IFF’s Flex Loan Program Expands to Increase Nonprofits’ Access to Capital Across the Midwest June 25, 2025

Community Development Financial Institutions exist to bridge gaps in the financial system where mainstream lenders can’t or won’t reach by increasing access to capital, technical assistance, and other specialized supports. And for 37 years, IFF has leaned into that work, providing nearly 1,300 nonprofits across the Midwest with $1.8 billion in capital to create quality facilities optimized to support their programming and operations that also send a clear message to occupants, visitors, and their neighborhoods that they are important, with intrinsic value and a realizable vision of hope. 

Some nonprofits, however, have capital needs that IFF’s facilities-focused lending isn’t designed to address and so, in 2022, IFF launched a Flex Loan program to further bridge the gap by increasing access to capital among nonprofits – particularly newer and smaller ones – that face systemic barriers when seeking financing from mainstream financial institutions. These barriers include appraisal requirements in communities where redlining artificially deflated property values, strict target market criteria, and complicated application processes, among other examples.  

Flex Loans aim to mitigate these challenges by offering more flexible administrative requirements, including minimal required supporting documentation to apply for loans of up to $50,000 and an expedited closing process to put capital in the hands of community changemakers as quickly as possible. Since launching the program, IFF has provided almost $1 million in Flex Loans – a testament to the need that exists among nonprofits for financing that bridges grant funding, facilitates minor repairs to leased buildings, enables the purchase of vehicles or equipment, or makes it possible to refinance high-interest debt.  

Offered initially to nonprofits in Chicago only, the Flex Loan program expanded this year to mission-driven organizations across IFF’s entire Midwest footprint. That means that more organizations like Male Mogul Initiative (MMI), one of the first nonprofits to receive a Flex Loan in 2022, will have access to capital to meet short-term financial needs to expand their capacity and impact long-term.  

Founded in 2016 by Walter Mendenhall, MMI provides leadership and entrepreneurial training to young people of color to equip them with the tools needed to be leaders in their communities. Three years ago, MMI was leasing a space in the Bronzeville neighborhood’s Boxville Marketplace to house the organization’s social enterprise, a retail clothing store, and operating its programs in schools and shared community spaces while working toward a long-term goal to purchase its first permanent facility.  

First, however, MMI needed to build capacity and, with a professional background that included helping NBA player Kyrie Irving develop an impact investment fund, Mendenhall was well versed in how flexible capital could help the organization accomplish that.    

“What I learned through that experience was how startup businesses leverage and layer their capital stacks with equity and debt investments,” said Mendenhall in 2022. “It also taught me not to be afraid of debt, but to have a plan for debt. I realized that we could use the same model at MMI to build capacity with private fundraising, grant funding, and loans.” 

Putting those learnings into practice, MMI used a $50,000 Flex Loan to lease new program space in downtown Chicago while awaiting a state grant that had been awarded to MMI for that purpose but not yet disbursed. With its new leased programming space, MMI was able to more quickly serve more young people and, in early 2024, MMI achieved its long-term goal of acquiring a permanent facility on Chicago’s South Side that now houses a small business incubator called Co-LLAB.  

Having already established a relationship with IFF through the Flex Loan program, MMI used a $220,000 loan from IFF to purchase equipment and a vehicle to support the programming taking place at Co-LLAB. And while MMI was advancing toward its goal to purchase its own facility before leveraging IFF’s Flex Loan, having access to flexible capital in 2022 accelerated the organization’s growth – putting it in a strong position for the acquisition of the Co-LLAB facility two years later.    

Enhancing Performing Arts Programming with Flexible Capital 

Like MMI, Youth Inspirations Theatre (YIT) had a vision for what it wanted to accomplish but hadn’t yet received grant funding awarded to the organization that was essential to realizing its goals. Established in 2020 by Julie Nottingham, the nonprofit based in Noblesville, Indiana, is dedicated to empowering young people through the performing arts. The organization accomplishes this through music, theater, and dance classes and performances, with show and programming fees helping to sustain YIT’s operations alongside donations, concession/merchandise sales, and, importantly, grant funding.   

As the organization waited to receive two grant awards earlier this year, a $50,000 Flex Loan from IFF closed in February helped facilitate minor upgrades to its leased facility, enabled the purchase of musical rights, and bridged other expenses to be covered by the grants. 

“We’re still a fairly new organization, and so we were very excited about the Flex Loan because it allowed us to enhance our studio space for our students as we continue to build relationships and seek additional grants to support our work,” says Nottingham. “We added lighting, upgraded our microphones, and put up double doors to meet the fire code, and we now have the ability to accommodate more people in our space for performances. All of the upgrades were small, but together they really propelled the space forward and helped us better serve our community.” 

YIT is immediately putting its updated facility and increased financial flexibility to good use this summer by adding another musical production to its schedule, enabling more young people to participate in programming than has been possible in the past. 

“My preference is always to put our money toward the educational component of our work,” says Nottingham. “The Flex Loan made it possible to take care of a few other things that we wouldn’t have been able to so quickly otherwise, without having to make sacrifices with our programming.”  

Recouping Costs to Facilitate Affordable Homeownership Opportunities 

Founded in the aftermath of a devastating flood that caused nearly $15 billion in property damage in the St. Louis metro area in 1993, The Housing Partnership (THP) has long focused on enhancing the quality of life for residents in the Lemay community by addressing housing issues. The nonprofit does so by working with homeowners with limited income to complete essential repairs that enable them to remain in their homes, offering education and counseling to aspiring homebuyers, providing down payment and closing cost assistance, and revitalizing the community through the development of new and rehabilitated homes that are sold at affordable prices to individuals and families with low to moderate income according to federal guidelines.  

To date, THP has developed almost 70 homes to create attainable homeownership opportunities in Lemay, with the revenue generated by the sales playing a crucial role in sustaining the rest of the organization’s programs. When THP experienced a two-year delay receiving U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, passed through St. Louis County, to reimburse the organization for out-of-pocket predevelopment costs for its current housing project – Lemay Homes VI – THP was confronted with a significant cash flow challenge that threatened all of the organization’s programs.  

“Developing homes drives the organization and allows us to offer the rest of our programs because of the developer’s fees we earn when the homes are sold, and a two-year delay in being able to start construction on four homes really put us in a cash crunch,” says Kevin Poe, THP’s former executive director. “Our architect, engineer, and builder all worked with us as long as they could because they understood the situation, but we eventually had to pay them without having received the funds from the county. THP is a small organization that’s often had to scratch and claw to operate, and having to outlay funds without getting reimbursed put us in a very delicate position.” 

Unable to move forward with construction and saddled with four vacant lots that had little value as collateral, THP was unable to secure financing from a mainstream lender. As a result, the organization was forced to tap an existing line of credit used normally to pay contractors for home repairs and to offer down payment assistance. As the delay for THP’s housing project stretched on and predevelopment costs accrued, its ability to continue using the line of credit for its intended purpose diminished significantly and forced the organization to grapple with an excruciating decision about whether to pause its programs because of the limited cash on hand needed to pay for them.  

While cobbling together small grants and relying on additional support from a local credit union, THP was introduced to IFF through a partner, learned of the Flex Loan program, and quickly applied. Weeks later, in March of this year, THP received a $50,000 loan that the organization immediately used to pay off its line of credit so that it could continue to be tapped when needed for its non-development programs.  

“Having access to a product like the Flex Loan was invaluable,” says Poe. “The size of the loan was relatively small, but it was truly a lifesaver. We did all kinds of networking and met with many banks, but none had loan products we could qualify for as a nonprofit. The Flex Loan provided breathing room as we waited to close on the development projects.” 

After receiving the Flex Loan, THP was able to close on the housing projects and, while the organization is still awaiting reimbursement, it also has the financial flexibility needed to operate normally with its longstanding line of credit. Construction is currently underway on three of the homes being developed through the Lemay Homes VI project, with work beginning soon on the fourth and final home. The organization expects to complete and list the first three homes for sale by Thanksgiving this year. Once the homes sell, THP will receive a developer’s fee for each home, providing another capital infusion that will further strengthen its financial position and ensure that the organization can continue to lean into the programming it offers to strengthen the Lemay community. 

“Our model of developing homes, offering support to aspiring buyers, and helping people who already own homes stay in them has a huge positive impact on the community,” concludes THP’s board president, Linda Eggleston. “It’s wraparound support for everything home related, and we’re extraordinarily grateful to be able to continue doing this work.”