NBT Bank and CEI-Boulos Capital Management recently announced the launch of the NBT CEI-Boulos Impact Fund, a $10 million real estate equity investment fund with NBT Bank as the sole investor. The fund is designed to support individuals and communities with low- and moderate-income through investments in high-impact, community-supported, commercial real estate projects located within the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) assessment areas in New York.

“As a community bank, NBT is committed to the communities we serve,” said NBT Bank President & CEO John H. Watt, Jr. “This includes doing our part to create stronger, healthier neighborhoods. We believe that investments in projects that deliver critical affordable housing can also have a ripple effect in supporting job creation and strengthening our communities.”

The NBT CEI-Boulos Impact Fund is managed by CEI-Boulos Capital Management, a fund management company focused on delivering competitive financial returns and social impact, according to a press release. The release states that CEI-Boulos helps banks achieve their CRA objectives by organizing and managing funds that invest in financially attractive, high-impact commercial real estate projects that benefit the communities in which they are located.

CEI-Boulos prioritizes projects that represent collaborations between various entities—including non-profits, local and state government, philanthropic institutions, banks, community development finance institutions, community-based organizations, private investors, and local developers—that share a vision for their community, according to the release.

“We’re thrilled to be working with NBT Bank on this innovative fund to invest in high-impact, community supported real estate projects in New York state,” said Sam Spencer, chief executive officer and managing director of CEI-Boulos Capital Management.

NBT will create a social impact advisory board to evaluate redevelopment and new construction projects, such as multi-family, mixed-use, industrial, office, retail and hospitality projects that closely align with community needs. The advisory board will provide input related to the social and environmental impacts of the fund’s proposed investments. Areas of targeted impact will include projects that support job creation, affordable and workforce housing, Main Street revitalization/historic preservation developments that do not contribute to gentrification/displacement, developments that serve non-profit organizations and environmentally sustainable real estate developments