IFF’s 2026-2030 Strategic Framework July 22, 2026

Dear Staff, Board, Partners, Investors, Clients, and Friends:

Since the inception of community loan funds, and in IFF’s nearly four decades of service, nonprofits and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) have consistently shown up as first responders—staying present, focused, and ready to pivot as needed to best serve the urgent needs of their communities.

Today, as nonprofits and communities continue to work tirelessly to build vibrant neighborhoods despite stress and uncertainty due to policy changes, federal funding shifts, and delayed appropriations, CDFIs stand out as essential partners.

As one of the largest and longest-standing CDFIs in the Midwest, we have decades of experience providing innovative financial and real estate solutions to strengthen nonprofits and the communities they serve. With new strategic priorities, squarely focused on customers and communities, that balance expansion and innovation with internal investments that sustain impact and growth, IFF is prepared to meet this moment.

We remain ready to help stabilize communities by providing flexible, responsive capital that drives investment in housing, community and economic development, and subsequently, social and economic wellbeing for nonprofits, communities, and families. And we are committed to ensuring that Midwest communities—including those that have faced the deepest inequities as a result of historic disinvestment and systemic racism—have safe, high-performing, and inspiring community facilities, sufficient affordable housing, and sustainable nonprofits delivering high-quality services that help residents thrive.

Working across 10 diverse states in the Midwest—from the plains of Kansas to Appalachian Kentucky, the industrial metropolitan areas of the Great Lakes to the farms of Iowa, and from tribal communities to small towns—IFF’s mission is not political, it’s personal: we exist to serve communities where we live, where our solutions meet needs, and where we commit to long-standing relationships and building deep, local knowledge.

Building on the leadership of our founder, Trinita Logue, and our immediate past CEO, Joe Neri—who helped launch real estate consulting, research, and Home First while guiding IFF through pivotal periods of growth and transition, elevating our national influence in the CDFI field, and modeling a deep commitment to our mission, staff, customers, and communities firmly rooted in our commitment to equity—we build, improve, and sustain community facilities and affordable housing.

As I guide IFF into our next chapter, I carry with me the vision of Joe and Trinita and my own experience from the past 25 years. As a leader in IFF’s regional expansion, including opening our St. Louis and Detroit offices, and in my efforts to better connect all of IFF’s offerings to accelerate our impact across the Midwest, I know where we’ve been and I know where we want to go.

We co-develop equitable strategies to invest in communities and expand access to essential services, helping to create more than 16,000 child care slots, 21,000 housing units, and enabling 820,000 patient visits. We have deepened partnerships with the State of Michigan and the Illinois Treasurer to extend our reach and advance shared priorities.

We continue to raise and deploy more capital each year, supported by a growing team of more than 150 community development professionals. Anchored in our values and commitment to becoming an inclusive, anti-racist and anti-oppressive institution, we honor communities as asset-rich, acknowledge the systemic barriers that many communities across the Midwest have faced, and ensure that our work is based in an understanding of root cause, is data-informed, and outcome-driven. Our solutions have never been more robust, and the need for comprehensive, holistic, data-informed solutions has never been greater. In short, IFF was made for this moment.

This strategic framework illustrates how we will deploy our broad toolkit to provide flexible, responsive support and stability to nonprofits and communities while staying anchored and aligned in those values. It highlights our goals for the next five years:

1. EXPAND IFF’s reach across the Midwest as the go-to lender for community facilities
   and affordable housing projects;
2. Continue to INNOVATE with financial tools while successfully managing resources
   as the go-to partner for capital providers and suppliers seeking to invest in their
   communities;
3. AMPLIFY impact for our customers as their one-stop-shop for capital, real estate
   solutions, and analysis;
4. Pilot, refine, and REPLICATE catalytic solutions for community and public sector
   partners; and
5. INVEST in the power of IFF’s people, culture, and operations to become the CDFI
   employer of choice in the Midwest and sustain our impact and growth.

To our friends, customers, partners, and communities: thank you for your collaboration and trust over these many years. Here’s to the next five years of partnership, service, and impact.