In 2006, IFF crossed the Mississippi to close its first loan in Missouri. Totaling $453,000, the loan helped Good Shepherd School for Children, an early childhood education (ECE) center in St. Louis, refinance its pre-existing debt. Made under a leasehold structure, a challenging loan for commercial lenders to finance, this loan elevated IFF’s opportunity to provide unique support to respond to local needs in St. Louis while partnering with local banks to do so.
This first investment in Missouri represented two major milestones: It was the beginning of a process to expand IFF’s impact outside of Illinois to communities across the Midwest, which was outlined in our 2008-2012 strategic plan, and it signaled the beginning of IFF’s long-standing commitment to the state of Missouri.
That expansion also occurred at a critical juncture. Following an initial slate of loans in 2006 and 2007, IFF opened an office in St. Louis in 2008, during both a multi-year state budget crisis in Illinois and the worst recession in generations. IFF was — and still is — uniquely suited to extend capital to more nonprofits and more communities in Missouri. With a non-appraisal-based approach to lending, IFF was able to provide loans to organizations that otherwise could not receive adequate financing from traditional commercial lenders.
In the 20 years since that first loan, IFF has built on its commitment to nonprofits across the state by opening a second office in Kansas City, deploying more than $225 million in loans to 290 nonprofits, supporting more than 120 real estate consulting projects, and developing deep relationships across the state. IFF’s Stronger Nonprofits Initiative, a program designed to support nonprofits that face disproportionate barriers to accessing resources and building their capacity, launched cohorts in St. Louis in 2021 and in Kansas City the following year. And in 2023, in partnership with the James S. McDonnell Foundation (JSMF) and the Gateway Early Childhood Alliance (Gateway Alliance), IFF led the Joyful Spaces program to help early childhood educators in St. Louis understand how to improve their ECE spaces and access funding to support facility improvements.
IFF’s relationships with partner organizations across Missouri has enabled us to show up in critical moments of need. Since 2023, IFF’s Community Data Insights team has worked with Kids Win Missouri as a part of its Child Care & Early Education Community Planning project, providing research evaluating ECE needs in 17 communities across the state and identifying opportunities to better support local families and communities. And following the devastating tornado that damaged St. Louis communities in May 2025, IFF’s Real Estate Solutions team partnered with JSMF and Gateway Alliance to support and repair ECE centers affected by the storm.
Today, Missouri nonprofits and community organizations can take advantage of IFF’s full suite of services including lending, real estate, community development, and community data insights.
To commemorate these 20 years of impact, IFF recently gathered in St. Louis with friends, partners, and collaborators to reflect on two decades of community investment. Hosted at LaunchCode, a tech workforce education nonprofit and IFF client, the event featured a panel discussion reflecting on IFF’s impact and looking to future opportunities to grow communities in St. Louis. Moderated by IFF’s CEO Kirby Burkholder, the panel included Stephen Westbrooks, CEO of the St. Louis Development Corporation and former executive director for IFF’s Southern Region, along with early recipients of IFF loans in St. Louis: Robert Boyle from Justine PETERSON and Christie Huck from City Garden Montessori School.
Looking back on two decades of collaboration with IFF, the panelists reflected on projects where IFF’s support was crucial, discussed ways that CDFIs and community finance organizations can improve the flow of capital through St. Louis communities, and envisioned what St. Louis can look like when its communities receive the support and investment they need.
City Garden’s long partnership with IFF highlights the sort of community relationships that have characterized IFF’s work in Missouri from the beginning. “We had a big vision — and we had no money,” Huck said, reflecting on the early formation of the K-8 charter school. “City Garden would not be here if not for IFF.”
Starting in 2011, IFF provided City Garden a series of loans to support the renovation of their classrooms, including a $1.9 million loan in 2019 that helped the charter school expand its classroom spaces and move from the basement of a church to facilities they now own. When the expansion was disrupted and nearly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, IFF provided additional loans to refinance City Garden’s debt, source a New Markets Tax Credit transaction, and finally close out the acquisition and rehabilitation of the school’s new facility. “We didn’t have capital — we didn’t have the means to raise capital — and Kirby and IFF came in as deep, deep partners to help figure that out.”
“I’m a school leader and an activist; I don’t have the skills it takes to finance a $16 million building,” Huck said. “And that’s where IFF’s partnership comes in and is just so critical for nonprofits in St. Louis.”
As we look to the future, IFF is unwavering in its commitment to deepening partnerships and supporting Missouri communities for the long haul. As CEO Kirby Burkholder shared at the event, “One loan in Missouri has grown into many. And one introduction has grown into deep relationships. We remain deeply committed to this community and our belief that authentic, value aligned partnerships will keep delivering transformational community development for sustained citywide impact.”