VIDEO: Fresh Take – A Conversation about the Power of CDFIs to Expand Economic Power and Inclusive Growth
In February, our President and CEO Ellis Carr sat down with the Greater Washington Partnership’s CEO J.B. Holston for a conversation about economic power and inclusive growth in disinvested communities, and the role that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) play in transforming communities nationwide into…
Alliance CEOs – Opinion: Equitable revitalization critical to Detroit’s future (Detroit News)
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
In the Face of COVID-19, One Detroit School Meets Its Community With the Services It Needs
Since COVID-19 began, times have been incredibly trying for many across the country. Schools and teachers have been particularly hard-hit, having to figure out what education looks like in this new reality. It has been grueling, the hours have been long, and all of this…
Bringing Food Closer to Home: Evaluating Five Years of Building Inclusive Food Systems with Michigan Good Food Fund
By Mary Donnell, Technical Assistance Manager Five year ago, we and several organizations saw the need to expand inclusive food systems and access to healthy food for communities across Michigan. We know the importance of having access to healthy food within close proximity of home.…
The Next 100 Days for Equity and CDFIs: Reflections on the Biden-Harris Administration
By Ellis Carr, President and CEO Last week, we witnessed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take the oath of office, signaling a new administration. It is a historic moment for our country. VP Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, is…
Addressing the Housing Crisis: Preserving Vital Affordable Housing in the San Francisco Bay Area
This blog was published about the Bay's Future Fund in partnership with LISC Bay Area. Find information about this development on the Bay's Future Fund website. By Andrew King, Senior Origination Loan Officer Given the dual perks of beautiful, historic homes and close proximity to…
How Unequal Investment in Detroit Led to Programmatic Solutions to Affordable Housing: Stay Midtown
By Ashlee Cunningham, Senior Specialist, Housing and Community Development In Detroit, long-term disinvestment in the city’s neighborhoods has led to unequitable barriers to opportunity. Systemic racism and disenfranchisement limited opportunities for many Detroiters, more than 80 percent of whom are Black. That has kept many…
Alliance Video Series – CEO Conversations: Moving Beyond the Status Quo
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
Alliance Video Series – CEO Conversations: Disrupting the Distribution Channels
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
Partner Q&A: Supporting California Community Health Centers Pivoting in the Face of COVID-19
With the COVID-19 pandemic still impacting communities across the country, particularly communities of color, the work of community health centers and clinics (CHCs) is more urgent than ever. Community health centers have worked extremely hard to meet the medical needs…
Alliance Video Series – CEO Conversations: Redefining the Paradigm
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, local independent grocers double down to feed their communities
By Mary Donnell, Program Manager, Michigan Good Food Fund The grocery business is more competitive than ever. Even in normal times, much of the market share is taken up by the big-box players. But in the face of an unprecedented pandemic, local, independent grocers are…
Podcast: Everything Co-op Interview about Capital Impact’s 2020 Co-op Innovation Award
By Alison Powers, Cooperative & Community Initiatives Manager In early 2020, Capital Impact Partners, in partnership with the National Cooperative Bank, awarded a total of $100,000 to three awardees, - ChiFresh Kitchen, The Guild, and the Bronx Cooperative Development Initiative – through its Co-op Innovative…
Alliance Video Series – CEO Conversations: What Problems We’re Solving
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
As Crises Deepen Inequity, CDFIs Act as a Counterforce in Order to Build Community Assets
By Diane Borradaile, Chief Lending Officer For generations, systemic racism has kept many people of color from achieving even a basic standard of living, which includes social services that help communities thrive. As we wrote in the first of our series looking at the repercussions…
Alliance Video Series – CEO Conversations: Addressing the Wealth Gap at Scale
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
Alliance Video Series – CEO Conversations: A New Alliance
Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, has transitioned to Board Chair of the combined organization. We invite you to learn more about our new…
Learning to Change: Reflections of the CDFI Racial Equity Collaborative on Education
This post was written by OFN Blog guest authors and OFN members BlueHub Capital, Capital Impact Partners, IFF, Nonprofit Finance Fund, LISC, Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), Reinvestment Fund, and Self-Help Introduction In recent years, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and similar mission-oriented financial services organizations have…
Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance Announce Alliance
As of July 1, 2021, Ellis Carr is now the president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Kurt Chilcott, formerly president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, is transitioning to Board Chair of both organizations. In 2020, Kurt Chilcott…
Audio Blog: Expanding Opportunity for Real Estate Developers of Color in the Time of COVID-19
Editor’s note: This conversation took place virtually to protect all participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. There may be sound issues, as this was a live webinar. As COVID-19 continues to disproportionately impact communities of color, it is important that supporting developers of color does not…
Capital Impact Partners’ Response to Recent Violence Against Black Lives
By Ellis Carr, President and CEO The events of the past weeks have been incredibly painful to witness. While in the midst of a global health crisis, the disease of racism reared its ugly head to create a crisis within a crisis in which unarmed Black…
Racial Inequity – as cause and effect – in the time of COVID-19
By Michelle Betton, Writer “Structural racism has always been a pre-existing condition for communities of color.” -Race Forward People in disinvested communities, often communities of color, understand this statement too well. It has rung true for generations. Structural racism affects more than just health; systemic…
2019 Annual Report Letter: Through Crisis, We Partner with Communities to Build Strength and Sustainability
By Ellis Carr, President & CEO, and Daniel Varner, Board Chair Over the past several weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the world for all of us. Our hearts go out to everyone who has been—and will continue to be—affected by this devastating event.…
Capital Impact Partners’ Response to COVID-19
By Ellis Carr, President & CEO Friends and Partners - Since I last reached out on behalf of the team here at Capital Impact, our country has changed dramatically as a result of the unprecedented health crisis we are all facing. Across the country, communities…
COVID-19 Response: An Open Letter from CDFI Leaders to Our Supporters
“Those closest to the problem are closest to the solutions.” Bryan Stevenson Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) were first certified by the U.S. Treasury 25 years ago to provide financing in communities left behind by the mainstream financial system. CDFIs have long been “first responders”…
COVID-19 Relief Programs and Resources for Nonprofits
American small businesses and nonprofits are facing an unprecedented economic disruption due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Paycheck Protection Program is open again to small businesses across the country, including nonprofits. This time, lenders proximate to communities have the opportunity to lend to businesses and…
Voting Rights Have the Power to Break Down Injustice and Build Places of Opportunity
By Michelle Betton, Writer “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison men because they are different from other men.” -President Lyndon B. Johnson when he signed the Voting Rights Act…
Community Reinvestment Act: Ensuring the Financial Inclusion of Disinvested Communities
By Scott Berman, Director, Policy and Development The civil rights movement sought to end legalized racial discrimination against Black-American individuals and communities. For generations, Black Americans were systematically denied opportunities that their White counterparts experienced, from the ability to buy homes to accessing quality education…
Mission-driven Organizations Continue Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Work for Democracy and Equity (Video)
By Michelle Betton, Writer Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy is one of challenging the systems that keep people from benefitting from the democracy that this country is supposed to provide to all of its citizens. The people for whom he fought were often people of…
Centering Equity and Our Civil Rights Roots in 2020 and Beyond
By Ellis Carr, President & CEO Throughout the year, I have thought a lot about what equity means to me and the work we do at Capital Impact. At its most basic, dictionary.com defines “equity” as “the quality of being fair or impartial; fairness; impartiality.”…
