OZ Pitch Day - Nov 14th
Kresge Foundation awards grants to 2 OZ funds
The Kresge Foundation today announced that it is committing $22 million to Opportunity Zone funds offered by Arctaris and Community Capital Management.
In June of last year, Kresge — in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation — announced an open call for letters of inquiry from fund managers who were planning qualified opportunity fund offerings. In the weeks that followed, 141 applications were submitted. Data from the group were released in October.
Boston-based Arctaris has managed four impact funds for more than a decade. They are receiving $15 million in commitments from Kresge that will help provide principal protection for their new Opportunity Zone Fund. Arctaris seeks to raise $500 million to invest in small- to medium-sized operating businesses in the manufacturing, renewable energy, and telecom sectors. They have plans to build out real estate infrastructure as well.
Fort Lauderdale-based Community Capital Management (CCM) manages over $2.2 billion in ESG investments and have been involved in impact investing since 1999. They are receiving $7 million in commitments from Kresge for their new National Opportunity Zones Fund. The fund will seek to provide equity investments that will support one or more of CCM’s 18 impact themes, which include affordable housing, environmental sustainability, and neighborhood revitalization.