Family 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 […]
Read MoreSeptember 2021 Loan Round-up
In September, IFF closed 11 loans totaling almost $19.2 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. Clearbrook IFF closed a $350,000 loan […]
Read MoreTrailblazing Early Learning Center Opens Doors on Marygrove Campus in Detroit
27,550. Out of context, this number means nothing. But for IFF, The Kresge Foundation, Starfish Family Services, and other partners working to build an early childhood center on the historic grounds of Marygrove College in northwest Detroit in recent years, it has long served as a call to action. That’s because it represents the number […]
Read MoreProfile: Detroit Achievement Academy Founder Kyle Smitley on Starting a Charter School, Expansion, and Her “Unhinged” Love for Facilities Projects
Most soon-to-be law school students wouldn’t dream of taking on any large commitments unrelated to school, but Kyle Smitley wasn’t like most law school students. And so, before her 1L year at the University of Toledo, Smitley launched barley & birch, a for-profit, eco-friendly children’s clothing line with a business model to donate half of […]
Read MoreApril 2021 Loan Round-up
In April, IFF closed nine loans totaling $14,278,499 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. City Garden Montessori Charter School City Garden […]
Read MoreCovenant House Illinois Doubles Down on Ending Youth Homelessness with More Beds and Services in East Garfield Park
“There have been lots of people doing good work in Chicago, but in a city of this size, you’re going to have a large population of young people experiencing homelessness who need 24/7 care to overcome trauma, develop skills, and move on with their lives,” said Jim Kelly, the Interim Executive Director of Covenant House […]
Read MoreFebruary 2021 Loan Round-up
In February, IFF closed six loans totaling $10,914,000 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. Commongrounds Cooperative Traverse City, Michigan’s Commongrounds Cooperative […]
Read MoreJanuary 2021 Loan Round-up
In January, IFF closed five loans totaling $11,905,000 for community-driven projects in the Midwest. We’ve included below a roundup with information about two 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. Covenant House Illinois Covenant House Illinois, a […]
Read MoreDetroit Prep revives century-old school building to serve up to 500 students in Pingree Park
Joyful. Curious. Cooperative. That’s how Kyle Smitley, founder of Detroit Achievement Academy (DAA), describes the children who spend their days learning at Detroit Prep, DAA’s recently expanded sister school serving Detroit’s Pingree Park neighborhood. It’s also how she describes the feeling inside Detroit Prep’s newly renovated home, a century-old school building that sat vacant on […]
Read MoreWhat does $1 billion in community lending look like?
For more than 32 years, IFF has stayed true to its mission of strengthening nonprofits and the communities they serve. We’ve done that by financing schools, affordable housing, child care centers, health care facilities, community centers, and countless other social service agencies and neighborhood partners — to the tune of more than $1 billion in […]
Read MoreIFF clients give advice on how to spread awareness during Domestic Violence Awareness Month
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), and IFF sat down with four of our clients working with domestic violence survivors to ask for advice on how we can all spread awareness and act as allies. Here’s what we learned from our friends at Connections for Abused Women and their Children (CAWC) in Chicago, The […]
Read MoreHumboldt Park’s La Casa Norte answers question: ‘What are all the things someone needs to be well?’
“Homelessness is not an identity; it’s a circumstance. No mom wakes up and says they want their kids on the street. No young person says I want to be vulnerable or sell sex to have a safe place to sleep. Things happen – people lose their jobs, women escape domestic violence, young people are kicked […]
Read MoreIFF CEO Joe Neri testifies at Congressional hearing on CDFI Fund
This morning, the House Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on the Community Development Financial Institution Fund (CDFI Fund). Four CDFI leaders provided live testimony: Annie Donovan, former CDFI Fund Director; Grace Fricks, President and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc.; Bob Jones, CEO of United Bank; and […]
Read MoreSt Louis’s Center of Creative Arts: Bridging the divide through the arts
“We are living in an idea economy. An arts education provides skills that all learners need – skills that create critical thinkers, problem solvers, effective collaborators and communicators who can empathize with others and uncover unique perspectives. It’s not necessarily about becoming a dancer or an actor. It’s about becoming the type of leader and […]
Read MoreBreaking old ground: How Arts@Large is resurrecting the old Polish Arts Center in Milwaukee
The nonprofit Arts@Large isn’t so much breaking new ground as it is breaking old ground. Its new headquarters – which will nearly quadruple its previous square footage in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborhood – is located in an 1890 historic building with deep connections to the city’s artistic history. Co-founder Teri Sullivan explains: “In the 1930s, […]
Read MoreFormer candy factory transformed into sustainable, affordable housing facility in Indianapolis
The former Homer J. Williamson Chocolate Factory on Indianapolis’ northeast side has been transformed into the “Overlook at the Fairgrounds” – a 4-story, 89,000-square-foot affordable and supportive housing facility that features city views from a rooftop terrace, LEED Silver design, and furnished space for public events. According to Gary Hobbs, the lead developer on the […]
Read MoreFrom IFF CEO Joe Neri: Celebrating 30 Years of Change
This letter from IFF CEO Joe Neri and IFF Board Chair John Sassaris appears on the first page of our 2017 Annual Investor Report. Dear Investors, As we close the books on last year and look to the future, we have much to celebrate. First, 2017 was a […]
Read MoreBreaking down barriers: Paraquad expands to create opportunities for people with disabilities
The Bloom Café is now budding. It opened March 21 with lines of people waiting for their coffee, pastries, and fresh soups and sandwiches all morning and afternoon. But this is no ordinary St. Louis coffee shop – it’s an innovative social enterprise that provides training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. “People with […]
Read MoreMajor update of YWCA Dayton centers on trauma-informed care
When YWCA Dayton constructed its flagship building in 1913, the world was a different place. Young women were flocking to urban areas for jobs as secretaries or housekeepers, but they often couldn’t own or lease property. That’s why the ‘YW’ created a kind of boarding house that provided them with a secure, if cramped, home: […]
Read MoreNonprofit realizes 20-year vision for halfway house in Stark County, OH
“All we want is a functional building to serve people – that’s it. It sounds so simple. But we’ve heard ‘no’ for more than 20 years,” says Chandra Bryant, Executive Director of Community Treatment and Corrections Center (CTCC), the only halfway house for adult male ex-offenders in Stark County, OH. “The challenge is that traditional […]
Read MoreProfile: Kamau Murray, Executive Director, XS Tennis and Education Foundation
Kamau Murray coached Sloane Stephens to a U.S. Open championship in 2017 – just two years after they teamed up. By all accounts, her victory was unexpected in the tennis world, but Murray probably wasn’t surprised. His entire being is focused on creating opportunities for athletes of color to succeed in the white-dominated sport of […]
Read MoreGreater Galilee continues its 90-year commitment to Milwaukee’s 53206
Milwaukee’s 53206 zipcode is often in the news for its challenges, which include the city’s highest concentration of poverty and the nation’s most-incarcerated population. But every day in that same neighborhood, the Greater Galilee Missionary Baptist Church and affiliated Greater Galilee Community Development Corporation (CDC) go to work to help make their community a better […]
Read MoreCleveland’s Menlo Park Academy transforms former garment manufacturing plant and West Side
What do the nation’s oldest garment manufacturer and Ohio’s top-ranked public elementary school have in common? As of September 23, their 78,000-square-foot home on the west side of Cleveland. Menlo Park Academy (MPA) purchased the abandoned industrial facility in 2015 and has been renovating it into a school building capable of seating 800 students – more […]
Read MoreProfile: Jeanne Golliher, President and CEO of the Cincinnati Development Fund
Jeanne has been CDF’sPresident and CEO since 1998. Under her leadership, CDF has loaned more than $250 million, impacting more than $1 billion in projects around Greater Cincinnati. Jeanne also volunteers with many local organizations, including the Local Initiatives Support Organization, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Hamilton County Development Company, Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation, and […]
Read MoreYWCA in Michigan offers safe space for domestic and sexual violence victims
This month YWCA West Central Michigan in Grand Rapids will celebrate completion of renovations to both its main office and its domestic violence emergency shelter, Sojourner House. On Oct. 12 and 13, the nonprofit will hold a reception and community open house. The capital improvements to Sojourner House will allow the shelter to accommodate over 75 more […]
Read MoreChicago Commons gains stability amid state budget impasse with IFF’s help
While the Illinois budget crisis continues to loom large, financially strong nonprofits like Chicago Commons have some hard decisions to make. This past summer, Chicago Commons closed one of its Adult Day Care Service facilities, leaving 10 staff members without a job. Four years ago, Chicago Commons absorbed the Adult Day Care Service program from Bethel New […]
Read MoreParaquad’s relocation will triple facility size and move more clients off waiting list
Paraquad’s relocation of its Health and Wellness Center to a new space will more than triple the facility’s size, allowing the St. Louis agency for people with all disabilities to help a growing number of clients in need of fitness and recreation opportunities. The center’s expansion will alleviate the six-month waiting list at the current […]
Read MoreArts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park opens 10 years after idea first planted
A decade after identifying the need for a community facility in Chicago’s Oakwood Shores, IFF joined city leaders and residents for the grand opening last month of the Arts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park. The recommendation for a center in this area came from a 2006 IFF report, Stepping Out, commissioned by the John D. […]
Read MoreCustomers, community leaders celebrate IFF’s $100MM milestone in Milwaukee
On June 21, 2006, IFF approved its first Wisconsin loan to Seeds of Health. Ten years later, on that exact day, customers and community members alike gathered in Milwaukee at St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care’s Bucyrus Campus to celebrate a major IFF milestone. IFF has supported nonprofits and affordable housing developers across the state through over $100 […]
Read MoreThe Salvation Army to build or renovate four facilities to meet community needs
The Salvation Army of Greater Cleveland held a groundbreaking April 28 for West Park Corps, whose renovations will double the facility’s space from 13,273 square feet to 27,682 square feet. West Park Corps is one of four community center facilities being built or renovated to increase capacity and meet the community’s current and long-term needs. The […]
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