CHICAGO, IL – September 26, 2022 – IFF, the Midwest’s largest Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), participated in the recent Aeris® rating process and, for the ninth year in a row, was awarded four stars for Impact Management Performance along with Policy Plus and AAA for Financial Strength and Performance.
“IFF is honored to receive and maintain our excellent rating from Aeris®,” said IFF’s Chief Financial Officer, Suza Leao-Reuter. “The Aeris® rating is an important process to ensure CDFI loan funds are credible and impactful investment opportunities, and IFF is committed to this practice and the value it holds. We look forward to partnering with our investors to make an impact across the Midwest.”
IFF’s official Aeris® ratings include:
Impact Management Performance: Four Stars maintained since December 31, 2013
The CDFI has exceptional alignment of its impact mission, strategies, activities, and data that guide its lending, programs and planning. It fully and effectively uses its resources, both directly and indirectly, in pursuit of its impact mission. Its processes and systems accurately track comprehensive data on an ongoing basis, including both output and longer term outcome metrics, and it can provide data showing positive changes in achieving its impact goals. Board and management consistently use the data to adjust strategies and activities to improve its effectiveness.
Policy Plus:
Policy change is an integral part of this CDFI’s strategies. The CDFI leads initiatives to change government policy to benefit the community development finance industry or disadvantaged people and communities. The CDFI can provide evidence of its leadership role in recent policy changes that produced benefits beyond additional resources for the Loan Fund itself, and management can clearly articulate the CDFI’s leadership role in current policy activities.
Financial Strength and Performance: AAA as of December 31, 2021
The CDFI has exceptional financial strength, performance and risk management practices. Any weaknesses are minor and can be handled in a routine manner by the board of directors and management. The CDFI is resilient to significant changes in its operating environment.
Aeris® provides comprehensive, third-party assessments of CDFIs and other private impact loan funds. The organization’s CDFI Assessment and Rating System was developed in 2004 as an independent project of Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). For more information on Aeris®, visit www.aerisinisght.com.