Cultivating St. Louis’ Next Generation of Community Leaders at Urban Sprouts Child Development Center
Ellicia Lanier smelled paprika and turmeric the first time she stepped inside 6757 Olive Street. It was 2016, and she was searching for a permanent home for Urban Sprouts, the early childhood education (ECE) center she co-founded seven years earlier. Located in University City, MO, the long, single-story structure had belonged to the McCarthy Spice […]
Read MoreIn Muncie, Reimagining ‘The Y’ for the Needs of Gen Z and Beyond
Founded in 1844 in London in response to social challenges brought on by the industrial revolution, YMCA was established as a refuge where young men working long hours in squalid conditions and living in dilapidated tenements could gather for fellowship and support. The concept quickly took off – including in the United States – with […]
Read More10 Years of Impact in Detroit: How Three Nonprofits Have Evolved to Strengthen Communities
Ten years ago, the City of Detroit was less than a year removed from the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in U.S. history and working through a laborious process to restructure more than $18 billion in debt held by 100,000+ creditors. To say that the future of the city was uncertain is an understatement. Despite this, […]
Read MoreMarch 2024 Loan Round-up
In March, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $6.8 million for community-driven projects in the Midwest, while also closing funding to a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) project that provided a nonprofit with a $6 million federal NMTC allocation. We’ve included information below about the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with […]
Read MoreFebruary 2024 Loan Round-up
In February, IFF closed 12 loans totaling approximately $28.6 million for community-driven projects in the Midwest, while also closing funding to a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) project that provided an Ohio nonprofit with a $7 million federal NMTC allocation and a $1 million State of Ohio NMTC allocation. We’ve included information below about several […]
Read MoreDecember 2023 Loan Round-up
In December, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $35.5 million for 19 community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. Chicago Advocate Legal IFF closed a $52,000 […]
Read MoreNovember 2023 Loan Round-up
In November, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $26.7 million for 12 community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. Bethel New Life IFF closed a $345,000 […]
Read MoreA $50 Million Healthy Living Campus Aims to Address Historic Inequities in West Dayton
Early childhood education (ECE), affordable housing, nutritious food, quality health care, and sustainable employment opportunities are pillars of thriving communities. And while any one of these assets is a positive addition to a neighborhood, what kind of impact can be achieved when all of them are available in one easily accessible location? That’s a question […]
Read MoreOctober 2023 Loan Round-up
In October, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $25.5 million for 12 community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. Clean Community IFF closed a loan of […]
Read MoreKansas City Community Health Center Establishes First-of-its-kind Health and Wellness Center for Older Adults
For more than 50 years, Swope Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center, has provided high-quality health care to Kansas Citians – growing from a single clinic in a church basement to a network of 19 locations that provide comprehensive primary care and behavioral health services to more than 44,000 patients per year. This fall, the […]
Read MoreAugust 2023 Loan Round-up
In August, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $22.1 million for eight community-driven projects in the Midwest, while also closing funding to a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) project that provided an Indiana nonprofit with a $4 million NMTC allocation. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them […]
Read MoreJune 2023 Loan Round-up
In June, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $21.6 million for 14 community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. American Association of Single Parents IFF closed […]
Read More“Live Here, Create Here, Sell Here”: Two Detroiters Team Up to Create a $30 Million Haven for the Arts in a Historic Auto Factory
Matt Naimi and Oren Goldenberg don’t fit the profile of most real estate developers, let alone those who take on projects with complex capital stacks running into the tens of millions of dollars. An artist who runs the city’s only public recycling center and a filmmaker, respectively, Naimi and Goldenberg are far more interested in […]
Read MoreFebruary 2023 Loan Round-up
In February, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $14.9 million for nine community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. Common Pantry IFF closed a $500,000 gap […]
Read MoreDecember 2022 Loan Round-up
In December, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $13.6 million for 14 community-driven projects in the Midwest, in addition to providing a credit enhancement to a charter school. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit […]
Read MorePhoto Tour: IFF Loan “Opens the Door” for St. Louis Nonprofit to Create a State-of-the-Art Launch Pad for Careers in Tech
Since its founding in St. Louis in 2013, nonprofit LaunchCode has helped more than 2,500 people with little to no experience in computer science begin careers as software developers, data scientists, IT product managers, and more. Through intensive training and assistance with job placement – offered free of charge by LaunchCode – each of them […]
Read More$6 Million Rehab of Historic Facility Drives Change in Louisville’s West End
Sitting at the corner of 25th and Broadway in Louisville’s west end is a 30,036-square-foot red brick building constructed in 1923 to serve as the home of Universal Car Company. Originally built for use as a car showroom, by 1973 it had become Bob Smith Chevrolet – among the first large Black-owned car dealerships in […]
Read MoreConstruction Begins on World’s Largest Ronald McDonald House – Increasing Access to Pediatric Health Care in Central Ohio
For 40 years, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio (RMHC of Central Ohio) has provided a home away from home for tens of thousands of families, offering home-like accommodations and supportive services designed to ease the burden families face when a child is seriously ill. This summer, as the nonprofit marks the start of […]
Read MoreJune 2022 Loan Round-up
In June, IFF closed loans totaling approximately $16.1 million for nine community-driven projects in the Midwest, while also closing funding to a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) project that provided a Chicago nonprofit with a $6.575 million NMTC allocation. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the organizations that received them […]
Read MoreMeeting the Moment: 3 Nonprofit Leaders Reflect on Serving More, Serving More Effectively, and Serving More Equitably
When IFF was founded in 1988, our purpose was simple: to put flexible capital in the hands of nonprofits for facilities projects so that they’d have the quality spaces they needed to achieve their missions and strengthen their communities. What became apparent after several years, though, was that access to capital didn’t mean every nonprofit […]
Read MorePhoto Tour: $15 Million Adaptive Reuse of Historic Church Campus Enables Chicago Charter School’s Expansion
When Katherine Myers-Crum began considering launching a new charter school, two goals quickly came into focus: the school needed to be located in the Chicago neighborhood where it could have the biggest impact, and whatever facility the school leased would ideally serve as its permanent home. The first goal was accomplished when Great Lakes Academy […]
Read MoreNonprofit BUILD Moves Quickly to Disrupt the Status Quo with a Bold Investment in Community Infrastructure on Chicago’s West Side
“If the goal is to change things in the community for the better, business as usual isn’t good enough,” says Adam Alonso. “Making bold decisions to disrupt the status quo is the only way to get there.” Alonso, the CEO of youth services nonprofit BUILD, speaks from experience, having broken ground ahead of schedule last […]
Read MorePhoto Tour: A Repurposed School Begins Its Second Act as a Building Block for Revitalization in North St. Louis
For the first half of the 20th century, Jeff-Vander-Lou was a destination. With major employers like Coca-Cola operating factories in the neighborhood, jobs were readily accessible, while the old St. Louis Cardinals’ stadium ensured a steady stream of customers for small businesses in Jeff-Vander-Lou. And, as one of the few neighborhoods in St. Louis where […]
Read MoreMarch 2022 Loan Round-up
In March, IFF closed five loans totaling $6.63 million and provided three New Markets Tax Credit allocations totaling $23 million for community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the projects and the organizations completing them. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. Academy for Global Citizenship […]
Read MoreFebruary 2022 Loan Round-up
In February, IFF closed four loans totaling approximately $8.5 million for community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included information below about several of the loans and what the nonprofits that received them are doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. 548 Development LLC IFF closed a $1.5 […]
Read MorePhoto Tour: North Lawndale Employment Network’s First Permanent Campus
When the North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN) was established in 1999 as a result of a community planning effort, its “facility” was comprised of several cubicles at Sinai Community Institute. From these humble beginnings, the organization has evolved into a multifaceted nonprofit playing a critical role in creating a more vibrant future for Chicago’s West […]
Read MorePhoto Tour: The Marygrove Early Education Center Puts Young Learners at the Center of Community Revitalization
When students walked through the doors of the Marygrove Early Education Center (Marygrove EEC) for the first time on September 7, 2021, they excitedly entered a facility designed to nurture their development, revitalize a community, and redefine what’s possible in early childhood education (ECE). For them, it was the opportunity to meet teachers and classmates […]
Read MoreIndianapolis Social Enterprise Begins Construction of $13 Million Workforce Development Complex for Returning Citizens
“We recycle the things that people throw away and the people that society sometimes forgets and throws away,” explains Gregg Keesling, the founder and president of RecycleForce, an Indianapolis-based social enterprise that diverts waste from landfills while providing job training and up to six months of transitional employment to citizens returning from incarceration. “Our communities […]
Read MoreOctober 2021 Loan Round-up
In October, IFF closed six loans totaling almost $10.1 million for community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included below a roundup with information about several of the organizations that received the loans and what they’re doing with the capital. To learn more about IFF’s lending, visit our Capital Solutions page. Chicago Children’s Museum IFF closed a […]
Read MoreFamily Christian Health Center Responds to Pandemic by Leaning Further into Its Mission
“To break it down to its most basic level, it allowed us to sleep,” says Dr. Lisa Green. “There’s peace of mind in knowing that regardless of external factors, we have the flexibility to make payroll, purchase supplies, pay vendors, and move forward with our larger plans for health care in the South Suburbs of […]
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