Our Funds

Housing Impact Fund has committed to creating quality, affordable communities where 30% of units serve 30% AMI and below households, 50% of units serve 60% AMI and below households, and 20% of units serve 80% AMI and below households. The Fund helped create an innovative program with Mecklenburg County and the City of Charlotte, which converts property taxes into rental subsidy payments that serve 30% AMI and below households at all of its properties. The Fund has successfully contracted over 90% of its renovation work with minority-led companies, creating jobs and growing small businesses in the Charlotte region. In addition, Housing Impact Fund has invested in wrap-around services through a myriad of partnerships to assess and respond to resident needs in the areas of health, education, financial wellness, and workforce development.

Ascent Housing joined Erskine Bowles and Nelson Schwab in 2020 to create Housing Impact Fund, a for-profit social impact equity fund to preserve naturally-occurring affordable housing (NOAH) across Charlotte. Ascent serves as the operating partner for Housing Impact Fund, responsible for executing the acquisition, financing, renovation, and operation of its investments.

Fund Leadership

  • Erskine Bowles

    Fund Manager, Founder, & Advisory Board Member

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  • Nelson Schwab

    Fund Manager, Founder, & Advisory Board Member

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  • Betsy Fleming, PhD

    Fund Manager & Advisory Board Member

    Founder & Executive Coach, Cressence

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  • Ed Weisiger

    Fund Manager & Advisory Board Member

    Chair, Weisiger Group

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  • Jamie McLawhorn

    Fund Manager & Advisory Board Member

    President, Marsh Properties

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Advisory Board

  • Mike Maguire

    Chief Financial Officer, Truist

  • Carlena Ivory

    Community Relations & Community Leader, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

  • Reginald Henderson

    Vice President of Government Relations, Lowe’s Companies

  • Selma Fox

    Former Marketing Executive, Realtor  Dickens Mitchener

  • Thurman Smith

    Senior Vice President, Community Relations, PNC

  • John Waldron

    Retired Executive, Honeywell

  • Collin Lane

    Senior Vice President, Atrium Health

  • Ron Leeper

    Founder & Former President, R.J. Leeper Construction

  • Leigh Ann Merchant

    CRA Senior Credit Manager, Ally

HIF I

HIF II

 I 

Housing Impact Fund I

Housing Impact Fund I was launched in November 2020, totaling $58 million of social impact capital. HIF I acquired, renovated, and preserved 5 communities totaling 805 apartment units serving over 2,000 residents.

II

Housing Impact Fund II

Housing Impact Fund II was announced in August 2023 with $67 million of social impact capital from dozens of corporations, foundations, families and individuals. With key investments from Truist, PNC, Atrium, Honeywell and Leon Levine Foundation, its goal is to preserve 1,200 units of NOAH over the next two years in opportunity-rich areas across Charlotte.