These investments will help companies grow and create impact in their communities, filling a crucial gap in the CDFI space while taking a different approach than traditional venture capital.

NOVEMBER 16, 2022 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – The Momentus Capital branded family of companies is proud to launch its Impact Investments line of business to jumpstart growth-stage, for-profit businesses that are creating social impact. These investments will focus on companies with diverse leadership and/or are operating in communities of color.

Many of these companies need something other than traditional debt — so that they can instead concentrate their resources on growing their enterprises. However, those opportunities are often not available. For example, less than 1% of venture capital funding nationally goes to Black founders. And equity investments make up less than 2% of CDFI portfolios in the United States.

“As a mission-focused organization, we provide support in a way that helps owners maintain control over their companies. We work alongside these owners to help them grow — seeking a modest, short-term return while enabling owners to maximize their impact within the community through economic growth and job creation,” said Raymond Guthrie, chief investment officer and head of capital deployment for the Momentus Capital branded family of companies, which includes CDC Small Business Finance, Capital Impact Partners, and Ventures Lending Technologies, among other independent companies. 

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Momentus Capital is proud to announce that it is working with Macy’s, Inc. on S.P.U.R. Pathways: Shared Purpose, Unlimited Reach — a multiyear, multifaceted funding program to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps, and shatter systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned and underrepresented businesses.

This innovative effort advances a longstanding Macy’s, Inc. commitment to underrepresented businesses and aims to galvanize the retail industry to invest in the next generation of entrepreneurs.

It features a comprehensive range of financing options, from growth equity capital to loans for working capital and commercial real estate. Additionally, this effort will provide a full suite of educational resources, fueling a holistic supplier ecosystem and acting as a catalyst for outsized growth.

The program is another example of how the Momentus Capital family of organizations — which includes Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance, and Ventures Lending Technologies — looks for innovative ways to offer a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital to help local leaders build inclusive and equitable communities and create generational wealth.

Read the full press release on the Momentus Capital website.

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This award will spur projects that increase access to social services in disinvested communities.

OCTOBER 28, 2022 (Arlington, VA) – Capital Impact Partners has been awarded a $55 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund). These tax credits incentivize private sector investors to partner in community financing efforts.

“This award will help advance our mission to increase access to critical social services in disinvested communities, spur economic development and wealth creation, and create jobs,” said Raymond Guthrie, chief investment officer and head of capital deployment for Capital Impact Partners. “We are grateful that the CDFI Fund has again recognized our proven track record of working with communities to uplift their needs and solutions, and working alongside the private investors who help make that possible. It further enhances our ability to provide a continuum of financial, knowledge, and social capital.”

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The eighth annual Co-op Innovation Awards supported five organizations’ work in California, Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.

September 28, 2022 (Arlington, VA) – Five innovative ideas in five cities have received a combined $170,000 in early-stage grant funding from Capital Impact Partners’ 2022 Co-op Innovation Awards, which aim to increase cooperative development in communities of color and communities living with low incomes. 

This year’s awards, issued by Capital Impact Partners and National Cooperative Bank, are funding projects such as enabling Cambodian refugees to have permanent affordable housing; keeping a neighborhood safe so that families and businesses can thrive; creating an online marketplace for street food vendors; teaching skilled laborers how to become upholsterers; and helping a housing cooperative move toward sustainable growth. 

These worker, housing, and food co-ops are innovating programs or strategies to offer workers, especially workers of color, an alternative to extractive systems. 

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Developers of color have historically faced significant barriers resulting from generations of structural racism and disinvestment. This investment will go toward Momentus Capital’s efforts to help developers grow their businesses.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2022 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Momentus Capital announced today that U.S. Bank has purchased a $5 million Racial Equity Bond from Capital Impact Partners, part of the Momentus Capital family of companies. It is the first time that Capital Impact Partners has offered a bond like this; the use of funds is restricted to ensure investors' funds go to developers of color and the work is achieving its intended racial equity impact.

This investment will help support Momentus Capital’s continued work toward helping real estate developers of color in an industry where they are starkly underrepresented to create generational wealth, construct developments that are aligned with community needs, and build more affordable housing.

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