Impact Investing

Impact investing refers to the practice of investing in projects that are intended to generate a financial return as well as a tangible social or community benefit. Since launching CFL Impact Capital in 2014, the Community Foundation of Louisville has been making loans that are invested in high-impact projects to create positive social impact alongside financial returns. Unlike grants, CFL Impact Capital loans are intended to be repaid to the Foundation and can be “recycled” back into the community through additional loans or grants.  We invite individuals interested in creating deeper social impact to join the Foundation as loan participants through CFL Impact Capital. Visit Mission Investors Exchange for more information on the national landscape for Impact Investing.

Learn More

Want to know about CFL Impact Capital's efforts in our community? Whether you are a nonprofit considering alternate ways to fund a new project or a donor looking for an interesting way to deploy your charitable capital, check out what we've been up to. We'd love for you to join us in this work.

Our Portfolio

Access Ventures

The Community Foundation of Louisville extended a loan to Access Ventures. The loan will support their Growth Loan lending pool for small businesses, prioritizing applicants with lower household income and those that are women and minority owned.

AMPED

The Community Foundation of Louisville extended a loan to AMPED. The loan will support redevelopment of the building at 2500 W. Broadway into the Innovation Center, establishing a Black-led center for artists, entrepreneurs, and youth and their families.

Community Ventures

The Community Foundation extended a loan to Community Ventures that provided a portion of the financing for the acquisition and renovation of the former Jay’s Cafeteria at 1812 West Muhammad Ali Boulevard in West Louisville.  The result is Chef Space, Louisville’s first kitchen incubator. This vibrant space supports emerging caterers, bakers and food truck operators by providing high quality commercial kitchen space, mentoring and advising, and connections to potential customers and locations as the food entrepreneurs “graduate” into the Greater Louisville market. This loan produced its intended social impact, matured, and was successfully repaid in 2020!

Day Spring Community Living

The Community Foundation extended a loan to Day Spring Community Living. This loan will allow the organization to complete the renovations to a newly acquired building that will serve as the administrative and program offices for the new entity – a recent merger of two local nonprofits, Day Spring and Community Living, that serve adults with developmental disabilities.

Harbor House

CFL Impact Capital extended a loan to support Harbor House’s Intergenerational Life Center, an innovative, first of its kind center that will expand this nonprofit’s reach to include senior citizens, children, and people with disabilities at their southwest Jefferson County location. This loan matured and was successfully repaid in 2021.

Housing Partnership Inc.

CFL Impact Capital established a loan to the Housing Partnership Inc. (HPI) – a nonprofit affordable housing developer serving Jefferson County, Kentucky –  to support affordable housing development related to their Beyond 9th Initiative. The project supported will result in 60 single-family homes which will be sold to purchasers with incomes between 50%-80% of Area Median Income.

Jewish Family & Career Services - Navigate Enterprise Center

CFL Impact Capital is extending a loan to Jewish Family & Career Services for the purposes of continuing small business micro-lending through the Navigate Enterprise Center. This loan is comprised of an extension of a CFL Impact loan made in 2014 and an additional infusion of loan capital to fuel entrepreneurs from underinvested communities. 

LHOME

The Community Foundation extended a loan to LHOME. The loan will support an increase in lending activity for the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) to make financial products and services accessible to low-moderate income residents.

New Directions Housing Corporation

The Community Foundation extended a loan to New Directions Housing Corporation to strengthen the facilities and operations of the St. Benedict Center for Early Childhood Education in Louisville’s California neighborhood. This loan is expected to assist the organization as it increases the number of children it is able to serve.

Portland Investment Initiative

The Community Foundation extended a loan to Rowan Downstream, on behalf of the Portland Investment Initiative, to transform a vacant 60,000 square foot warehouse in Louisville’s Portland neighborhood into a home for the University of Louisville’s Master of Fine Arts and Archaeology programs.  This investment will help turn a blighted building into a vibrant anchor institution in West Louisville.

Portland Works

The Community Foundation of Louisville extended a loan to Portland Works, LLC. The loan will support the creation of an automotive training facility within their building located in the East Portland Warehouse District.

River City Housing

The Community Foundation extended a loan to River City Housing. This loan was used to acquire, renovate and sell 7 single-family homes in the Shively / Cane Run area to families with modest incomes. Efficient construction management and the demand for affordable homes allowed River City Housing to renovate and sell the homes more quickly than anticipated. We celebrate our first fully repaid loan!

Volunteers of America Mid-States

The Community Foundation extended a loan to Volunteers of America Mid-States, helping to turn multi-year capital campaign pledges into cash that can be used immediately for renovations and start-up costs for a second location of Freedom House.  Freedom House is a residential, addiction treatment program for parenting and pregnant women.

YouthBuild Louisville

The Community Foundation extended a loan to YouthBuild Louisville. This loan will fund part of the costs associated with the expansion of YouthBuild Louisville’s facility in the Smoketown neighborhood, increasing the building size from 5,000 square feet to 13,000 square feet.

Know of a local organization that could benefit from an impact investment? Call us.

Chelsea VanHook
Chelsea VanHook
Senior Program Officer, Community Investment
502.855.6982
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