News

Want to know what’s on our CEO’s mind this month? Find out below! Partners and Friends, I am excited about the launch of our new VCCSE newsletter. Each month, our staff will have the opportunity to share our work with our customers, investors, and the communities we serve. The newsletter will offer a moment for us to share more about our lending and advisory work through VCC Bank, VCC loan fund, and LOCUS. We will …

Nestled near the Downtown Mall in the bustling heart of Charlottesville, Virginia, stands a community of 150 families called Friendship Court. Echoes of children at play bounce across the buildings in between the sounds of excavators and delivery trucks. Construction workers and engineers are up early, working to build not only new homes, but the foundation of a new chapter for this community.  Many others are working alongside the builders to bring the vision to …

Virginia Community Capital (VCC) was recently chosen to receive a one‐million‐dollar impact investment toward its new Affordable Housing Loan Fund by the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond. The revolving loan fund will provide access to low‐cost capital for mission‐driven developers working to meet the growing need for affordable housing in the Richmond area. According to a recent report, Virginia has a shortfall of more than 200,000 affordable homes; nearly 20% of which are in …

An update from Fredericksburg Food Co-op’s Rich Larochelle  The Opportunity Virginia team began working with Rich in 2020 to assist with their capital raise and leveraging Opportunity Zone financing. Since then, The Fredericksburg Food Cooperative has celebrated several major milestones. Opportunity Virginia Market Manager, Cara Simpson (pictured left), sits down with Rich to learn more about the project’s progress, how other people can replicate the co-op’s success, and the impact OZ financing had closing out …

Virginia Community Capital (VCC) was named a recipient of Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) funding by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on Tuesday. VCC qualified to receive $36.4 million and is one of three financial institutions in Virginia to be awarded.

Did you know healthy food access is one of VCC’s focus areas? We provide financing and technical assistance to support healthy food retailers, suppliers, and producers in urban and rural Virginia communities. At VCC, we know being able to secure healthy, fresh food is one of the social determinants of health; without it, a family or community has a barrier to the quality of life they deserve. Lauren DeSimone, Community Innovation Advisor, leads VCC’s food …

Virginia Community Capital (VCC) has announced the hiring of Amir Kirkwood, formerly of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), as its new president and CEO. In January, founding executive director Jane Henderson announced her plans to retire after four decades in the banking industry.

Addiction is a lifelong disease and recovery is an ongoing process. The founders and leaders of the McShin Foundation were driven by their own journeys through recovery to start the 17-year-old organization with a mission to provide alcohol and substance use recovery to individuals in the Richmond Region.  Founded in a church basement in 2004, McShin now provides a 15,000-square-foot residence and more than 100 beds across various homes for people in recovery in the …

Virginia Community Capital and LOCUS Impact Investing are excited to launch Reimagine Together, a storytelling series to celebrate VCC’s 15-year anniversary. Throughout the summer and into the fall, VCC will be sharing stories of mission-driven projects and partnerships from throughout our history. Thanks to the help of many likeminded collaborators, these multimedia stories will cover the community impact we’ve supported in various areas, including affordable housing, job creation, entrepreneurship, healthy food access, impact investing, and more. We’ll discuss how the …

On July 2nd, Senator Mark Warner hosted an event in Richmond to discuss the recently announced U.S. Treasury award of $1.25 billion in COVID-19 relief funds to 863 community development financial institutions (CDFIs) nationwide. VCC welcomed the Senator at Home Team Grill in the Fan district of Richmond, alongside some of our clients and collaborators. Those in attendance met VCC partners including Bon Air Soap Company, Reliable Tax, Virginia LISC, The Jackson Ward Collective, The …