Capital for Change Marks 10 Years, Building on a 60-Year Connecticut Legacy of Expanding Opportunity

Statewide CDFI celebrates a decade as Capital for Change and a history rooted in breaking down barriers to housing and capital

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WALLINGFORD, Conn. — October 9, 2026 — Capital for Change (C4C), a statewide Community Development Financial Institution, is marking its 10th anniversary this year, celebrating a decade of expanding access to capital for affordable housing, homeownership, small businesses, nonprofits and community development across Connecticut.

Capital for Change was formed in 2016 through the merger of three longstanding Connecticut Community Development Financial Institutions: Connecticut Housing Investment Fund (CHIF), Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund and Community Capital Fund. Together, they created a statewide organization with deep roots in Connecticut communities and a shared commitment to directing capital to people and places that have historically faced barriers to accessing it.

"Ten years is an important milestone, but this anniversary is really about the people and communities behind the work," said Diane Smith, President and CEO of Capital for Change. "Capital can do much more than finance a project. It can help a family build stability through homeownership, preserve affordable housing, help an entrepreneur grow a business and give a community organization the resources it needs to serve its neighbors. As we look toward the next decade, our commitment is to continue putting capital to work where it can create lasting opportunity."

A History Rooted in Breaking Down Barriers

One branch of Capital for Change's history reaches back to 1964, when Hartford residents George and Pat Ritter helped establish Robert Littleton, Inc. in response to discriminatory housing practices that prevented Black families from purchasing homes in many suburban communities.

The organization provided down-payment loans and homeownership counseling to help Black families purchase homes in communities where discriminatory practices had limited their opportunities. During its first year, $153,400 was used to purchase homes or provide second mortgages for 24 Black families. By the end of 1966, more than 70 families had received loans totaling more than $400,000.

In 1967, Robert Littleton, Inc. became the Connecticut Housing Investment Fund and expanded statewide. Over the decades that followed, its work grew to include homeownership counseling, rehabilitation lending, affordable housing, energy conservation and community development.

That history is also personal for Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter: George and Pat Ritter were his grandparents.

“In politics we always talk about ‘kitchen-table’ solutions — a practical, everyday policy that will directly impact the finances, stability, and daily lives of families,” said Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter. CHIF was literally founded around a kitchen-table; my grandparents’ kitchen-table. The goal has always been simple: to increase access to homeownership and integrate segregated neighborhoods. The roadmap has not always been easy, with challenges like exclusionary zoning, economic headwinds, and skyrocketing real estate prices popping up like roadblocks. But CHIF, in all its forms over the past 60 years, has always navigated these roadblocks and persevered to increase access to homeownership in cities and towns across Connecticut.”

Investing in Connecticut Today

Today, Capital for Change serves people, nonprofits, small businesses and public institutions throughout Connecticut. Its work includes creating and preserving affordable housing, expanding housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income residents, investing in job- and wealth-creating small businesses, supporting community-centered nonprofits and financing energy-efficiency improvements.

In its 2026 Annual Report, Capital for Change reported 376 housing units created, 935 housing beneficiaries, 32 jobs created and 623 beds created during the fiscal year.

The scale and form of the work have changed considerably since the organization's earliest days. Still, the challenge at its center remains familiar: ensuring that people and communities that have historically lacked access to capital have opportunities to build economic stability and wealth.

"For 10 years as Capital for Change — and for decades through the organizations that came before us — we have learned that meaningful community development requires more than money. It requires relationships, trust, creativity and partners willing to work together," Smith said. "There is still much more to do. Our next decade is about building on that foundation and finding new ways to expand opportunity, strengthen communities and ensure that capital reaches the people and places where it can have the greatest impact."

Capital for Change commemorated its 10th anniversary on October 8 at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford with borrowers, partners, funders, board members, staff and friends who have been part of its work and evolution.

About Capital for Change

Capital for Change is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut. C4C serves people, nonprofits, small businesses and public institutions throughout Connecticut through community development capital and services focused on affordable housing, homeownership, small businesses, nonprofits and economically sustainable communities.