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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

    Photo Tour: $15 Million Adaptive Reuse of Historic Church Campus Enables Chicago Charter School’s Expansion
    Category: Stories
  2. 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
  3. May 18, 2022

    Madison Nonprofits Team Up on Affordable Housing and Early Childhood Education in a Win-Win for Everybody
    Category: Stories
  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 01, 2022

    April 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Architect's rendering of Galleria 89 in South Chicago
  6. 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
  7. April 19, 2022

    Photo Tour: A Repurposed School Begins Its Second Act as a Building Block for Revitalization in North St. Louis
    Category: Stories
  8. 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
  9. April 19, 2022

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

    March 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. February 11, 2022

    Crain’s Chicago Business: We need to hack appraisal-based lending
    Category: Thought Leadership
    Category: Press
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  18. 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
  19. January 18, 2022

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

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

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

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

    December 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  24. 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
  25. December 14, 2021

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

    Indianapolis Social Enterprise Begins Construction of $13 Million Workforce Development Complex for Returning Citizens
    Category: Stories
    RecycleForce Groundbreaking
  27. December 01, 2021

    November 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. November 15, 2021

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

    Better Together: How FQHCs and CDFIs can leverage COVID-19 Relief Funds
    Category: Thought Leadership
  32. October 31, 2021

    October 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  33. 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
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  34. 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
  35. 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
  36. October 01, 2021

    September 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    RecycleForce Groundbreaking
  37. 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
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  38. September 21, 2021

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

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

    Nonprofit Quarterly: CDFIs and the COVID-19 Moment: Whither Now, Community Finance?
    Category: Press
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  41. 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
  42. September 15, 2021

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

    Paramount Schools of Excellence Charts New Path in Indiana with Statewide Expansion
    Category: Stories
  44. 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
  45. September 07, 2021

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

    August 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A table reading at the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company in Chicago, IL
  47. August 16, 2021

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

    Columbus Nonprofit Revives Community Asset as Permanent Facility for Teen Mentorship
    Category: Stories
  49. July 31, 2021

    July 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  50. July 14, 2021

    Red Clay Dance Company Brings “Artivism” to Chicago’s Woodlawn Community
    Category: Stories
  51. June 30, 2021

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

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

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

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

    Long-term Relationships and Trust Underpin COVID-19 Vaccination Success in Homan Square
    Category: Stories
  56. 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
  57. May 31, 2021

    May 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  58. April 28, 2021

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

    Commongrounds Cooperative Puts Community First in Traverse City
    Category: Stories
  60. March 31, 2021

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

    Impact Alpha: Five ways that lenders can interrupt racism and provide restorative-justice capital in our communities
    Category: Press
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  62. February 28, 2021

    February 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  63. February 22, 2021

    OFN & Twitter announce first Finance Justice Fund loans
    Category: Press
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  64. February 01, 2021

    Bridge Detroit: Cradle-to-career program at Marygrove campus serves Detroit’s littlest people
    Category: Press
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  65. February 01, 2021

    IFF and JPMorgan Chase’s Stronger Nonprofit Initiative Assisting Milwaukee Nonprofit Leaders of Color
    Category: Press
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  66. January 31, 2021

    January 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  67. January 29, 2021

    Milwaukee Courier: IFF and JPMorgan Chase’s Stronger Nonprofit Initiative Assisting Milwaukee Nonprofit Leaders of Color
    Category: Press
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  68. January 29, 2021

    St. Louis Business Journal: Here’s when construction will start on Green Street’s $40M housing project in The Grove
    Category: Press
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  69. January 26, 2021

    Next STL: Union At The Grove to Break Ground
    Category: Press
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  70. January 22, 2021

    The News-Gazette: With homes filled and park open, Bristol Place ‘a really great community’
    Category: Press
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  71. January 12, 2021

    Starbucks Press Release: Starbucks expands initiatives to advance opportunity, equity and inclusion in the communities it serves
    Category: Press
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  72. December 11, 2020

    WTMJ-TV Milwaukee: Increasing racial diversity among nonprofit leadership starts with achieving financial literacy
    Category: Press
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  73. November 19, 2020

    Citi Foundation Provides $15 Million in Support to 30 Community Development Financial Institutions Across the U.S.
    Category: Press
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  74. October 23, 2020

    Press Release: Stronger Nonprofits Initiative Launches in Detroit and Milwaukee, Providing Free Financial Resources for Leaders of Color
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  75. October 12, 2020

    Partnerships, Equity & the CDFI Way: How 159 Midwest nonprofits received PPP loans through IFF
    Category: Stories
  76. September 15, 2020

    10 Steps to Creating a Nonprofit Budget
    Category: Resources
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  77. September 02, 2020

    Learning to Change: Reflections of the CDFI Racial Equity Collaborative on Education
    Category: Press
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  78. September 01, 2020

    Racial Equity in Times of Crisis: Let’s Interrupt History (Part 2)
    Category: Thought Leadership
    3 paper silhouettes of people hold hands with one reaching across a gap as if to hold hands with 3 other paper silhouettes.
  79. July 14, 2020

    The Columbus Dispatch: Apartments to rise on ‘Cargominium’ site on East Side
    Category: Press
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  80. July 01, 2020

    WBEZ: Community Groups Push A Bold Idea To Revitalize Some Chicago Neighborhoods
    Category: Press
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  81. June 12, 2020

    The Hill: Community Development Financial Institutions funding in HEROES Act is key to helping economic fallout
    Category: Press
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  82. June 05, 2020

    Letter: Community Reinvestment Act Addresses Racism
    Category: Thought Leadership
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  83. May 27, 2020

    2019 Annual Report
    Category: Stories
  84. May 21, 2020

    Next City: This Nonprofit Helps Small Business Aid Go Where it Usually Doesn’t
    Category: Press
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  85. April 30, 2020

    Nonprofit Quarterly: A Moment of Choice: Racial Equity, CDFIs, and the PPP Lending Fiasco
    Category: Press
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  86. April 29, 2020

    Reuters: Minority businesses worry they are locked out of payroll lending program
    Category: Press
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  87. April 23, 2020

    New York Fed: The Fed and Main Street During the Coronavirus Pandemic
    Category: Press
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  88. April 15, 2020

    Racial Equity in Times of Crisis: Let’s Interrupt History
    Category: Thought Leadership
    3 paper silhouettes of people hold hands with one reaching across a gap as if to hold hands with 3 other paper silhouettes.
  89. April 08, 2020

    Community Reinvestment Act (CRA): IFF’s Letter to Comptroller Otting and Chairman McWilliams
    Category: Thought Leadership
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  90. March 06, 2020

    Architectural Digest: Inside a Historic Detroit Charter School That Takes Cues From Wes Anderson
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  91. March 02, 2020

    Detroit Prep revives century-old school building to serve up to 500 students in Pingree Park
    Category: Stories
    Interior image of Detroit Prep classroom with children
  92. February 27, 2020

    Affordable Housing Finance: Housing and Finance Organizations Receive Capital Magnet Funds
    Category: Press
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  93. February 27, 2020

    WGN: Lightfoot announces $6 million investment in West Side community health improvements
    Category: Press
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  94. February 26, 2020

    Chicago Tribune: There’s a 16-year gap in life expectancy between Chicago’s West Side and the Loop. Here’s what local hospitals are doing about it.
    Category: Press
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  95. February 14, 2020

    You, Me, and Your Top Three Podcast: Becoming a Multiplier with Chris Uhl, Executive Director – Eastern Region
    Category: Press
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  96. February 12, 2020

    Can we finally change our sexist funding policies for early care and education?
    Category: Thought Leadership
  97. February 04, 2020

    What does $1 billion in community lending look like?
    Category: Stories
    Montage of images from projects contributing to the $1 billion of loans
  98. February 03, 2020

    Advancing Communities Podcast: IFF CEO Joe Neri
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  99. January 29, 2020

    CEOs of Four National CDFI Loan Funds Comment on CRA Rulemaking
    Category: Thought Leadership
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  100. January 27, 2020

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch: YouthBridge to commit 25% of endowment to local investments
    Category: Press
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