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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 27, 2026

    Audio Story: How Teachers Like Me is Building Community for Black Educators in Kansas City
    Category: Stories
    Two women sit together on a sofa laughing in front of a wall with wooden paneling, a TV, and a colorful painting.
  2. April 29, 2026

    IFF’s 2025 Annual Report: Standing Together for Midwest Communities
    Category: Stories
    A man speaks at a podium during a ground-breaking event with onlookers and shovels in the foreground.
  3. February 13, 2026

    Milwaukee’s Tenor High School Brews New Opportunities for College and Career Readiness
    Category: Stories
    Three people wearing black aprons stand behind a counter holding cups, with wooden cabinets and white tile in the background.
  4. December 01, 2025

    November 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Students seated at round tables in a sunlit classroom.
  5. November 19, 2025

    A “94-Year-Old Startup” High School Secures Its Future Through Campus Ownership
    Category: Stories
    Aerial view of a school campus in a suburban area with houses and a distant city skyline.
  6. November 01, 2025

    October 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A single-story building with a green metal roof and white exterior sits in a park-like setting. A curving driveway and pathway lead to the entrance. Cloudy sky above.
  7. October 29, 2025

    Carmen Schools of Science and Technology Builds for the Future with a $55 Million Home for STEAM Success
    Category: Stories
    An architect's rendering of a modern three-story building at a street intersection with cars and crosswalks. A sign on the building says, "Carmen Schools of Science and Technology "
  8. October 24, 2025

    St. Louis Magazine: How Nonprofit Lender IFF Helped Save St. Mary’s
    Category: Press
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  9. October 01, 2025

    September 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A group of nine adults standing outside a building with yellow bricks, behind a green sign that says, "Brickton Montessori School."
  10. August 12, 2025

    St. Louis Business Journal: Backers Buy Catholic High School Property with Plans to Stay Independent
    Category: Press
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  11. August 01, 2025

    July 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Aerial view of a school campus in a suburban area with houses and a distant city skyline.
  12. July 01, 2025

    June 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    An architect's rendering of a bright pottery studio with tables, stools, pottery wheels, and large shelves filled with ceramics.
  13. June 01, 2025

    May 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Entrance sign for Riverside Village apartments, with shrubs and a residential building in the background.
  14. May 21, 2025

    IFF’s 2024 Annual Report: Investing in People, Places, and Possibilities
    Category: Stories
  15. April 01, 2025

    March 2025 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    A building with beige and red brick facades, featuring the Jane Pauley Community Health Center logo on the right. A mural of a Native American headdress is on the adjacent red brick wall.
  16. December 04, 2024

    Community Economic Development Association of Michigan: How CDFIs Strengthen Nonprofits: 10 Years of IFF’s Impact in Detroit
    Category: Press
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  17. October 25, 2024

    It Takes a Village Family of Schools Celebrates Expansion to New Campus on Chicago’s South Side
    Category: Stories
  18. October 23, 2024

    High-Performing Charter School Expands to Create Pathways to Local STEM Careers for More Milwaukee Students
    Category: Stories
  19. October 02, 2024

    Second Wave Michigan: Growing Fruitful Neighborhoods – IFF’s Commitment to Eastside Detroit
    Category: Press
    Category: Stories
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  20. October 01, 2024

    September 2024 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  21. September 25, 2024

    Seven Budget-Friendly Investments to Upgrade School Facilities
    Category: Resources
  22. September 04, 2024

    Chicago Defender: It Takes a Village Leadership Academy’s Bronzeville Campus Celebrates Successful First Day of School
    Category: Press
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  23. May 09, 2024

    KSHB-TV: Transforming Empty KCPS DeLano School Into Teen Homeless Shelter
    Category: Press
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  24. May 07, 2024

    IFF’s 2023 Annual Report: A Historic Investment in Local Changemakers
    Category: Stories
  25. April 28, 2024

    10 Years of Impact in Detroit: How Three Nonprofits Have Evolved to Strengthen Communities
    Category: Stories
  26. April 01, 2024

    March 2024 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  27. February 12, 2024

    Block Club Chicago: Private School with Social Justice Focus Coming to Bronzeville’s Closed Hales Franciscan High School
    Category: Press
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  28. January 01, 2024

    December 2023 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  29. December 30, 2023

    Chicago Defender: ITAV Elevates Mission with Historic Acquisition of Hales in Bronzeville
    Category: Press
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  30. December 01, 2023

    November 2023 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  31. November 01, 2023

    October 2023 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  32. August 26, 2023

    Northern Express: Where the Teacher Shortage and the Housing Crisis Meet
    Category: Press
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  33. August 17, 2023

    Illinois Charter School Completes Renovation of Historically Significant Campus Designed for Expeditionary Learning
    Category: Stories
  34. August 01, 2023

    July 2023 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  35. July 19, 2023

    New High School Campus Solidifies KIPP KC’s Kindergarten-to-College Continuum for Quality Education
    Category: Stories
  36. June 01, 2023

    May 2023 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  37. April 01, 2023

    March 2023 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Two people in a workshop glassblowing, with one holding a rod and the other assisting.
  38. March 22, 2023

    Celebrating 10 Years of Impact in Indiana and Doubling Down on Statewide Solutions
    Category: Stories
    At the Paramount Cottage Home school, a photo of the 10-year celebration of IFF's work in Indiana
  39. January 01, 2023

    December 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  40. December 01, 2022

    November 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  41. November 17, 2022

    Students to start Nov. 28 at new North Chicago middle school; ‘This will empower our students to do so much more’
    Category: Press
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  42. November 16, 2022

    Press Release: North Chicago’s New Neal Math and Science Academy Opens, Funded by a Donation from AbbVie
    Category: Press
    a Black girl and an Asian boy playing with a water table at the Chicago Children's Museum
  43. September 23, 2022

    Photo Tour: An Alternative Day School for Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder Combines Quality Education and Therapeutic Services in New Space
    Category: Stories
  44. August 31, 2022

    August 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  45. August 23, 2022

    Detroit Charter School Overcomes Start-Up Challenges to Find a Trajectory-Changing Facility of Its Own
    Category: Stories
  46. August 01, 2022

    July 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    Architect's rendering of Detroit Public Theatre's new facility
  47. June 21, 2022

    Chicago’s Academy for Global Citizenship Anchors New State-of-the-Art Learning, Sustainability, and Wellness Hub Catered to Community Needs
    Category: Stories
    Architect's rendering of the Academy for Global Citizenship at the Cultivate Collective hub
  48. June 21, 2022

    Meeting the Moment: 3 Nonprofit Leaders Reflect on Serving More, Serving More Effectively, and Serving More Equitably
    Category: Stories
  49. June 01, 2022

    May 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
    People standing inside a Volunteers of America Michigan thrift store
  50. May 18, 2022

    Photo Tour: $15 Million Adaptive Reuse of Historic Church Campus Enables Chicago Charter School’s Expansion
    Category: Stories
  51. 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
  52. May 18, 2022

    IFF’s 2021 Annual Report | Meeting the Moment: Change, Equity, Impact
    Category: Stories
    Cover of IFF's 2021 Annual Report
  53. April 01, 2022

    March 2022 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  54. 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
  55. 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
  56. January 18, 2022

    Photo Tour: Seeds of Health’s Tenor High School Opens New Campus in Historic Milwaukee Location
    Category: Stories
  57. 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
  58. September 15, 2021

    Paramount Schools of Excellence Charts New Path in Indiana with Statewide Expansion
    Category: Stories
  59. 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
  60. July 31, 2021

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

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

    2020 Annual Report
    Category: Stories
  63. March 31, 2021

    March 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  64. February 28, 2021

    February 2021 Loan Round-up
    Category: Stories
  65. November 06, 2020

    Lake County News-Sun: Renovation will essentially create new 5-story North Chicago middle school
    Category: Press
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  66. October 12, 2020

    Partnerships, Equity & the CDFI Way: How 159 Midwest nonprofits received PPP loans through IFF
    Category: Stories
  67. September 02, 2020

    Learning to Change: Reflections of the CDFI Racial Equity Collaborative on Education
    Category: Press
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  68. 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.
  69. June 12, 2020

    Chicago Tribune: Designs for new North Chicago middle school in final stages
    Category: Press
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  70. May 27, 2020

    2019 Annual Report
    Category: Stories
  71. 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.
  72. March 06, 2020

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

    Profile: Denise Smith, Hope Starts Here Implementation Director
    image of Denise Smith
  74. 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
  75. March 02, 2020

    Experienced child care provider expands to serve 6x more children on Detroit’s east side
    Category: Stories
    Interior image of Blessed Beginnings Learning Center classroom
  76. 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
  77. November 18, 2019

    Chalkbeat: After years of fundraising and legal battles, a Detroit charter celebrates its new home
    Category: Press
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  78. November 18, 2019

    American School & University Magazine: Detroit charter moves into vacant elementary
    Category: Press
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  79. October 25, 2019

    Intro: Two community investors, two Midwest cities, two approaches to reaching more leaders of color with the financing tools they want
    Category: Thought Leadership
  80. October 09, 2019

    Acting on the wisdom of Black communities: A conversation with William Jackson, PhD
  81. September 04, 2019

    Raising Quality, Promoting Equity: An Analysis of Location, Performance, and Challenges Facing Tulsa Public Schools
  82. September 04, 2019

    Raising Quality, Promoting Equity: An Analysis of Location, Performance, and Challenges Facing Oklahoma City Public Schools
  83. April 11, 2019

    IFF’s 2018 Annual Investors Report
    Category: Stories
  84. March 22, 2019

    Crain’s Chicago Business: AbbVie donates $40 million to rebuild Neal Math & Science Academy
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  85. March 12, 2019

    Exploring the continuum: Why community development projects need so much more than capital
    Category: Thought Leadership
  86. March 01, 2019

    Chicago Tribune: AbbVie pledges $40 million to fund construction of new middle school in North Chicago
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  87. February 26, 2019

    IFF CEO Joe Neri testifies at Congressional hearing on CDFI Fund
    Category: Thought Leadership
  88. February 05, 2019

    One of the nation’s best schools takes a deep dive in Indianapolis – breathing life into historic Naval structure
    Category: Stories
  89. January 18, 2019

    Top 10 Pieces of Advice in 2018
    Category: Stories
  90. December 05, 2018

    WBEZ: Vacant School Buildings Litter Chicago Neighborhoods After Mass School Closings
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  91. November 12, 2018

    Foundations College Prep: From a ‘tiny beginning’ to a thriving community
    Category: Stories
  92. November 12, 2018

    IFF celebrates 30 years by convening 500+ partners across the Midwest
    Category: Stories
  93. September 05, 2018

    High School that Emphasizes Service Makes Investment in IFF
  94. September 04, 2018

    Profile: Lisa Mensah, President and CEO, Opportunity Finance Network
    Category: Stories
  95. September 04, 2018

    The Real Deal Neighborhood Spotlight: Can North Lawndale’s future live up to its past?
    Category: Press
    IFF Media Icon
  96. August 06, 2018

    Profile: Eric Weinheimer, President and CEO, Forefront
    Category: Stories
  97. June 06, 2018

    ‘We just don’t give up:’ How one alternative school is reaching homeless, dropout youth throughout Michigan
    Category: Stories
  98. April 16, 2018

    From IFF CEO Joe Neri: Celebrating 30 Years of Change
    Category: Stories
  99. February 06, 2018

    Foundation for Homan Square, IFF Bet on Future Together
    Category: Stories
  100. October 04, 2017

    Can Illinois schools make the grade? IFF study on K-12 public education shines light on inequities, bright spots