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Capital for Change Inc., a Wallingford-based community development financial institution, has received $2 million from the impact investing platform CNote to fund affordable housing, small business and energy efficiency projects in Connecticut.
Capital for Change provides financial products and services to underserved populations in Connecticut, including low- and moderate-income individuals as well as minority and other underserved individuals, businesses and communities.
“We’re honored to receive CNote’s financial support for our mission and to be welcomed into their network of like-minded organizations,” Capital for Change CEO Cal Vinal said in a statement. “We believe this partnership will help fulfill both organizations’ goals while helping many people in underserved communities throughout Connecticut.”
The California-based CNote was founded in 2016 by Catherine Berman and Yuliya Tarasava to close the wealth gap. Individuals and institutions invest in the CNote platform, which uses technology to identify community investments that will generate economic mobility and financial inclusion.
The money invested on CNote’s platform funds affordable housing, economic development in financially underserved communities, and small businesses owned by women and people of color.
“Capital for Change has a deep history of community advancement, and traces its roots to fighting for civil rights and affordable housing in the 1960s,” Berman, CNote’s CEO, said in the statement. “We’re excited to highlight our newest CNote partner and their deep commitment to affordable housing development, environmentally conscious investment, and community development.”
Charles Bodie, Capital for Change’s director of finance and reporting, said CNote’s investment would be “perfect” for pre-development or small business loans in the CDFI’s lending pipeline.
“CNote serves as a capital source for community development financial institutions by enabling socially-minded investors to invest directly into organizations like Capital for Change,” Bodie said. “This new and flexible funding stream directly supports our mission.”
He added that the funding would support projects bolstering affordable housing, small businesses and energy efficiency in Connecticut.
“Sometimes those loans can be long-term – such as 10 to 20 years on housing – and some short-term – up to three years for lines of credit to business or for construction loans for housing,” Bodie said. “These funds are ideal to support the immediate short-term needs for all of our mission-driven lending in Connecticut.”
Capital for Change was created in 2016 through the merger of the Community Capital Fund, Connecticut Housing Investment Fund and the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund. Through those organizations, Capital for Change has invested more than $425 million statewide since 1968.
