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Catch up on IFF news, read stories about community development projects across the Midwest, and gain insight from our team.

  1. May 18, 2022

    The Role of Cultural Assets in Community Development: A Q&A with Floating Museum Co-Director Faheem Majeed
    Category: Stories
    Photo of Chicago artist and educator Faheem Majeed
  2. May 18, 2022

    Madison Nonprofits Team Up on Affordable Housing and Early Childhood Education in a Win-Win for Everybody
    Category: Stories
  3. May 18, 2022

    New Neal Math and Science Academy on Track for November 2022 Grand Opening
    Category: Stories
    Architect's Rendering of the new Neal Math and Science Academy
  4. May 18, 2022

    IFF’s 2021 Annual Report | Meeting the Moment: Change, Equity, Impact
    Category: Stories
    Cover of IFF's 2021 Annual Report
  5. May 16, 2022

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Launches in Kansas City, MO, Addressing Barriers Leaders of Color Face in Accessing Resources
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  6. May 01, 2022

    April 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Architect's rendering of Galleria 89 in South Chicago
  7. April 19, 2022

    Nonprofit BUILD Moves Quickly to Disrupt the Status Quo with a Bold Investment in Community Infrastructure on Chicago’s West Side
    Category: Stories
    An architect's rendering of the new BUILD Chicago campus
  8. April 19, 2022

    Photo Tour: A Repurposed School Begins Its Second Act as a Building Block for Revitalization in North St. Louis
    Category: Stories
  9. April 19, 2022

    A Collaborative Approach to Community Building and a Newly Renovated Facility Create a Platform for Transformation in Grand Rapids’ Third Ward
    Category: Stories
    Members of the Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation stand outside of the group's facility
  10. April 19, 2022

    Ask a Nonprofit Lender: Why Should a Nonprofit Consider Debt for a Facility Project?
    Category: Resources
  11. April 01, 2022

    March 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  12. March 15, 2022

    Kranzberg Arts Foundation’s New 3333 Facility Provides a “Creative Sandbox” for St. Louis’ Arts Community
    Category: Stories
    Paintings in Sophie's Artist Lounge at the Kranzberg Arts Foundation's 3333 facility in St. Louis' Grand Center neighborhood
  13. March 15, 2022

    Patient Capital and “CDFI Plus” Support Provide Indianapolis Charter School with On-ramp to Achieve Growth Goals
    Category: Stories
    Exterior of ACE Prep Academy in Indianapolis
  14. March 15, 2022

    Photo Tour: New Transit-Oriented Affordable Housing Creates an Arts-Centric Gateway for a Local Business District
    Category: Stories
    Exterior Shot of The 801 in Oak Park, IL
  15. March 15, 2022

    Establishing Mutually Beneficial Bank-CDFI Referral Relationships: A Q&A with First Bank of Highland Park Senior Vice President Courtney Olson
    Category: Stories
    Headshot of First Bank of Highland Park Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Business Banking Courtney Olson
  16. March 01, 2022

    February 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A team of people dressed in purple shirts and hats holds shovels, posing together in a sunny outdoor setting.
  17. February 16, 2022

    Built from Within: PODER Begins Construction of Chicago’s First Immigrant Integration and Job Center
    Category: Stories
    Ceremonial groundbreaking taking place at PODER's future headquarters in the Gage Park neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side
  18. February 16, 2022

    Nonprofit Facility Planning Myths, Misconceptions, and Red Flags: Takeaways from The Columbus Foundation’s Nonprofit Forum
    Category: Resources
  19. February 16, 2022

    Facility Turnaround in Detroit Helps Nonprofit Focus on “The Right Work at the Right Time in the Right Place”
    Category: Stories
    A photo of the St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Community Resource Center in Detroit
  20. February 16, 2022

    Virtual Tour: Two model homes on Chicago’s West Side demonstrate proof of concept for a bold community revitalization strategy
    Category: Stories
    Model homes developed by Lawndale Christian Development Corporation as part of a community revitalization strategy designed to build generational wealth through homeownership
  21. February 16, 2022

    Building a Dream Incubator: 5 Questions for baso Founder and President Claudette Soto
    Category: Stories
    A headshot of baso Founder and President Claudette Soto
  22. February 11, 2022

    Crain’s Chicago Business: We need to hack appraisal-based lending
    Category: Thought Leadership
    Category: Press
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  23. January 31, 2022

    January 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A group of staff and volunteers from Star Farm Chicago standing in front a van the nonprofit uses to distribute locally grown organic produce in and around Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood
  24. January 25, 2022

    Next City: Is There a Formula to Creating an Anti-Racist School?
    Category: Press
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  25. January 18, 2022

    Photo Tour: North Lawndale Employment Network’s First Permanent Campus
    Category: Stories
  26. January 18, 2022

    Photo Tour: The Paddocks Bring Affordable Workforce Housing to Rural Indiana Community
    Category: Stories
  27. January 18, 2022

    Photo Tour: Seeds of Health’s Tenor High School Opens New Campus in Historic Milwaukee Location
    Category: Stories
  28. January 18, 2022

    Photo Tour: The Marygrove Early Education Center Puts Young Learners at the Center of Community Revitalization
    Category: Stories
  29. December 31, 2021

    December 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  30. December 14, 2021

    Grand Avenue Market: A 20-Year Quest to Re-establish a Local Grocery Store in Rural Kansas
    Category: Stories
    Grand Avenue Market sign in Plains, Kansas
  31. December 14, 2021

    Full Circle Communities and Christian Community Health Center Take on Link Between Health and Housing in South Suburban Chicago
    Category: Stories
  32. December 14, 2021

    Indianapolis Social Enterprise Begins Construction of $13 Million Workforce Development Complex for Returning Citizens
    Category: Stories
    RecycleForce Groundbreaking
  33. December 14, 2021

    “If you want better, you have to change your narrative”: A Q&A with Dr. Nicole Howell-Scott, Founder and CEO of the American Association of Single Parents
    Category: Stories
    Headshot of Dr. Nicole Howell-Scott, Founder of the American Association of Single Parents
  34. December 01, 2021

    November 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  35. November 30, 2021

    ABC Detroit WXYZ: Groundbreaking held in Detroit for city’s first Healthy Housing Center
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  36. November 16, 2021

    Birth Detroit Reimagines Maternal and Infant Care with Plan for Community-Based, Black-led Birth Centers
    Category: Stories
    A child plays at the Birth Detroit Care facility while a staff member watches him
  37. November 16, 2021

    Financial Literacy and Career Readiness Come to Life in Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City’s New Facility
    Category: Stories
    Sign outside Junior Achievement of Greater Kansas City's Youth Learning Lab
  38. November 16, 2021

    Understanding that we are a collective: How vision became reality for the Chatham Education & Workforce Center
    Category: Stories
    A multi-purpose room at the Chatham Workforce Education & Workforce Center
  39. November 16, 2021

    Bridging the Gap Between Communities of Color and the Health Care System: A Q&A with UniteWI Founder and Executive Director Bria Grant
    Category: Stories
    UniteWI Founder and Executive Director Bria Grant sitting for a posed photo
  40. November 16, 2021

    Home-based early childhood education providers deserve to be included in funding, supports
    Category: Thought Leadership
  41. November 15, 2021

    Want to make capital access more equitable? Reconsider your target market criteria.
    Category: Thought Leadership
  42. November 09, 2021

    Better Together: How FQHCs and CDFIs can leverage COVID-19 Relief Funds
    Category: Thought Leadership
  43. November 05, 2021

    St. Louis Business Journal: Training program for nonprofit groups led by people of color comes to St. Louis
    Category: Press
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  44. November 04, 2021

    ENR Midwest: ENR Midwest Names 2021 Best Projects
    Category: Press
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  45. October 31, 2021

    October 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  46. October 19, 2021

    Milwaukee Community Journal: Seeds of Health gears up to celebrate Tenor High School’s new Journal Square location and a 2021 CARW Deal of the Year nomination
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  47. October 13, 2021

    Family Christian Health Center Responds to Pandemic by Leaning Further into Its Mission
    Category: Stories
    Ribbon Cutting for Family Christian Health Center's Maternal Health Clinic
  48. October 13, 2021

    The Night Ministry’s “The Crib” Designed with Both Its Clients and Community in Mind
    Category: Stories
  49. October 13, 2021

    Transforming the Emergency Food System with an Eye on Equity: A Q&A with Greater Chicago Food Depository’s Nicole Robinson
    Category: Stories
    Nicole Robinson Greater Chicago Food Depository
  50. October 13, 2021

    XS Tennis Hosts Venus Williams, WTA for Chicago Tennis Festival – A Historic First
    Category: Stories
    XS Tennis' facility with the Chicago skyline in the background
  51. October 05, 2021

    Block Club Chicago: Little Black Pearl Will Open A Coworking Lounge, Launch Workshops For Adult Creatives This Month
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  52. October 01, 2021

    September 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    RecycleForce Groundbreaking
  53. September 29, 2021

    Business Journal: Ohio Community Development Association Gathers Next Week in Youngstown
    Category: Press
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  54. September 27, 2021

    Next Street: Are CDFIs embracing innovation?
    Category: Press
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  55. September 21, 2021

    St. Louis Business Journal: Kranzberg Foundation’s latest hub for St. Louis arts community, 3333, to open in Grand Center
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  56. September 21, 2021

    Next City: These Street Vendors Needed a Kitchen, So They Bought One
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  57. September 17, 2021

    The Kresge Foundation: New, state-of-the art Marygrove Early Education Center celebrates grand opening
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  58. September 16, 2021

    Nonprofit Quarterly: CDFIs and the COVID-19 Moment: Whither Now, Community Finance?
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  59. September 16, 2021

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Launches in Indianapolis, Addressing Barriers Leaders of Color Face in Accessing Resources
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  60. September 15, 2021

    Trailblazing Early Learning Center Opens Doors on Marygrove Campus in Detroit
    Category: Stories
    Marygrove Early Education Center
  61. September 15, 2021

    Equitable Community Development in Action: The Redevelopment of North Chicago’s Neal Math and Science Academy
    Category: Stories
    Neal Math and Science Academy External Rendering
  62. September 15, 2021

    Paramount Schools of Excellence Charts New Path in Indiana with Statewide Expansion
    Category: Stories
  63. September 15, 2021

    Profile: Detroit Achievement Academy Founder Kyle Smitley on Starting a Charter School, Expansion, and Her “Unhinged” Love for Facilities Projects
    Kyle Smitley
  64. September 07, 2021

    St. Louis Business Journal: U.S. Department of Treasury awards $275M in tax credit authority to St. Louis groups
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  65. August 31, 2021

    August 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A table reading at the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company in Chicago, IL
  66. August 18, 2021

    MLive: Transforming learning spaces: Program aims to improve access to early childhood education
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  67. August 16, 2021

    Transformational New Facility Unlocks Potential for Early Childhood Learners in Kansas City
    Category: Stories
  68. August 16, 2021

    Columbus Nonprofit Revives Community Asset as Permanent Facility for Teen Mentorship
    Category: Stories
  69. August 16, 2021

    CDFI Friendly Bloomington a Prototype for Successful Community Development in Small Markets
    Category: Stories
  70. August 16, 2021

    Q&A with BDO FMA Managing Director Dana Britto: Building Financial Capacity Post-Pandemic
    Category: Stories
    Dana Britto BDO FMA
  71. July 31, 2021

    July 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  72. July 28, 2021

    Nonprofit Quarterly: What Would Equitable Real Estate Finance Look Like?
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  73. July 14, 2021

    Red Clay Dance Company Brings “Artivism” to Chicago’s Woodlawn Community
    Category: Stories
  74. July 13, 2021

    Nonprofits & Real Estate: When to “build capacity” and when to just help
    Category: Thought Leadership
  75. July 12, 2021

    “Not Here, Not Yet” – When Is the Right Time and Place for Nonprofit Facility Projects?
    Category: Resources
  76. July 12, 2021

    Profile: Sakura Takano, CEO, Rotary Charities of Traverse City
  77. June 30, 2021

    June 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  78. June 28, 2021

    2020 Annual Report
    Category: Stories
  79. June 14, 2021

    A New Facility in Milwaukee Has Eco-Friendly Blue Skies Landscaping Seeing Green
    Category: Stories
  80. June 14, 2021

    $2.5 Million in IFF Loans Strengthen CDFI Industry and Support Small Businesses in the Midwest
    Category: Stories
  81. June 14, 2021

    Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Spotlight: InsideOut Literary Arts Executive Director Suma Karaman Rosen
    Category: Stories
  82. June 14, 2021

    Long-term Relationships and Trust Underpin COVID-19 Vaccination Success in Homan Square
    Category: Stories
  83. June 02, 2021

    U.S. News & World Report: MacKenzie Scott’s No-Strings Gifts Extend Beyond Grantees
    Category: Press
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  84. June 02, 2021

    Bloomberg: MacKenzie Scott’s Donations Touch Charities Far Beyond the Original Grantees
    Category: Press
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  85. June 02, 2021

    Associated Press: MacKenzie Scott’s no-strings gifts extend beyond grantees
    Category: Press
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  86. June 01, 2021

    The Chronicle of Philanthropy: MacKenzie Scott’s No-Strings Giving Reverberates Way Beyond the Direct Beneficiaries
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  87. June 01, 2021

    Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bria Grant studied this building’s development potential for a class project. Now, she’s renovating it for a restaurant and other uses.
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  88. June 01, 2021

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Launches in St. Louis, Addressing Barriers Leaders of Color Face in Accessing Resources
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  89. May 31, 2021

    May 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  90. May 05, 2021

    How Learning Spaces Expansion to Grand Rapids Addresses Inequity and Shapes Children’s Futures
    Category: Thought Leadership
  91. April 29, 2021

    Muncie’s 8twelve Coalition – Building Community One Cup of Coffee at a Time
    Category: Stories
  92. April 28, 2021

    IFF and Children’s Home & Aid Bolster East St. Louis Child Care Providers with COVID-19 Relief Grants
    Category: Stories
  93. April 28, 2021

    Covenant House Illinois Doubles Down on Ending Youth Homelessness with More Beds and Services in East Garfield Park
    Category: Stories
  94. April 13, 2021

    Commongrounds Cooperative Puts Community First in Traverse City
    Category: Stories
  95. April 07, 2021

    Five Ways That Lenders Can Interrupt Racism and Provide Restorative-Justice Capital in Our Communities
    Category: Thought Leadership
    map of redlined neighborhoods
  96. April 05, 2021

    Chicago Architect Magazine: Home First
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  97. March 31, 2021

    March 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  98. March 30, 2021

    Impact Alpha: Five ways that lenders can interrupt racism and provide restorative-justice capital in our communities
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  99. March 23, 2021

    The Lakeshore West Michigan: GHACF invests $1.5M to provide low-cost loans to community nonprofits
    Category: Press
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  100. March 04, 2021

    Doubling Down on IFF Commitments to Further Impact Midwest Communities
    Category: Thought Leadership