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 2015. The report indicated that the state’s poverty rate was 20.6 percent—well above the national rate of 15.1 percent—and surpassed the rates of every other state in the nation.
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 felt the American Dream had passed them by.
We have had a strong year in our lending work, where many of our newest initiatives gained momentum and had tremendous impact in the communities we serve. As witnessed in our 2016 Annual Report, we delivered $118 million in financing through our core lending work that supported community-based health care, high-performing charter schools, innovative approaches to services for seniors, mixed-income housing and access to fresh, healthy foods.
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 $42 million or 15%.
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 this country.
While we continue to make meaningful progress, the results of our Presidential election highlighted incredibly important issues. Individuals across this country – on both sides of the political aisle – made clear their feelings of disenfranchisement. These concerns about equity, opportunity, and access to quality social services touch all of us.
It is certainly a sentiment we share, and one that we’ve been working to address for the past three decades. Yet, as the political landscape changes and policies evolve, we must continue to challenge ourselves to find new ways to push farther and go deeper.
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 rate was just 0.4 percent. Once again, our focus on financial strength and social impact was rewarded with AERIS’ highest possible rating of AAA+1. This honor pleases us greatly.
Top-line revenue continued to grow as well. Net income rose by $11 million—a year-over-year increase of 213 percent. Net assets saw an expected decline as a result of launching our Green House and Cornerstone Partnership programs and the accompanied grant revenue that was used to fund those activities.
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 2014 level—a success that we celebrate in the present as we look ahead to new levels of accomplishment. This level of lending volume is a source of strength as it supports our organization financially while simultaneously reinforcing communities with increased access to critical housing, services and employment opportunities.
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 financial position, deep partnerships, and innovative product development. We provided ongoing leadership in the health care space, helped a number of charter schools expand their educational offerings, and saw several of our projects come online across Detroit. We also launched two new lending initiatives that will expand access to healthy foods and support age-friendly communities.
For many of us, a weekend trip to the grocery store or farmers market to buy fresh produce is such a regular part of our routine that it hardly merits a second thought. But for many others, access to fresh produce may be an hour-long bus ride away. A balanced diet is necessary for health and wellness, but not everyone has access to good nutrition. More than 23 million Americans live in areas where fresh food isn’t easily accessible, and many are residents of inner city, underserved communities.
ding work, where many of our newest initiatives gained momentum and had tremendous impact in the communities we serve. As witnessed in our 
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 rate was just 0.4 percent. Once again, our focus on 
