The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC), a mission-driven nonprofit multifamily housing finance company, announced that it raised $200 million through a private offering of Sustainability Bonds. CPC’s issuance was led by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC.
In February 2020, CPC raised $150 million through its inaugural public debt offering of Sustainability Bonds, making it the single largest bond sale completed by a community development financial institution (CDFI) at the time. This most recent private debt offering eclipses CPC’s 2020 sale by $50 million.
“Our raise of $200 million builds on the strong foundation laid by our inaugural bond sale in 2020, which provided investors with the confidence that CPC’s mission-focused work yields meaningful returns that go beyond the bottom line,” said Rafael E. Cestero, CEO, The Community Preservation Corporation. “This milestone not only reflects the market’s recognition that CPC’s history of lending and investing in sustainable and affordable housing is smart investment, but it also highlights our unique position of financial strength as a nonprofit institution within the industry. This capital raise will continue to support our work to help communities across the country address their most critical housing challenges.”
CPC is a “AA-” rated company with a Stable Outlook from S&P Global Ratings. In its most recent rating reaffirmation from August 2024, S&P Global cited CPC’s, “Diversified revenue sources and financially self-sufficient business model,” and “Very strong strategy and management assessment, based on an experienced and proactive management team and board, with a record of strong risk oversight and governance, and successful implementation of their mission-driven growth strategy.”
In preparation for its sustainability bond offering, CPC obtained an independent opinion from Sustainalytics, a global leader in ESG research, ratings and analysis. Sustainalytics evaluated the alignment of CPC’s sustainability bond platform with relevant industry standards and provided views on the robustness and credibility of the Sustainable Bond Framework. As a leading affordable housing finance company, and an innovator in the financing of energy efficient construction and retrofits, CPC’s mission-based lending and investing aligns with the environmental and social impact principles of the Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2024.
Currently celebrating its 50th anniversary, CPC entered 2024 on the heels of several significant milestones. In early April, Climate United, a coalition of three nonprofit organizations including CPC, was the recipient of a $7 billion award from the EPA’s National Clean Investment Fund. CPC is leading Climate United’s strategy for decarbonizing multifamily housing across the U.S., with $2.4 billion allocated to finance energy efficiency and carbon reducing improvements in existing and to-be-built multifamily buildings. In December, as managing member of Community Stabilization Partners the company was chosen by the FDIC to service and asset manage $5.8 billion in loans, encompassing more than 860 permanent loans and nearly 35,000 units of rent stabilized multifamily housing from the former Signature Bank portfolio. CPC also recently received a $15 million donation from “Yield Giving,” a fund led by MacKenzie Scott that delivers support to nonprofits around the world. This gift will allow CPC to further its nonprofit mission of financing affordable and workforce housing and will help to expand the impact of its programs and initiatives.
