From Joe Neri and the Board of Directors
At its core, IFF’s work is about providing local nonprofit leaders with the flexible capital and facilities expertise they need to realize their visions for change in their communities.
But realizing these ambitions, we know, takes more than just money and technical know-how; it requires trust, give-and-take by everyone involved, and a relentless belief in possibility. It means taking a personal stake in our projects and executing on them with care and diligence.
Over the past two years IFF experienced a strong demand for our loans and real estate services from nonprofits across our Midwest region, and you — our investors and funders — stepped in to provide us with more than $230 million in capital and other financial support to meet that demand.
That’s why, in 2024, our overwhelming priority was to ensure that your investment in IFF made its way to the people and places that needed it most and achieved its intended impact.
That impact took on different forms in the communities IFF serves, including: new, affordable homes for the residents of Homan Square in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood; a vital human services hub in West Rogers Park for Chicago’s Jewish community; a new, state-of-the-art child care center to benefit families on Detroit’s east side; a rehabbed and expanded STEM-focused charter school on the north side of Milwaukee; and a new facility in Indiana to enrich and stimulate the lives of members of the blind and visually impaired community.
Through projects like these, IFF is proud to report that in 2024 we:
- Closed 100 loans, putting $156.9 million into the hands of nonprofit changemakers — our second highest loan volume in 36 years;
- Raised $100 million in capital to meet the continued high demand for IFF’s flexible loans by nonprofits and developers of affordable housing in the Midwest;
- Leveraged $640 million in total community investment and supported the development of 2.5 million square feet of real estate through our lending and allocation of New Markets Tax Credits;
- Consulted with nonprofit changemakers on 78 facilities projects, including managing the construction of over 194,000 square feet of real estate;
- Completed eight community-driven development projects in Chicago and Detroit, with another five projects underway in Chicago and its south suburbs, Detroit, Grand Rapids, and St. Louis; and
- Grew IFF’s on-balance sheet loan portfolio to more than $600 million and its total managed assets to nearly $1.1 billion.
Last year IFF also celebrated 10 years of serving the state of Michigan. Back in 2014, at the invitation of local stakeholders and with support from The Kresge, W.K. Kellogg, and Skillman Foundations, we opened an office in Detroit and have since expanded operations across the entire state. Today, we have over 25 staff in Michigan, with a second office in Grand Rapids, and have closed $265 million in loans and completed more than 170 real estate projects statewide.
As we head into 2025 — the final year of IFF’s current strategic plan — we want to reflect on how well that plan has served us since 2018. Our goal then was to scale a platform for community development that allowed us to participate in the full range of activities required to develop a vibrant pipeline of community-centered, impactful, and investible projects. The breadth and depth of our impact in communities these past few years — as emphasized through the people, places, and possibilities elevated here — confirms, we believe, that we have achieved that. We hope you will agree.
With appreciation for your continued support,
Joe Neri
Chief Executive Officer
Sakura Takano
Board Chair
