If you have money at a community development bank or credit union, then you are a community investor. The mission of these banks and credit unions is to invest in their communities. 

When you open a checking or savings account, certificate of deposit, or money market account with a community development bank or credit union, you are helping them support projects that build healthy communities – and your accounts are federally insured up to $250,000. 

An example is Hope Credit Union’s Transformational Deposit, used to build financial health for families across the deep South through homeownership, entrepreneurship, education, health, climate resiliency, and more in one of the nation’s most economically distressed regions.   

Find a community development bank or credit union in your area on Green America’s Get a Better Bank Map.

Community development loan funds are a special type of CDFI that provides low-cost financing to businesses, organizations, and individuals in underserved communities. When you invest in a CDLF, you may be helping a developer build affordable housing or a first-time entrepreneur start a local business.

Investments in CDLFs usually start at $1,000. Interest rates are at or below market, and your money may be tied up for one to three years. These loan funds are not federally insured, but they use grant money and loss reserves to help protect individual investors.

You can find a CDLF in your area from Opportunity Finance Network’s CDFI Locator – search for Loan Fund and the area served.

Impact notes are pooled funds that support community development. One of the oldest is Calvert Impact’s Community Investment Note, which allows investors to start with as little as $20, with returns of 3.5% to 5%.

Since its inception in 1995, the Community Investment Note has raised over $2.6 billion from 20,000 investors to fund small business, renewable energy, affordable housing, sustainable agriculture and more.

In 2023, Calvert Impact introduced the Cut Carbon Note to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy in commercial buildings, with the goal of measurably reducing carbon emissions.

Other examples of impact funds and notes include:

• CNote’s Flagship Fund, which works through CDFIs to support small business, affordable housing, and sustainable growth. 4% return, no minimum investment, 30-month term.

• Capital Impact Investment Notes, which has invested $3.2 billion in community health centers, charter schools, healthy food retailers, and affordable housing developers nationwide. $1,000 minimum, fixed interest rates, terms up to 20 years.

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Impact Notes, which finance community and economic development projects in 37 cities and 2400 rural counties in 49 states. $1,000 minimum, fixed interest rates, terms of 1 to 15 years.

• Local or state pooled funds such as the Chicago Community Loan Fund or California Community Vision. Terms vary; look for these funds in your area.