Community Vision Capital and Consulting

What Community Vision Capital and Consulting does

Community Vision Capital and Consulting is a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) headquartered in San Francisco, California, founded in 1987 as the Northern California Community Loan Fund and rebranded in 2025. The organization provides flexible, below-market financing and culturally centered real estate and financial management advising to mission-driven nonprofits, community land trusts, community development corporations, and BIPOC developers across California, with the goal of advancing community ownership of community assets such as affordable housing, health clinics, cultural centers, and community facilities. Since founding, Community Vision has deployed more than $635 million in financing across 600+ transactions, leveraged an additional $3.3 billion in private investment, and distributed more than $39 million in grants to advance racial and economic equity in California's historically disinvested communities.

The organization's core product surface is organized around three integrated pillars — Lending, Advising, and Investing — supported by a free public Resource Hub. The lending pillar is the dominant revenue and capital-deployment engine: a $145M+ loan fund (with individual Note investments starting at $1,000 and institutional prospectus-based offerings), a 0% interest Bay Area Racial Equity Fund (BayREF) program for BIPOC-led organizations, and $293M in cumulative New Markets Tax Credit allocation authority across eight federal awards. The advising pillar includes one-on-one real estate and financial management engagements, short-form Rapid Response Calls, and two flagship sub-programs — CREATE (Community Real Estate – Arts to Equity) and CalCORE (California Community-Owned Real Estate), a cohort-based program co-convened with Genesis LA and backed by US Bank to deploy $40-50M in pre-development financing. The investing pillar channels capital from individual and institutional mission-aligned investors (Calvert Impact, Religious Communities Impact Fund, Mercy Investment Services, US Bank, Adrian Dominican Sisters) into the loan fund. The technology stack is conventional: Salesforce CRM, TFA Forms, Funraise for donations, Google Analytics, and Zoom. The organization has 28-30 staff, a 100% historical investor repayment rate, an AERIS rating, and a Candid Guidestar transparency seal, and is governed by a Board chaired by Anita Addison. Catherine Howard, a 25+ year veteran of the organization, has served as President since May 2021.

Name

Community Vision Capital and Consulting

Legal name

Community Vision Capital and Consulting

Website

https://communityvisionca.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Vision is a federally certified CDFI that provides flexible below-market lending, real estate and financial management advising, and impact investing products to California nonprofits, community land trusts, and BIPOC developers to advance community ownership of affordable housing, health, and cultural facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Finance

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

Keywords

• Community development lending
• Nonprofit real estate financing
• New Markets Tax Credits
• CDFI lending services
• Community-owned real estate

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Loan Fund Interest & Origination Revenue: Community Vision operates a $145M+ loan fund generating interest income from flexible, below-market loans to nonprofits and social enterprises for purchasing, preserving, and developing social purpose real estate. Investments from individuals (minimum $1,000) and institutions capitalize the fund. The organization maintains a 100% repayment rate to investors.
2. Grants and Philanthropic Contributions: Major grant from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving of $15 million (October 2024). Additional revenue from individual donations, donor-advised funds, and other foundations, plus more than $39 million in cumulative grants distributed to community partners.
3. New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Allocation Revenue: CDFI Fund NMTC allocation fees and leverage from deploying $293 million in cumulative NMTC allocation authority across California projects. NMTC was made permanent in the U.S. tax code via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
4. Advising and Technical Assistance Services: Revenue from culturally centered real estate and financial management advising engagements with nonprofits and community-rooted organizations at every project stage. CalCORE pre-development financing and BayREF financial management advising are also part of this stream.
5. Individual and Institutional Donations: Donation processing through Funraise (third-party platform) for unrestricted contributions supporting operations, staff, and community relationships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Community Vision is a federally certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides flexible, below-market real estate loans, culturally centered real estate and financial management advising, and a Note program investment product to California-based nonprofits, community land trusts, BIPOC developers, and social enterprises. Its work is structured around three integrated pillars — Lending, Advising, and Investing — supported by specialized sub-programs (CalCORE, BayREF, CREATE) and a free Resource Hub of educational content.

Product overview

Community Vision Capital and Consulting is a California-based Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) operating as a single unified service organization rather than a multi-product software platform. Its core offerings are organized around three integrated pillars — Lending, Advising, and Investing — that work together to deploy capital and build capacity for nonprofit organizations and community-owned real estate projects. Under Lending, the organization delivers flexible nonprofit loans through programs including the Bay Area Racial Equity Fund (BayREF) zero-interest lending and the federally allocated New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program. Under Advising, the organization delivers one-on-one Advising Services, short-form Rapid Response Calls (technical assistance), and two flagship sub-programs — CREATE (Community Real Estate – Arts to Equity) and CalCORE (California Community-Owned Real Estate). The Investing pillar channels mission-aligned capital from individuals and institutions alongside the CDFI's lending activities. Supporting these three pillars is the Resource Hub, a free public-facing knowledge library that houses tools, templates, guides, and the Real Estate Readiness Toolkit learning series. The portfolio is unified by a single Theory of Change and an underlying commitment to advancing racial and economic equity through community-owned real estate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CalCORE (California Community-Owned Real Estate): A program that trains and finances community land trusts and local developers to expand shared ownership of real estate in California.
• BayREF (Bay Area Racial Equity Fund)
• CREATE (Community Real Estate – Arts to Equity)

Products and services

• Lending Flexible, below-market CDFI loans for California-based nonprofit organizations and social enterprises, including predevelopment, acquisition, construction, and bridge financing for social purpose real estate.
• Advising Services One-on-one culturally centered real estate and financial management advising for nonprofit organizations, helping clients build capacity, navigate complex transactions, and strengthen organizational readiness for community real estate projects.
• Rapid Response Calls (Technical Assistance) Short, focused technical assistance engagements providing nonprofits with quick expert guidance on targeted real estate, financial management, or organizational development questions.
• CREATE (Community Real Estate – Arts to Equity) Arts and culture-focused real estate program that supports arts organizations and cultural spaces in advancing equity through community-owned real estate models.
• CalCORE (California Community-Owned Real Estate) Field-building initiative advancing community-owned real estate practice across California, including pre-development financing backed by US Bank and cohort convenings with Genesis LA, with plans to deploy $40-50 million.
• Investing (Note Program) Values-aligned investment opportunities for individuals (minimum $1,000) and institutions to deploy capital alongside Community Vision's CDFI lending activities supporting mission-aligned nonprofit lending and community-owned real estate development across California.
• Real Estate Readiness Toolkit Free self-paced learning series with short videos paired with downloadable tools that help nonprofits assess readiness, plan facility needs, and take action on community-owned real estate.
• Bay Area Racial Equity Fund (BayREF) Bay Area Racial Equity Fund (BayREF) offering 0% interest loans combined with free financial management advising to dismantle capital access barriers for BIPOC-led organizations.
• New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program Federal New Markets Tax Credit allocation program administered through Community Vision as a designated NMTC allocatee, channeling private investment capital into low-income communities across California for community development and job creation.

Quantifiable outcome

• $32 million in loans deployed across 34 deals in 2024 to minority-led community organizations in California.
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers48 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered long-time individual investors (30+ years), individual investor, individual investors, core programmatic co-developer, summit co-presenter, core advocacy coalition, core federal advocacy coalition, webinar featured speaker/partner, standard third-party donations processor, standard web analytics provider, standard event platform, standard social plugin, flagship co-acquisition partner, core state-level program partner and policy/regulatory stakeholder.

• Bill and Victoria Brucknerlong-time individual investors (30+ years)OthersIndividuals investing in Community Vision's Note program for more than 30 years since the early 1990s, featured in an investor spotlight. Their investment represents a portion of the nearly quarter of loan capital that comes from individual investors.
• Nicole Middleton Hollowayindividual investorOthersFeatured in a September 2022 Investor Spotlight on Community Vision's website, highlighting her support of community-led organizations.
• Ilana Schatz and David Lingrenindividual investorsOthersFeatured in an April 2023 Investor Spotlight on Community Vision's website, highlighting their personal mission-aligned investment approach.
• Genesis LAcore programmatic co-developerStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-convenor of the CalCORE (California Community-Owned Real Estate) program with Community Vision. Together they have convened multiple cohorts (e.g., 27 groups in Fresno in 2022, the third cohort in Los Angeles in 2023, 2024 Fresno Convening, 2025 convening in Los Angeles) supporting BIPOC-led and community-based developers.
• Community Spaces Networksummit co-presenterStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presents the Social Purpose Real Estate (SPRE) Summit with Community Vision, including the 2025 SPRE Summit in Los Angeles.
• California Coalition for Community Investment (CalCCI)core advocacy coalitionGTM or Marketing PartnerStatewide coalition of more than 50 CDFIs advocating for equitable access to capital in California. Community Vision's VP of Development and VP of Program Strategy participate in CalCCI's annual CDFI Advocacy Day at the State Capitol, meeting with state legislators to support programs like Cal IIP.
• Rise Economycore federal advocacy coalitionGTM or Marketing PartnerHosts a federal CDFI advocacy delegation. Community Vision's President Catherine Howard joined the Rise Economy delegation in Washington, D.C., meeting with the Federal Reserve, Representative Young Kim, Housing Financial Services staff, and offices of Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff to discuss the CDFI Fund and Community Reinvestment Act.
• Equity Community Builderswebinar featured speaker/partnerOthersFeatured speaker organization in the July 1, 2026 webinar 'How to Use New Markets Tax Credits for Your Nonprofit Facility Project' on creative NMTC financing strategies.
• Goldfarb & Lipman LLPwebinar featured speaker/partnerOthersFeatured speaker law firm in the July 1, 2026 webinar 'How to Use New Markets Tax Credits for Your Nonprofit Facility Project' on creative NMTC financing strategies.
• Funraisestandard third-party donations processorTechnology or IntegrationThird-party service provider that hosts and operates Community Vision's donation page. Collects personal and payment information to process donations on behalf of Community Vision.
• Google Analyticsstandard web analytics providerTechnology or IntegrationProvides website analytics to Community Vision, including visitor, session, and campaign data; the Site uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and store device and use information.
• Zoomstandard event platformTechnology or IntegrationThird-party event provider used for event registration, collecting personal information that is shared with Community Vision for follow-up.
• LinkedInstandard social pluginTechnology or IntegrationSocial plugin integrated into the Site; users can like/follow Community Vision on LinkedIn, and the plugin sets cookies and transmits personal information to LinkedIn.
• Facebookstandard social pluginTechnology or IntegrationSocial plugin integrated into the Site; users can like/follow Community Vision on Facebook, and the plugin sets cookies and transmits personal information to Facebook.
• Instagramstandard social pluginTechnology or IntegrationSocial plugin integrated into the Site; users can like/follow Community Vision on Instagram, and the plugin sets cookies and transmits personal information to Instagram.
• YouTubestandard social pluginTechnology or IntegrationSocial plugin integrated into the Site; users can like/follow Community Vision on YouTube, and the plugin sets cookies and transmits personal information to YouTube.
• Community Media Arts, Inc. (CMA)flagship co-acquisition partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership between Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) and KALW Public Media that received $7.3M in below-market acquisition financing from Community Vision to purchase the historic Warfield Building in San Francisco's Mid-Market neighborhood. The transaction preserved 48,000 sq ft for community-serving arts and media organizations.
• California Investment & Innovation Program (Cal IIP)core state-level program partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerState program that partners with CDFIs to unlock private investment. For every $1 invested by the state, CDFIs leverage private investment to drive up to $8 into California's economy. Community Vision actively advocates for renewal of Cal IIP and is among the program partners.
• U.S. Federal Reserve / Federal Reserve Bank of San Franciscopolicy/regulatory stakeholderStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Vision's President joined the Rise Economy delegation to meet with Federal Reserve staff to underscore the importance of continued Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) enforcement. Catherine Howard also completed the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Community Development Banking School.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF): San Francisco-based CDFI providing flexible financing and capacity-building advisory to nonprofits and social enterprises for community real estate, affordable housing, and human services facilities — directly comparable to Community Vision on geography, mission, products, and customer base.
• Capital Impact Partners (now Affirm Capital Impact): National CDFI offering below-market loans, NMTC allocation, and advisory to mission-driven organizations for community-owned real estate, cooperatives, and social enterprises — closely aligned with Community Vision's lending + advising + NMTC model.
• Calvert Impact Capital: National CDFI and major institutional investor in Community Vision's loan fund ($5M); operates a large impact debt capital pool for community development — comparable product (CDFI note program) and overlapping investor base.
• Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF): National CDFI providing flexible loans, lines of credit, and advising to nonprofits, including for real estate acquisition and capacity building — directly comparable to Community Vision's lending + advising model across similar nonprofit customer segments.
• IFF (formerly Illinois Facilities Fund): Regional CDFI providing real estate financing and advising to nonprofits, schools, and child care providers — directly comparable to Community Vision's nonprofit real estate lending + advising model, though focused on the Midwest.
• Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI): Maine-based CDFI combining business lending, real estate financing, and advising for community-based organizations and social enterprises — comparable integrated CDFI model to Community Vision, though regional in scope.
• Capital for Change: Connecticut-based CDFI providing affordable loans, NMTC allocation, and advising for community development projects — directly comparable CDFI product mix and mission; Community Vision board member Bhavani Daryanani previously served as Interim CFO at Capital for Change.
• Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation: Los Angeles-based CDFI that co-convenes the CalCORE program with Community Vision — comparable CDFI real estate lending, NMTC structuring, and community developer cohort model in California.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): One of the largest U.S. CDFIs with broad community development lending, NMTC allocation, and a Bay Area presence — comparable product set but at much greater scale and broader geographic mandate.

Others

• Opportunity Finance Network (OFN): National CDFI industry association of which Community Vision is a member — not a direct peer but a coordinating ecosystem body, comparable in CDFI policy advocacy and field-building role alongside CalCCI and Rise Economy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-vision-capital-consulting
• Xx.com/CommVisionCA
• Facebookfacebook.com/CommunityVisionCA

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Vision Capital and Consulting