National social impact REIT for child care launches to address providers’ real estate woes
August 7, 2023 — Care Access Real Estate (CARE), a social impact specialty real estate investment trust (REIT) for child care operated by Mission Driven Finance, launched its portfolio by acquiring five residential properties in Las Vegas, Clark County, Nevada.
The houses will be rented to existing child care providers and their families who commit to providing state-licensed child care in their home. Four experienced child care provider-tenants have been matched with four of the homes.
Almost every community in the country has less supply than demand for child care. At Mission Driven Finance, we believe that high-quality child care is the bedrock of a thriving community.
“In an ideal world, young children thrive in high-quality early care and education settings, parents readily find a trusted place for their children to be nurtured while they work, and child care entrepreneurs build wealth for future generations of their own families,” says Laura Kohn, VP of Education and Care at Mission Driven Finance.
Child care providers, however, face immense challenges when it comes to securing affordable and stable spaces to operate their program due to traditional landlording practices that do not support child care entrepreneurs.
CARE aims to increase the availability of quality child care with a diversified portfolio of commercial and residential properties. CARE is also designed to support the growth aspirations of center- and home-based providers as a child care-friendly landlord that understands and prioritizes the needs of providers and the children they care for and educate.
“Government, business, and community leaders are noticing that child care scarcity is a drag on economic growth and family welfare,” Kohn adds.
“Access to a stable home or commercial space can significantly enhance the quality and sustainability of child care operations,” says David Lynn, CEO and co-founder of Mission Driven Finance. “CARE aims to be a child care-friendly landlord that can play a role in this renting relationship with child care providers.”
CARE works with child care ecosystem organizations to recruit and screen providers committed to expanding their in-home child care operations. In Clark County, CARE is partnering with The Children’s Cabinet, Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, Las Vegas Urban League, Wonderschool, and Access Community Capital.
These partnerships helped find the first two providers matched with a CARE property: Destinee Hodges (pictured above with family), a mother of two, has been alternately caring for a small number of children in her apartment and working as a teacher in local child care centers, but neither option provides enough stability and income to support her family. Upon expanding her program in the CARE property, she plans to offer dual language (Spanish and English) care and teach American Sign Language (ASL).
By creating and leasing dedicated child care spaces, CARE aims to help existing child care providers to scale and grow. CARE is designed to not only provide stability and growth opportunities for providers but also to contribute to the overall well-being of families within providers’ communities.
As part of these efforts, CARE is looking to expand operations in the San Diego and Las Vegas metro regions and Michigan.
To learn more about this initiative, visit our website at missiondrivenfinance.com/care. Together, we can build a stronger foundation for the next generation, one property at a time.
About Mission Driven Finance
Mission Driven Finance is an impact investment firm dedicated to building a financial system that ensures good businesses have access to sufficient, affordable capital. Built from the ground up with a single purpose—to make it easy to invest in your community—all of their funds and structured products are designed to close financial gaps that will close opportunity gaps. They work with local and national investors to help them create the impact they want and work with businesses and community partners to help them get the capital they need. Mission Driven Finance was launched in 2016 in San Diego, CA, and is a Certified B Corporation. In 2023, Mission Driven Finance was selected for ImpactAssets’ IA 50 Fund Manager list, a category for experienced impact fund managers with a minimum three-year track record.
About Care Access Real Estate (CARE)
CARE is a child care facilities REIT, designed to achieve three impacts: Expand the supply of quality child care, especially for overlooked and under-resourced families and communities; Increase the resilience of child care businesses by providing stable leases as a child care friendly landlord; and build the wealth of child care providers by creating opportunities to expand their business and own their facility. Learn more about CARE at missiondrivenfinance.com/care.
