Frequently Asked Questions

If you still have questions, feel free to contact us.

Syndication & Structuring Services

Our syndication/structuring services expand on our existing work to more actively move money to meet the evolving needs of the communities we serve. We aggregate capital from multiple lenders interested in private loans to support the scaling of mission-driven organizations. Calvert Impact targets deals in the range of $30 million - $200 million and participates as a co-lender in our syndicated deals.


As both impact investors and impact markets mature, we see a need for the facilitation of larger, broader, and more efficient flows of capital that can supplement our own lending appetite and are aligned with our lending objectives. Our syndication/structuring services create a one-stop solution by originating, structuring, facilitating, and administering loans to mission-driven organizations, easing the capital raising process by connecting them with a syndicate of lenders who are looking for exposure to high-quality, risk-appropriate deals that generate social, environmental and financial returns.


Our syndication/structuring services solve one of the growing challenges for institutional lenders looking to lend to mission-driven organizations in today’s marketplace by providing them access to loan products that meet a diverse range of risk/return profiles, geographies, and sectors for their private debt portfolios.


Our syndicated/structured deals are available to institutional lenders only. The minimum commitment is typically $1 million.


Mission-driven organizations seeking larger capital rounds face a complex, time-consuming process that typically requires raising funds from multiple capital sources, increasing transaction costs and timeframes. Our syndication/structuring services reduce this headache by structuring a loan on behalf of a larger syndicate of lenders who have expressed interest in financing these types of transactions. This allows the entity raising capital to liaise primarily with one lead lender instead of managing relationships across multiple parties.


Our syndication/structuring services are aligned with our overall mission of driving greater private capital participation in mission-driven organizations to create a more equitable and sustainable world. Or, in short, to make impact more investable.


The Community Investment Note® is a retail security available to all US residents. The loan product offered through our syndications/structuring service is a commercial loan rather than a security or an investment. The syndicated loan offers lenders the opportunity to lend directly to mission-driven organizations in and outside of our portfolio (allowing the lender to target specific geographies, sectors or businesses), and offers deal-specific terms that differ from the Community Investment Note.


Not at all. In fact, these services are a natural expansion of Calvert Impact Capital’s existing work to more actively aggregate and facilitate capital for the benefit of stronger communities and a resilient planet. Calvert Impact Capital will continue to issue the Community Investment Note to its broad community of investors.


Yes. We have played the role of lead lender and administrative agent, both formally and informally, over the past five years. To-date, Calvert Impact has aggregated and/or administered over $800 million. Our Loan Administration team collectively has over 35 years of experience managing loan portfolios.


We continue to expand the base of lenders participating in our syndicated/structured deals. Any suitable lenders interested in learning more about open deals can direct their inquiries to info@calvertimpact.org​ and can be added to our distribution list.


Community Investment Note®

Community Investment Notes are debt securities issued by Calvert Impact Capital that channel capital to high-impact community development initiatives in the U.S. and around the world. Please read the Community Investment Note prospectus for more specific information.


There are three ways to purchase Community Investment Notes:

  1. Online starting at $20.
  2. Sending us an application along with a check for $20 or more
  3. Purchasing in a brokerage account by calling your brokerage’s fixed income desk with a current CUSIP.

Like all financial institutions, Calvert Impact Capital is required to verify personal information for all those wishing to conduct transactions with it. This is commonly referred to as “Know Your Customer,” and represents the procedures we are required to go through to verify the identity of our investors and institutional officers.


Yes! You can purchase the Note in self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) at brokerage firms. The following retirement accounts have the option of being self-directed: a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Educational IRA, and SEP IRA.


Community Investment Notes are available at over 100 brokerage firms. If you are speaking with someone at the fixed income desk at your brokerage and they are having trouble finding the CUSIP, you can mention to the trader that these CUSIPs are primary issuances. Sometimes the trader's search is only including secondary market products so our CUSIPs won't show up for them. If you still run into any issues, please give our team a call and let us know: 800-248-0337


Yes, you can target your Calvert Impact Capital account to one or more of our nine impact sectors and other portfolio initiatives. You can do this online in the Impact Preferences section of your account, indicate it on an application, or by registering your brokerage Note. This informs how we allocate portfolio dollars, but does not provide direct or sole exposure to the targeted sector or initiative. Per Calvert Impact Capital's prospectus, all investments in the Notes are subject to the same risk and supported by Calvert Impact Capital's overall portfolio management practices and capitalization.


Please contact us at info@calvertimpact.org​ to say you’d like online access, and we’ll set you up and answer any of your questions.


Visit https://invest.calvertimpactcapital.org/#/reset-password​ to reset your password. Calvert Impact Capital will never have access to, nor ask you for, your password.


Calvert Impact Capital does not receive client information from brokerage firms, but rest assured that we have put your money to work. Please register your Community Investment Note (by filling out the form under the "Brokerage"​ tab above) to make sure we can service you better and provide impact reporting.


You can’t deposit to or increase the principal balance of an existing Note, but you can always buy a new Note or reinvest an upcoming interest payment in a new Note in the same account. Any new investment will increase your account balance and can all be managed online or by contacting​ us.


As Community Investment Note proceeds are lent to our impact partners, investors should plan to hold their Note until maturity. There are no rights of early redemption, other than as set forth in the Survivor’s Option if an investor should pass away (see prospectus​ for details).


Interest begins accruing on the day we receive an investment and is paid annually on the anniversary/maturity date.


Calvert Impact Capital takes the security of our customers seriously through various levels of data encryption, user and password authentication, and continuous monitoring and testing for any vulnerabilities. We will never have access to, nor ask you for, your password.


Cut Carbon Note®

Investors purchase Cut Carbon Notes issued by Calvert Impact Climate. Note proceeds are used to provide commercial property-assessed clean energy (CPACE) financing for office, industrial, and multi-family buildings. This financing covers the cost of efficiency improvements like on-site solar, smart building controls, efficient HVAC, windows and lighting.

CPACE is a financing structure enabled by state legislation in which building owners borrow low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, or other projects and make repayments via an assessment on their property tax bill.

PACE Equity, the asset underwriter and originator, works with owners to make buildings more sustainable, providing free engineering review and design assistance to to identify opportunities for efficiency improvements.

Developers use the CPACE financing to make efficiency improvements. Projects that meet the CIRRUS Low Carbon design specification receive promotional support that identifies their building as achieving a low carbon status. Once construction is complete, the building is enrolled in a monitoring service, allowing us to track its carbon footprint over time.

Developers repay the CPACE financing when they pay their tax bill. Payments from the developers are used to pay principal and interest to Cut Carbon investors semi-annually.

Impact Reporting is provided semi-annually, including portfolio-level impact data, as well as alignment with the Green Bond Principles, the Impact Principles, and other relevant industry standards.


We will issue more Notes up to $400MM in total as soon as we originate new assets for the portfolio and have them rated.


Yes, you can purchase the Note in self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) at brokerage firms. The following retirement accounts have the option of being self-directed: a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, Rollover IRA, Educational IRA, and SEP IRA.


No, Cut Carbon Notes are only available through brokerage accounts. If you have questions about purchasing, please contact your financial advisor or our Investor Relations team at info@calvertimpact.org or 800.248-0337.


The Notes will not be listed for sale on any securities exchange. Dealers may elect to serve as liquidity providers and facilitate a secondary market in the Notes. However, there is no assurance that dealers will elect to serve as liquidity providers. In addition, limitations on the transfer of the Notes may be imposed under applicable securities laws. As a result, there is no trading market for the Notes at present. Investors should therefore consider the Notes as an investment to be held until maturity.


Commercial property-assessed clean energy - CPACE - is a financing structure enabled by state legislation in which building owners borrow low-cost, long-term funding for energy efficiency, renewable energy, or other projects and make repayments via an assessment on their property tax bill.


Energy efficiency improvements that may contribute toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing energy costs for property owners. CPACE-funded improvements can include things like:

  • Efficient insulation, roofing, HVAC systems, lighting, and water heaters;
  • Renewable energy generation and storage;
  • Water conservation; and
  • Wind resistance, earthquake resiliency, and storm hardening
  • and more

The CIRRUS™ Low Carbon design specification - created by PACE Equity and the New Buildings Institute - reduces carbon emissions by raising the bar for commercial energy efficiency. It is used as the basis for specialty financing that rewards projects for pursuing a lower carbon design and construction option. This specification is for new construction and deep renovations of commercial properties.

The CIRRUS™ specification consists of mandatory efficiency measures and two performance tiers. A project is classified as Tier 1 or Tier 2 depending on the number of efficiency improvements and whether the project plan includes renewable energy.

The Cut Carbon Note offers Incentivized pricing for buildings that meet the CIRRUS™ specification based on performance tier: Tier 1 Low Carbon: 50 bps discount Tier 2 Low Carbon: 100 bps discount


Access Small Business Program

The Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) industry has operated for more than 40 years to provide access to financial services in under-resourced communities across the country. There are nearly 1,200 CDFIs across the U.S. that provide a variety of products and services to address structural gaps in our financial system. The CDFIs and other community lenders involved in the Access Program serve small businesses and nonprofits with affordable, flexible capital and advisory services. As mission driven lenders, they prioritize helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses and enable local economic development through job creation, income generation, and wealth building opportunities.


Each of the state-based Access Program funds is a centralized loan purchase facility capitalized by two sources: (i) funds awarded to the applicable state and allocated to the program via the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), and (ii) private capital secured by Calvert Impact. The programs allow participating lenders to increase their small business lending capacity by leveraging their balance sheets. For every $1 of a lender’s available funds, this program enables them to offer $5 of loan capital to a small business. The model combines affordable loan capital, technology platforms to support loan originations and sales, and technical assistance for business owners applying for credit. This holistic approach is designed to build local CDFI capacity so that community lenders can do what they do best in reaching more small businesses in underbanked communities.


The participating community lenders lead the programs through loan originations and servicing as well as direct support to small businesses seeking advisory and affordable loan capital. We currently have 10 lenders originating loans across programs and are actively working to bring additional organizations into the model. It is anticipated that each state program will be active for several years, with additional lenders joining the program throughout.

Calvert Impact is the arranger of the funds, focusing on structuring the financial vehicles and coordinating participation across lenders, state partners, and other program stakeholders. Calvert Impact Capital is not a lender in the funds. Grow America and Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) act as fund administrators and partnered with Calvert Impact on the development of the model which expands on the pandemic recovery funds launched by the cohort over the last several years. CRF, a national CDFI, also built and runs the online marketplace, CRF Connect, that is used to connect small businesses seeking capital with the participating lenders, as well as CRF Exchange, the platform that facilitates the purchase and sale of loans between the lenders and the applicable fund. Both Grow America and CRF also lend in one or more state programs.


This model aims to expand access to affordable credit and business support for the smallest of small businesses and community-based nonprofits. While eligibility criteria differ in certain respects across state programs, the Access generally focuses on serving underbanked businesses and organizations with 50 or fewer FTE, gross revenues of less than $5 million a year, and those that been in operations for at least one year. To be eligible for a loan, the business or organization must operate in one of the states served – Nevada, New York, New Jersey, and Washington. We are currently working to expand the program to additional states, and interested partners should utilize the contact form on this webpage to initiate a conversation.

For more information on the small business loan terms and eligibility, please visit the Access program websites:

  • www.nvsmallbiz.org
  • www.nyloanfund.com
  • www.njeda.gov/njcapital-access-fund
  • www.smallbusinessflexfund.org