Momentus Securities aims to deliver more than $3 billion in community-based investments by 2026
May 22, 2023 (New York, NY) – Momentus Securities has launched with the goal of driving institutional capital to America’s small businesses and nonprofits — and positioning “social impact” as a fully investable asset class for institutional investors.
Momentus Securities — a registered broker-dealer and FINRA member — seeks to disrupt the mission-driven investing space by addressing the current scale and liquidity limitations in the sector that inhibit the deployment of institutional capital. Momentus Securities intends to facilitate the deployment of $3 billion of social capital by 2026.
“This is an innovative approach. We are transforming how institutional investment capital is unlocked and channeled into high-need community investments,” said Momentus Securities President and CEO Alicia Reyes, who brings 27 years of experience in investment banking and private equity to Momentus Securities. “The lending market in the impact sector is decentralized and highly dispersed. This is a challenge for institutional investors that want to fully incorporate the ‘S of ESG’ into their mainstream strategies because of the lack of liquidity.
“We see this as an opportunity to launch ‘social Collateralized Loan Obligations’ and, initially, intend to open warehousing lines to aggregate portfolios of loans across five key segments: affordable housing, healthcare, education, small businesses and food. Once ramped up, the portfolios will be securitized, and we will distribute the bonds as a takeout. These portfolios will offer institutional investors the opportunity to support communities and participate and invest at a scale not previously available. Lenders will achieve better terms while providing investors an improved risk return profile,” Ms. Reyes added.
Capital Impact partners with InspereX LLC to distribute the Notes through its Impact Investment Platform to a nationwide network of broker-dealers, institutions, and financial advisors.
Individual and institutional investors can purchase Capital Impact Investment Notes for as little as $1,000. Capital Impact Investment Notes provide investors with a unique opportunity to align financial goals with personal principles through values-based investing.
“Capital Impact Investment Notes help create a unique opportunity for funders and investors to work through Capital Impact to support communities,” said Natalie Gunn, Chief Financial Officer of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance. Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance are two of the Momentus Capital branded family of organizations, which also includes Ventures Lending Technologies, among other organizations. “Investors continue to recognize that Capital Impact Partners delivers a strong financial performance while bringing a continuum of capital to disinvested communities, helping these communities have the chance they deserve to thrive.”
The Catalyzing Finance for Racial Equity Report from mission-driven lenders Nonprofit Finance Fund and Capital Impact Partners surfaces community and peer recommendations.
APRIL 26, 2023 (New York, NY/Arlington, VA) – Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) were born out of the Civil Rights Movement to ensure that nonprofits and businesses — particularly those in communities of color and communities with lower incomes — have equitable access to loans. However, much work still needs to be done.
A new report examines ways that CDFIs, and other financial institutions, can further change their business practices to embed racial equity in their lending and investment practices.
The Catalyzing Finance for Racial Equity Report (PDF) is the result of a partnership between Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) and Capital Impact Partners, two mission-driven CDFIs. The recommendations are derived from interviews with 15 organizations in five states, including CDFI peers and community organizations. Those in-depth conversations covered subjects such as their experiences with community development and lending, as well as how CDFI practices and services could be improved to better support community health.
“Advancing racial equity requires that we listen to communities of color and constantly interrogate and improve our practices and policies,” said Aisha Benson, CEO of NFF. “By sharing our experiences of what’s working and what isn’t among peer CDFIs, we can speed progress toward shared equity goals.”
Capital Impact Partners and HousingWorks Austin are now accepting applications for their Austin Small Developer Training program, expanding on a nationwide initiative that has already supported more than 200 developers.
April 24, 2023 (Austin, TX) – A new program will provide small-scale real estate developers from underrepresented communities in Austin with the tools they need to grow their businesses — helping them to be more involved in the region’s booming real estate market and, in turn, to create more affordable housing.
Applications are being accepted from April 24-May 19, 2023, for the Austin Small Developer Training program, which seeks to assist developers who have been historically excluded or overlooked.
The free, four-month program will provide developers with training, technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and potential pathways for financing.
The Austin region continues to grow, but that growth has also led to rising housing costs, pushed longtime residents out of the city, and contributed to low rates of homeownership and business ownership in communities of color. Helping small-scale Austin real estate developers can also help close wealth gaps while bringing more affordable housing and investment into historically underserved communities.
These funds will be used to provide loans, grants, and development services to developers of color who build rental housing in disinvested communities across the United States
APRIL 14, 2023 (Arlington, VA) – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) has announced that Capital Impact Partners was awarded a $4.95 million grant through the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program.
The CDFI Equitable Recovery Program will strengthen the ability of CDFIs to ensure that low- and moderate-income communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in long-term prosperity. The CDFI Fund awarded $1.73 billion to 603 organizations nationwide.
“This award will help us address the decreased access to affordable housing for low-income families, a problem that has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Mindy Christensen, senior vice president of community development real estate for Capital Impact Partners. “With these funds, we can expand our strategy of creating more affordable housing while also building up the capacity of local real estate developers of color.”
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.”
