Housing Developers (GHD) programs, all of which provide training, mentorship, connections, and pathways to financing for real estate developers.
- 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.
- Launching an Impact Investing group to jumpstart growth-stage businesses that will impact their communities. Equity investments make up less than 2% of CDFI portfolios in the United States. This will fill a crucial gap for companies like this that need more than traditional debt products.
- Coming Soon! We are developing an investment bank to better connect investors with community organizations through community-centric securities offerings.
“Momentus Capital is dedicated to the idea that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve the dreams they have for themselves, their communities, and for generations to come,” said Mr. Carr. “I’m encouraged about what we’ve been able to achieve leading up to this key milestone. But I’m even more excited about the opportunities that stand before us to make real change.”
###
About Momentus Capital
The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital, and Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, MSRB-registered, FINRA/SIPC member). While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, its clients now have access to more resources and products.
The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. We are working to reinvent traditional financial systems by offering a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help entrepreneurs, community-based organizations, and local leaders at every growth stage to build strong communities and create generational wealth.
This includes a comprehensive package of loan products, impact investment opportunities, training and business advising programs, and technology solutions that advance locally-led solutions.
Leveraging more than 80 years of combined experience, more than $3 billion in assets under management, and strong community engagement, the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations has delivered $24 billion in financing, created and preserved 298,000 jobs, and served 14,350 small businesses and 6 million people across our 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, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.
Learn more at momentuscap.org.
About Capital Impact Partners
Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As one of the nation’s leading mission-driven Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), we help build strong communities and create generational wealth by deploying mission-driven financing, capacity-building programs, and impact investing opportunities.
Capital Impact Partners offers flexible financing for catalytic mission-aligned projects in four primary sectors: increasing access to health care, education, affordable housing, and healthy food.
In addition, we manage several multi-year initiatives in key regions to support emerging developers, small business owners, cooperatives, and community health enterprises through training, professional networks, access to experts and mentors, and pathways to grants and loan capital.
Capital Impact Partners has disbursed more than $3 billion since 1982 to create access to critical social services, grow entrepreneurs, and create quality jobs. Capital Impact Partners’ leadership in delivering financial and social impact has resulted in the organization being rated by S&P Global and Fitch Ratings and recognized by Aeris for its performance.
The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital and Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, MSRB-registered, FINRA/SIPC member). While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products.
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, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.
Learn more at capitalimpact.org and momentuscap.org.
About CDC Small Business Finance
CDC Small Business Finance, part of the Momentus Capital Branded family of organizations, is transforming how capital and investments flow into communities to provide people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. As the nation’s leading mission-based small business lender, CDC Small Business Finance helps build strong communities and create generational wealth by deploying mission-driven financing and free business advising to the small businesses that are the backbone of their communities and the country.
CDC Small Business Finance delivers small business and commercial real estate loans paired with free technical assistance to bolster entrepreneurship, economic development, and job creation.
We offer numerous loan products, including the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 commercial real estate loans, SBA Community Advantage loans, and SBA Microloans. In addition, we offer non-SBA products to provide alternative options for those unable to qualify for traditional financing. CDC Small Business Finance also offers free business advice to support potential borrowers in getting loan-ready and to help our current borrowers grow and expand their businesses.
Since 1978, CDC Small Business Finance has provided more than $21.3 billion in financing to 12,500 borrowers and helped create and preserve over 217,000 jobs.
The Momentus Capital branded family of organizations refers to the combined operations of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, as well as their affiliates, Momentus Direct Capital and Momentus Securities (an SEC-registered broker-dealer, MSRB-registered, FINRA/SIPC member). While each organization under the Momentus Capital brand still operates as a separate entity, their clients will now have access to more resources and products
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, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Texas, and the Washington D.C. metro area.
Learn more at cdcloans.com and momentuscap.org.
About Ventures Lending Technologies
Ventures Lending Technologies (VLT) creates solutions that make lending easier. Its flagship product, Ventures+, is a loan processing and portfolio management tool that has become one of the top resources for small business lenders. VLT has been serving the lending community since 2004. Since then, VLT has consistently worked towards expanding its products and has grown to offer Payment Processing with Payments+ and a borrower portal with Apply+. It is the premier cloud-based lending platform that offers services throughout the entire lifecycle from a borrower prospect to loan payoff.
Learn more at www.venturesgo.com.
