More than 90% of Gen Z and millennial investors say it’s important their investments reflect their personal values, recent research finds, highlighting growing demand for opportunities that connect financial returns with real-world impact.
“More investors today are asking a simple question: what does my money actually support?” said Briana Flynn, assistant director of business development and impact investing for Enterprise Community Loan Fund, the community development financial institution of Enterprise Community Partners. At the same time, she added, many of these investors are still early in their financial journeys and unsure where to start.
Enterprise Community Loan Fund is responding by expanding access and creating more entry points for investors looking to turn their values into action. Most notably, the CDFI recently lowered the minimum investment for its Impact Note from $5,000 to $1,000. It has also expanded its investor toolkit with an online investing portal and educational guides on community development.
Together, these efforts aim to make impact investing more accessible to a broader range of investors — while increasing the flow of capital to community-serving projects nationwide.
We spoke with Flynn about why access matters, how investor expectations are evolving, and why even relatively small investments can create meaningful change.
“Impact investing” might seem like a buzzword to some would-be investors. What does it mean to you?
So many people see issues in society like homelessness and wonder what, if anything, they can do about it. I think impact investing can often be part of the answer.
This is how I define it: impact investing is about aligning your capital with your values to generate positive social or environmental outcomes while also earning a financial return.* It allows people to invest in issues they care deeply about in a tangible way, whether that's affordable housing, energy efficiency, economic mobility, healthcare access, and community development. There are so many options.
How does Enterprise's Impact Note fit into that?
The Enterprise Community Impact Note is a fixed-income investment that provides individual and institutional investors with a way to directly support community development projects. While investors earn a fixed return, their dollars are put to work through our CDFI's portfolio, investing in affordable housing, community facilities, and other resources that help communities thrive.
The Impact Note is a critical source of flexible capital for Enterprise Community Loan Fund. By raising capital at competitive rates, we’re able to pass cost savings on to our mission-aligned borrowers, ultimately helping more organizations bring more critical projects and resources to fruition.
Enterprise recently lowered the Impact Note’s minimum investment to $1,000. What drove that decision?
I’m really excited about this shift. Since the Impact Note launched in 2010, it’s been a way to connect individual investors to community development. Lowering the threshold to $1,000 allows us to engage a broader group of investors, including people who are earlier in their careers or just beginning to explore impact-focused investing.
Why is expanding access important to you and your team?
As a community-based lender, we think a lot about access. Not just in the projects we finance, but in how we raise capital, too. Broadening access to the Impact Note helps democratize impact investing and build a larger, more engaged base of investors contributing to the solutions communities need.
What are some of the ways an investment — whether it’s $1,000 or more — can show up in communities?
One of the most powerful aspects of investing in our CDFI through the Impact Note is that your investment doesn’t act alone. It helps unlock additional capital. For example, every dollar invested in our CDFI can leverage up to $10 in additional investments from public and private partners.
And the outcomes are tangible. An investment might support a new home with wraparound supportive services for someone who has experienced homelessness, a federally qualified health center that brings affordable healthcare to a medically underserved area, or a community solar project that reduces energy cost burden for residents struggling to pay their utility bills. Investing in the Impact Note offers the opportunity to advance outcomes that improve people’s lives.
What are you hearing from investors today about why they’re interested in opportunities like the Impact Note?
We’re seeing a growing desire for transparency and connection. Investors want to know where their money is going and what it’s doing. There’s also interest in investments that are tangible, where you can draw a clear line between your dollars and the outcomes they’re supporting.
With the Impact Note, you can see the impact of your investments firsthand. Living in New York City, I live or work near many of our investments, like Ovington Avenue in Brooklyn. Enterprise Community Loan Fund provided critical gap funding that enabled Asian Americans for Equality to purchase a rental community and convert it into an affordable cooperative, putting existing residents on the path to homeownership. It’s amazing to see your capital at work in such a visible way.
Are there any other ways Enterprise Community Loan Fund is working to make impact investing more accessible?
We launched an online investing portal that guides prospective investors through the application process, provides easy access to the prospectus, and makes it simple to manage investments in one place. Investors can track their notes, access reporting, and set up direct payments.
We’ve also released new educational guides: Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs): An Overview, and Affordable Housing: A Guide for Advisors and Investors. We just want to make this space more approachable.
Your work has supported the Impact Note for several years. Do any projects stand out as especially meaningful to you?
One of my favorite investments from the past year supported our partnership with ROC USA Capital. Enterprise Community Loan Fund contributed $4.5 million to a national loan pool that supports their conversion of manufactured housing communities into resident-owned cooperatives. That will help preserve about 700 naturally affordable homes across the country, giving residents more stability and protecting them from rent increases of displacement due to ownership changes.
I’ll also mention our 2025 Social Return on Investment Report, which highlights Odyssey House Louisiana – Bohn, a substance use disorder treatment facility with a clinic and pharmacy in a medically underserved part of New Orleans, and Redondo Heights, an affordable housing community in Federal Way, Washington, that has a food bank collocated on site. Projects like these really demonstrate what impact investing can have on a personal level.
You’re an impact investor yourself. What would you say to someone who wants to invest in their community but isn’t sure where to start?
I’d say start with something that feels accessible and understandable. Fixed-income offerings like the Impact Note can be a great entry point because they have relatively low minimums, a clear structure, and tangible outcomes. But if you’re interested, just get started! Find an option that aligns with your values and helps you feel connected to the impact you want to have.
Where we invest matters. Our capital can be a powerful tool for building the kinds of communities we want to live in.
Disclaimer: The Enterprise Community Impact Notes are unsecured debt securities subject to terms, conditions and risks, described in our prospectus, including the risk of possible loss of the amount invested. Payment is dependent on Enterprise Community Loan Fund’s financial condition at the time payment is due. This is not an offer to sell you our securities and we are not soliciting you to buy our securities. We will offer and sell our securities only in states where authorized. The offering is made solely by the prospectus, which should be read before investing. The Enterprise Community Impact Notes are not FDIC or SIPC insured.
* Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
The Impact Note is currently not offered in Arkansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Tennessee.
