How CDFIs Expand Economic Opportunities in Underserved Communities
More than Money Podcast Interviews Ellis Carr, President & CEO of Capital Impact Expanding opportunities for residents in low-income communities is the focus of community development financial institutions (CDFIs). These mission-driven institutions prioritize social, economic and racial justice for underserved communities over and above profits,…
How To Use Historic Tax Credits To Promote Community Development
By Danielle Graceffa, Senior Director, Legal Services Real estate development has always been a risky proposition, fraught with numerous challenges that must always be carefully balanced against the promise of reward. Throw in the possibility of rehabbing historic properties and that risk-reward scenario is certainly…
Why and How We Finance Charter Schools
By Emilie Linick, Senior Loan Officer, and Quanic Fullard, Impact Strategy Specialist Capital Impact Partners has long been driven by a mission to help people build communities of opportunity that break barriers to success. To that end, we continually look to expand our lending and incubate,…
A Big “IDEA” to Address Inclusion, Diversity and Equity
By Kimberly Dorsett, Human Resources Director The concept of identity politics has had a lot of press of late. How do we, as professionals, as voters, as members of our community, as individuals, apply our own identity and personal narrative to our actions and convictions?…
COIN: Building economic clout to fight neighborhood poverty
By Ellis Carr, President and CEO and Scott Sporte, Chief Lending Officer Note: This Op-Ed originally appeared in the publication Capital Weekly. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s report The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2015, nearly eight million people in California were living in poverty in…
Pivoting to Create Opportunity Amidst National Change
Ellis Carr, President and CEO 2016 was marked by change—both for the U.S. and for Capital Impact. Our country witnessed a transition in leadership and with it words and actions that have divided our country. Part of this division included the voices of many who…
AA Rating Leads Strong Year of Financial Highlights
Natalie Gunn, Chief Financial Officer Capital Impact Partners ended 2016 in an extremely strong financial position with unrestricted net assets increasing by $2.4 million. As illustrated in our 2016 Annual Report, our loan portfolio grew by $26 million or 15%, and total assets grew by…
Partnering for Impact With The CDFI Fund
By Scott Berman, Director of Policy & Development As a mission-driven lender, Capital Impact Partners collaborates with a wide range of public, private and philanthropic organizations that invest in our efforts to transform underserved communities into vibrant places of opportunity. These partners—and the financial…
Remembering Bradford Frost
On Sunday, January 22, the Capital Impact family lost a dear friend and colleague, Brad Frost. He will be remembered as an individual of integrity, thoughtfulness, sharp wit, and dedication. Brad wore his passion for Detroit on his sleeve and was an unceasing supporter, critic…
Capital Impact Earns ‘AA’ S&P Global Rating. What that means for you.
By Ellis Carr, President and CEO I am excited to kick off 2017 with the news that Capital Impact Partners has earned a ‘AA’ issuer credit rating with a stable outlook from S&P Global! S&P Global’s analysis recognized our strong asset quality and liquidity, minimal risk profile,…
Thank You For Inspiring our New Mission & Vision
By Ellis Carr, President and CEO As I close out my first year as Capital Impact Partners' president and CEO, I find myself incredibly humbled and inspired to be part of a movement that is focused on improving the lives of those in communities across…
Small Grants Make a Big Impact in Increasing Healthy Food Access
By Olivia Rebanal, Director of Loan Programs California may be an agricultural center of the nation, but more than one million Californians live in neighborhoods without easy access to a full service grocery store. This lack of access to fresh foods can lead to poor…
School Facilities as a Catalyst for Community Development
By Abigail Suarez, Business Development Officer A child’s access to education is the stepping stone to a lifetime of successes. Limited or inadequate access can put a child on a path toward a lifetime of struggle. In some communities, access to stellar facilities and a…
“Undesign the Redline:” Redefining the History of Redlining and Mortgage Lending
By Jason Anderson, Senior Director of Marketing & Communications At Capital Impact Partners, we think about our efforts around affordable housing, healthy communities and inclusive growth in terms of both the past and the future. It is critical for us to understand the past when…
Age-Friendly Health Centers and California: A Proving Ground for Change
By Candace Baldwin, Director of Strategy, Aging in Community Wouldn’t we all like to age in our homes and communities, surrounded by what is familiar, supported by a health care team that really understands who we are and how to serve us as individuals with…
New Markets Tax Credits: A Proven Tool for Generating Opportunity in Low-Income Communities
By Scott Berman, Director, Policy and Development The lack of capital for real estate projects, community facilities, and small businesses in low-income communities is a problem that spawns a host of other problems. When there is limited access to capital, there are fewer businesses and…
Why Millennials Should Care About Aging Boomers
By Kaitlyn Akin, marketing intern at the Calvert Foundation I am willing to admit that, at first glance, investing in seniors doesn’t seem to be the sexiest of financial decisions. In a world where technology is constantly advancing and public dialogues are cluttered by a…
Tri-City Health Center: Financing New Health Care Access for Low-Income Residents
By Katherine Groves & Daniel Ramirez, Loan Originations Team When Tri-City Health Center (TCHC) opened in Fremont, CA in 1970, it was one of just a handful of clinics serving low-income, minority women from Fremont and the neighboring Alameda county cities of Union City and…
Volunteering and Connection in our Communities
At Capital Impact, we're committed to building stronger communities. While we do this primarily through financing, we also recognize the importance of giving back to the communities in which we live and work. Capital Impact staff celebrate our commitment to our communities throughout the year…
Expanding and Diversifying our Capital Base
By Carolyn Bauer, Chief Risk Officer Driven by another year of strong lending, Capital Impact ended 2015 with a solid financial position. The organization’s overall portfolio increased by $22 million or 11 percent. This growth was matched with continued strong credit performance, as our delinquency…
Financing that Supports Connections
By Scott Sporte, Chief Lending Officer At Capital Impact Partners we put money to work, focusing our efforts on the best ways to use dollars to achieve powerful outcomes. Our lending work at Capital Impact Partners in 2015 increased more than 17 percent above our…
Introducing our 2020 Vision
By Ellis Carr, President & CEO As Capital Impact’s new CEO, I am incredibly excited to take this opportunity to both look back at 2015 and to expound on our new five-year vision to 2020. Over the past year, we continued to build upon the organization’s strong…
A Fond Farewell
By Terry Simonette, outgoing President & CEO As I think about my 32 years with Capital Impact Partners, I am overwhelmed when I consider the thousands of stakeholders that have made contributions to our work of helping people and communities across the country reach their…
Opening Up Possibilities in Co-op Innovation
By Clair A. McDevitt, writer Since Benjamin Franklin launched the first mutual fire insurance company in 1752, the cooperative sector has seen waves of success in the United States. Dairy and cheese coops were first organized in the early 1800s, and other agricultural cooperatives followed.…
Putting Down Roots For A Better Future
By Alison Powers, Program Officer More than 10,000 low-and-moderate income homeowners are sleeping better at night thanks to our partner ROC USA. Instead of worrying about rent increases or land sales that might force them to move, residents of manufactured-home communities (what many commonly refer…
What Does it Mean to Age Strong?
By Candace Baldwin, Director of Strategy, Aging in Community Making a community a great place to live and work while also supporting the needs of low-income and vulnerable older adults is difficult. It takes patience, planning, and a group effort. With this goal in mind,…
Collaboration for Co-operative Improvement
By Clair A. McDevitt, writer Picture it: the freezer breaks and you’re scrambling to save all your frozen food. In a home, a big cooler or the generosity of a neighbor may solve your problem – but for a grocery store, the goods in a…
A Holistic Approach to Healthy Food Financing
By Scott Sporte, Chief Lending Officer Healthy food financing isn’t just about health. There is no doubt that improving access to fresh, nutritious foods in low-income communities can help people improve eating habits and prevent diet-related diseases, such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes,…
California Health Clinics and Financing to Meet ACA Implementation
By Scott Sporte, Chief Lending Officer The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sets out to provide access to health care for all. The ACA will only be fully implemented in California when all people, including low-income residents in underserved communities, have local access to quality, affordable…
Investing in Detroit’s Comeback: Optimism & Challenges on the Road to Inclusive Growth
By Bradford Frost, Director, Detroit Program 2015 was a year of optimism for post-bankruptcy Detroit. We saw significant investments pour in, including the first projects due to the $100 million pledge from JP Morgan Chase. Combined with the $30 million Woodward Corridor Investment Fund, new…
