Impact Capital Goes Public with Fundraising Campaign

Impact Capital Goes Public with Fundraising Campaign
Announces $17.5 Million Stretch Goal

Impact Capital announced Tuesday that it has secured pledges totaling $13,453,700 towards its $13,500,000 fundraising goal. With 99.66% of its goal raised during the quiet phase, the campaign’s leaders announced a stretch goal of $17,500,000 – and they expect to surpass that milestone as well.

On a cold and rainy evening, over 200 attendees gathered at Bell Harbor International Conference Center to discuss the housing crisis in Washington State and to learn more about what Impact Capital is doing about it. Michael Brown, Impact Capital Board President, and Mark Flynn, Impact Capital Executive Director, opened the program with some staggering statistics.

“The median home price in King County jumped 16% to $381,000 in September, a $51,000 increase over last September,” Flynn said. “Prices jumped almost 19% in Spokane, almost 21% in Vancouver, 20% in Tacoma and 17% in Everett.”

The supportive crowd also heard presentations from the campaign’s top leaders:

Bill Longbrake started the presentation with an overview of the community development industry and the impressive track record of Impact Capital from its start as Seattle LISC in 1982. Since inception, “Impact Capital has financed over 12,000 units of affordable housing and over 1.1 million square feet of community and commercial space,” he said. “That early-stage financing leveraged over $1.5 billion dollars into communities across Washington.”

Gary Oakland followed Longbrake with an explanation of why his credit union – the largest in the state and the sixth largest in the country – had made a seven-figure commitment. “Number one, it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “There are literally tens of thousands of Washington families that do not live in affordable housing at this time.

Number two,” he continued, “is that it makes good business sense.” He then referenced a recent Seattle Times article about GiftCertificate.com’s decision to relocate their company from Seattle to Omaha, NE in large part because of skyrocketing real estate prices and its impact on salaries. Eliminating those salaries also eliminates their spending activity, and that goes straight to the bottom line of businesses throughout the Puget Sound.

Cynthia Parker and Heyward Watson then took the stage to update the crowd on the campaign’s purpose and success. They described the statewide feasibility study conducted in 2004 and the ensuing decision by the board to launch Impact Washington, a three-year, $13.5 million initiative to finance the production of 4,000 units of housing and 400,000 square feet of community and commercial space.

Before announcing their pledge total, Parker and Watson named the 24 initial investors:

AmericanWest Bank
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Bank of America
Banner Bank
BECU
The Boeing Company
Eric & Hannah Sachs Foundation
Fannie Mae
Fannie Mae Foundation
Foster, Pepper & Shefelman
KeyBank
LISC
Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Seattle Foundation
Sterling Bank
Summit Leasing
US Bancorp
Union Bank of California
WCRA
Washington Mutual
WA State Housing Finance Commission
WA State Office of Community Dev.
Wells Fargo
Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital

Collectively, these 24 organizations pledged $13,453,700 in low-interest loans and three-year grants towards Impact Washington’s $13,500,000 goal. With one in five families across the state not living in affordable housing, Parker summed up the issue, “Unfortunately, we could raise $100 million, and it would not solve the problem.” With that, they announced the campaign’s stretch goal of $17,500,000 to a rousing round of applause.

Kurt Creager closed the program with a heart-felt call to action. Housing is affordable when a household pays no more than 30% of their gross income. “When families spend 35%, 40%, 45% or even 50% of their incomes on housing,” he explained, “it just takes one unexpected turn to throw their entire lives into disarray. This hurts all of us – neighbors, employers, and families.” With that, he adjourned the meeting.

Mark Flynn was ecstatic with the evening. “I knew we would impress the crowd with our fundraising success. Most campaigns go public when they achieve 50% of goal, yet these 24 companies and foundations took us well beyond that! My biggest fear was our attendance. With the bad weather in combination with two other high-profile events tonight, I was concerned about how many people would join us. With more than 200 in attendance, I think it’s pretty clear the priority people are putting on this issue.”

Impact Capital was formed in 2000 through the consolidation of Washington State affiliate of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and two local intermediaries: Washington Community Development Loan Fund (WCDLF) and the Seattle Community Development Collaborative (SCDC). Impact Capital is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides nonprofit community development corporations and affordable housing developers with project financing and organizational support. Impact Capital maintains offices in Seattle and Spokane and continues to offer programs in conjunction with national LISC, the largest nonprofit community development support organization in the United States. Impact Capital’s mission is to make strategic capital investments in nonprofit development organizations in ways that enhance and sustain their ability to positively impact the quality of life in communities throughout Washington.