NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- TruFund
Financial Services ("TruFund"), a Community Development Financial
Institution located in New York
City, today announced that it has made an equity investment
in Exact Capital Group, LLC, a majority Black-owned real estate
development firm headquartered in New
York, NY that specializes in the development and management
of affordable and mixed-use, residential, and commercial real
estate. The preferred equity investment will support critical
aspects of Exact Capital's strategic growth plan, specifically
allowing the firm to continue with the development of affordable
housing for low and moderate income residents, leverage increased
liquidity, and enable it to grow internal capacity.
"Access to affordable forms of capital has limited opportunities
for BIPOC developers and has greatly impeded their growth
potential," said James H. Bason,
President and CEO of TruFund, the fund manager. "Ensuring racial
equity by providing access to capital is essential and a key
mission objective of the fund. Our preferred equity investment will
enhance Exact Capital's organizational growth trajectory and
allow it to readily and actively pursue affordable housing and
other economic development opportunities in underserved
communities."
The Exact Capital investment is the fourth investment by the
Impact Developer Fund ("IDF"), launched in July 2020 by Morgan Stanley, TruFund Financial
Services, and the Ford Foundation. IDF was established to
provide equity capital and technical support to emerging real
estate developers, especially businesses led by women and people of
color. Lack of access to equity and equity-like capital hinders
emerging developers from successfully and actively pursuing
affordable housing development opportunities. Exact Capital, which
has a 15-year track record of developing workforce, affordable and
market-rate housing, was identified early by IDF as an attractive
potential investment.
"Morgan Stanley, TruFund, and Ford Foundation are truly leading
the marketplace in providing this very important capital to
BIPOC firms. There have been plenty of headlines and
announcements made in response to the racial equity mandate, but no
other organizations have made as meaningful of an impact as you
three have. Making capital investments directly in BIPOC firms
is crucial to funding their growth, especially in the
affordable housing world." said Craig
Livingston, Managing Partner at Exact Capital.
"We're pleased to support Exact Capital's efforts to expand
access to affordable housing," said Roy Swan, Director
of Mission Investments for the Ford Foundation. "TruFund has
excelled at finding high potential firms in which to invest,
and we look forward to seeing what Exact Capital's team achieves in
the future."
"Morgan Stanley is proud to support Exact Capital Group through
this investment and to help advance their growth and impact in
building diverse, sustainable communities through affordable and
mixed-income housing," said Joan Tally, Managing Director in
Community Development Finance at Morgan Stanley.
The Impact Developers Fund has identified its first cohort and
plans to make subsequent announcements shortly. It is anticipated
that future rounds will expand to service more BIPOC developers
across the country. TruFund Financial Services is actively raising
additional capital to support this initiative. For more information
about IDF please contact James H.
Bason jbason@trufund.org or Andre A.
Simon asimon@trufund.org.
About TruFund Financial Services, Inc.
TruFund
Financial Services, Inc. is a wholly independent national nonprofit
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). TruFund seeks
to stimulate economic development in communities that are
underserved by traditional banking institutions by providing fair
and accessible capital, hands-on technical assistance, and
innovative solutions to small businesses and nonprofit
organization.
Follow TruFund on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find
out more about the company's programs and initiatives or visit
www.trufund.org.
About Exact Capital
Established in 2006, Exact Capital
is a New York City headquartered
real estate development company with projects primarily in
New York City as well as
New Jersey, and other parts of the
East Coast, that primarily focuses on the acquisition, financing,
development, and management of real estate. The team has over
three decades of experience and is committed to developing real
estate assets to their highest and best use, while honoring the
distinctive characteristics of the communities it serves. It
works with community members and both private and public sector
institutions to add value to neighborhoods by transforming blighted
structures, vacant lots, and other non-performing or
underperforming real estate into value added assets.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS)
is a leading global financial services firm providing investment
banking, securities, wealth management and investment management
services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's
employees serve clients worldwide including corporations,
governments, institutions and individuals. For more information
about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com
About the Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is
an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than
80 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of
social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen
democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote
international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With
headquarters in New York, the
foundation has offices in Latin
America, Africa, the
Middle East, and Asia.
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SOURCE TruFund Financial Services, Inc.