In Memoriam: Capital Impact Mourns the Loss of Charles Snyder of National Cooperative Bank

On behalf of the entire team at Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, I want to express my deepest sorrow at the passing of Chuck Snyder.

Chuck joined the National Cooperative Bank (NCB) in 1983 before being named as President and CEO in 1992. The organization that came to be known as Capital Impact was originally created as a division of NCB in 1982, which means that Chuck has been a part of our journey since the very beginning.

His passion and tireless efforts to support the cooperative movement were immeasurable. In addition to his own role at NCB, Chuck sat on numerous boards for co-op organizations. This included serving on Capital Impact’s board from 2010 to 2018. 

Chuck openly shared his experiences, and the guidance and counsel he provided as a colleague, a board member, and a friend helped strengthen Capital Impact’s own efforts to support cooperatives. We will remember how incredibly supportive he was of our desire to grow the business to help more people through cooperatives and other community development efforts. This included our most recent partnership with NCB around the Co-op Innovation Award, supporting the next generation of cooperative leaders.

That dedication resulted in Chuck receiving the Jerry Voorhis Award, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives’ most prestigious honor. He was then inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame and this video serves as a wonderful tribute to his body of work.

This is a considerable loss for those of us in the cooperative and mission-driven lending spaces, but the memory of what he has helped accomplish serves as an inspiration for all of us looking forward.

Chuck also was a strong believer in family and he constantly reminded me to put family first, always. Please join me in offering thoughts and prayers to his wife and two daughters.