Ellis Carr of Momentus Capital Named “Nonprofit Leader of the Year” by the Washington Business Journal

December 9, 2022 (Arlington, VA/San Diego, CA) – Ellis Carr, the president and CEO of the Momentus Capital branded family of companies, has been named “Nonprofit Leader of the Year” by the Washington Business Journal.

The Washington Business Journal’s annual CEO of the Year awards highlight top leaders in the area that have demonstrated great innovation, strength and perseverance while also maintaining a commitment to the community.

“I am honored to be recognized on behalf of the important and innovative work that my colleagues do in the Washington Metro area and throughout the country,” said Mr. Carr. “What we do is really about giving someone a fair and equitable opportunity. An opportunity to fulfill their dreams for themselves and their community, an opportunity to build a life for their family, in a community that has the resources they need to thrive. That’s the work that we’re doing here, and that’s our reason for being, and that’s what we should always be striving for.”

In 2022, Mr. Carr oversaw the launch of the Momentus Capital family of companies – which includes Capital Impact Partners, CDC Small Business Finance, and Ventures Lending Technologies, among other independent companies.

Mr. Carr has been the president and CEO of Capital Impact since 2016 and was also named the CEO of CDC Small Business Finance in 2021.

By bringing these companies together with one shared vision and mission, they will be able to achieve much more, and much faster, than they could working as separate entities.

The financial sector can play a greater role in helping build inclusive and equitable communities – by providing people with access to the capital and opportunities they deserve. Under the Momentus Capital umbrella, the family of companies will work holistically, and more deeply, to drive significant change that can help communities achieve the visions they have for themselves. At the center of this work: a focus on racial equity and those who have been overlooked, ignored, or systematically excluded from the current system.

“The biggest shift there is we don’t come in with a prescription of what communities need. We adopt a servant-leader mentality by going in and asking questions, being humble and empathetic and actively listening to support the communities’ visions they have for themselves, not necessarily our view,” Mr. Carr said. “We have built an organization all about listening, understanding, and building partnerships with communities and entrepreneurs that best serve their needs.”

To achieve that shared vision and mission, Momentus Capital is uniquely positioned to provide entrepreneurs and local leaders at every stage of their growth with a continuum of capital and opportunities under one roof. These key resources that address the challenges of — and support the solutions for — underestimated communities include:

• Financial capital: a range of flexible debt and equity products to meet Momentus Capital’s partners’ needs, as well as access to new markets and potential investors
• Knowledge capital: business advising, assistance, and training to develop the skills and insights that can help partners advance their enterprises
• Social capital: connections to networks and people that can help Momentus Capital’s partners succeed

In DC and nationally, Momentus Capital is rethinking its credit parameters and developing new lending, grants, and investing products to create more equitable access to capital for borrowers and projects who have traditionally been denied. Momentus Capital further enhances its lending with programs that solve for systemic issues through training, mentorship and network building. And it works with local, regional and national stakeholders — including community-led groups, government agencies, nonprofits, and businesses.

Among the recent programs and initiatives from the Momentus Capital branded family of companies:

• Working with Macy’s, Inc. to deploy $200 million for the retailer’s S.P.U.R. Pathways initiative, a multiyear, multifaceted funding program to advance entrepreneurial growth, close wealth gaps, and shatter systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned and underrepresented businesses.
• Activate Detroit, a new loan product that is empowering Black entrepreneurs by focusing on character-based evaluations, rather than credit scores.
• Impower, which helps business owners who have been denied for a commercial real estate loan, assisting them with the opportunity to build wealth, create jobs and stay in the communities they serve.
• The Equitable Development Initiative, Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship, and Growing Diverse Housing Developers, all of which provide training, mentorship, connections, and pathways to financing for developers of color, helping them overcome racial barriers and systemic issues.
• Expanding access to Ventures+, a proprietary loan processing and portfolio management tool that has become one of the top resources for small business and community lenders. This has helped other local lenders create an impact in their communities by providing access to high-level services they would otherwise be unlikely to manage on their own.
• Coming Soon! We are developing an investment bank to better connect investors with community organizations through community-centric securities offerings.

Mr. Carr is part of a prestigious class. His fellow honorees at the December 8 event in Washington, D.C., included:

• CEO of the Year: Sheila Johnson —  Founder and CEO, Salamander Hotels & Resorts; Vice Chairman and Partner, Monumental Sports & Entertainment; President and Managing Partner, Washington Mystics
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Marriott — chairman emeritus, Marriott International Inc.
• Small Business Leader of the Year: Margarita Womack — CEO, Mas Panadas
• C-Suite Leadership Award: Mike King — Chief Growth Officer, Peraton
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion: Irma Becerra — President, Marymount University
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion: Bo Menkiti — CEO, The Menkiti Group
• Nonprofit Leader of the Year (co-winner): Mike Curtin Jr. — CEO, DC Central Kitchen

This is the latest recognition for Momentus Capital in 2022:

• Earlier this year, Fast Company named Mr. Carr to that publication’s 14th annual list of the Most Creative People in Business.
• Momentus Capital was nominated to the Washington Business Journal’s Inno on Fire awards for helping to fuel the region’s economy.
• CDC Small Business Finance finished Fiscal Year 2022 as the foremost SBA 504 and Community Advantage lender in the United States.
• Team members Ken Rosenthal and Stacey Sanchez received two top honors from Coleman Report as the leading banking publication’s SBA Business Development Officers of the Year.
• The NonProfit Times named Capital Impact Partners as one of the best nonprofits to work for.