The Community Investment Trust (CIT) is a groundbreaking initiative that allows individuals and businesses to invest directly into their own neighborhoods, driving local revitalization and creating positive social impact.
Why a CIT?
40% of American families have less than $400 in savings. This can be referred to as asset poverty. Asset poverty is a barrier that keeps hard-working Americans from building wealth and financial resilience. It’s not just about not having money; it’s about not having the opportunities and tools to grow what you have.
The Community Investment Trust (CIT) is a wealth building tool that directly addresses the problem of asset poverty. It educates you on financial basics and allows you to invest in commercial real estate property right in your own ZIP code, providing communities with high rates of rentership, limited investment choices and historical and racial injustices the opportunity to move from owing to owning.
What Makes the CIT Different
from Other Financial Products?
from Other Financial Products?
Risk-Protected Investment
Your investment is guaranteed by a Direct Pay Letter of
Credit from a bank, so your shares will never decrease in
value and you can cash out at anytime. Follow the steps
of our Learn -> Invest -> Profit framework.
Learn
- Complete our free financial action course "Moving from Owing to Owning."
- Develop an owner mindset.
- Increase your financial confidence.
- Stay on track toward your financial goals.
- Start investing and build your long-term financial mobility.
Invest
- Set up an affordable automatic monthly investment: $10, $25, $50, or $100.
- Your money stays local, supporting a restorative and non-extractive economy.
- Build connections through a local network of fellow CIT investors and business owners.
- Support local businesses and neighborhood vitality.
Profit
- Experience competitive financial returns through growth in share value and annual dividends.
- As the property value increases and mortgage is paid down, your share value grows over time.
- Be part of a growing ecosystem of community-owned wealth and opportunity.
The CIT is a localized investment in commercial property in your
community that you can collectively own with fellow neighbors.
Impact
The CIT has impacts on three levels: Individuals/Households, Businesses, and Community.
Individual/household level
The CIT creates:
- Financial empowerment and actionable changes in financial behavior.
- Sustainable Return on Investment through annual dividends and share price appreciation.
- Increased individual economic and political power through inclusion and networking among diverse community members.
Business level
The CIT attracts and supports:
-
A racially and economically diverse range of nonprofit and for-profit enterprises as tenants.
-
Enterprises that benefit from increased visibility and long-term resilience through community ownership of the property.
-
Networking opportunities and community engagement through tenant-investor events.
Community level
The CIT fosters:
- A sense of belonging in the community.
- Community leadership, activism and volunteerism.
- Collective political power and the advancement of policy change.
Discover Your Local CIT
See if you live in a zipcode with a local CIT! Each CIT has set zip codes that you must live in to be eligible to invest. This ensures that the investment is localized and only community members become the collective owners of the property.
The Community Investment Trust is Supported By:
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