IFF

For many nonprofits, a facility is more than just four walls—it’s the physical heart of their mission and a vital anchor for the people they serve. Transforming the vision for a high-quality, community-oriented space into a reality, however, is often a deeply complex undertaking. Before the first brick is laid, nonprofit leadership teams must navigate a critical hurdle: determining if their organization truly possesses the real estate and capital readiness required to see a construction project through to completion.

In a recent two-part webinar series, IFF’s Real Estate Solutions (RES) team broke down the factors nonprofits should consider when planning a facility project. In addition to the RES team, these webinars also featured the insights from the leaders of several nonprofit organizations that successfully completed facility projects to enhance their work and better engage their communities.

Below, we’ve included recordings of both webinars, along with outlines of the content covered in each presentation. For any questions related to the material, please contact IFF’s Real Estate Solutions team.

Laying the Foundation: From Ideation to Activation

Presented on January 28, 2026, by IFF Vice President of Real Estate Solutions Kate Ansorge, Managing Director of Real Estate Solutions Jessica Nepomiachi, and Xchange Chicago Associate Director of Strategic Development and Operations Oluwaseyi Olaleye, with support from the Chicago Community Trust Neighborhood Capital Fund, this webinar is designed to provide participants with a foundational understanding of the factors required to build real estate and capital readiness for community development projects.

Webinar Outline

Learning Objectives (5:17)

Planning for Success at Ideation Stage (9:54)

Breaking down the various topics for planning at the ideation stage for a community development project, including determining how a project delivers impact, evaluating its impact on long-term financial sustainability, assessing its relationship to location, and identifying community stakeholders and other partners
Overview of the phases of a real estate project
Overview of the feasibility analysis phase, which includes defining project parameters, identifying potential funding sources, and next steps
Overview of the site search phase, including how to know when the organization is ready to begin the search process, timeline, budget, and achieving real estate readiness
Overview of the predevelopment phase, which includes fundraising and securing financing, due diligence on the property being developed, identifying a development team, and achieving readiness to begin construction
Overview of the construction and occupancy phases, including the likely cost and duration of the project based on the organization’s goals, the value of an owner’s representative, closing out the construction phase, and moving into the building

Project Readiness Framework (20:22)

Reviewing the project readiness framework, which outlines three types of readiness to consider when pursuing a community development project: organizational readiness, real estate readiness, and capital readiness
Explaining organizational readiness in the context of a community development project, including an organization’s ability to achieve its facility project goals and factors such as staff capacity and experience, as well as experience across an organization and its board
Understanding real estate readiness in the context of community development, including evaluating who controls a site, what change may be required to zoning, how design and construction are priced and planned, and other permitting requirements
Understanding capital readiness in the context of community development, which is defined as an organization’s readiness to seek capital funding for a project; this requires determining a project’s cost and timing for predevelopment and construction
Reviewing what decision-making can look like using this readiness framework, including determining a project’s budget, reviewing the relationship between impact, scope, and budget, and evaluating risk

Case Study: Xchange Chicago (43:07)

Project Readiness for Community Development Webinar

Presented on February 4, 2026, by IFF Vice President of Real Estate Solutions Kate Ansorge and Managing Director of Real Estate Solutions Jessica Nepomiachi, with support from the Chicago Community Trust Neighborhood Capital Fund, this webinar presents a panel discussion about executing facility projects, as well as lessons for nonprofit leaders considering their own facility projects. Panelists include Adrienne Lange, chief advancement officer at Latinos Progresando; Rafael Robles, co-founder and director of Duo Development; and Deon Lucas, president of E.G. Woode.

Webinar Outline

Learning Objectives (3:52)

Panelist Introductions: Latinos Progresando, Duo Development, and E.G. Woode (4:18)

Introducing Adrienne Lange, chief advancement officer at Latinos Progresando, and her organization’s recent capital project renovating its new headquarters and community center in a closed branch of the Chicago Public Library in the Little Village neighborhood
Introducing Rafael Robles, co-founder and director of Duo Development, and Duo’s Starling project, creating a community space and neighborhood amenity in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood
Introducing Deon Lucas, president of E.G. Woode, and his organization’s work developing its office, as well as other community-based projects, in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood

Overview of IFF Readiness Framework (19:47)

Reviewing the project readiness framework, which outlines three types of readiness to consider when pursuing a community development project: organizational readiness, real estate readiness, and capital readiness
Explaining organizational readiness in the context of a community development project, including an organization’s ability to achieve its facility project goals and factors such as staff capacity and experience, as well as experience across an organization and its board
Understanding real estate readiness in the context of community development, including evaluating who controls a site, what change may be required to zoning, how design and construction are priced and planned, and other permitting requirements
Understanding capital readiness in the context of community development, which is defined as an organization’s readiness to seek capital funding for a project; this requires determining a project’s cost and timing for predevelopment and construction
Reviewing what decision-making can look like using this readiness framework, including determining a project’s budget, reviewing the relationship between impact, scope, and budget, and evaluating risk

Panel Discussion and Reflection (26:58)

Adrienne Lange’s reflections on reviewing Latinos Progresando’s team, capacity, and areas where additional support was needed
Rafael Robles’ reflections on engaging community and identifying stakeholders to inform facility design
Deon Lucas’ reflections on assembling E.G. Woode’s team and its relation to the organization’s mission
Adrienne Lange’s reflections on the real estate and capital needs during Latinos Progresando’s nonlinear predevelopment process
Rafael Robles’ reflections on raising capital for Duo Development’s project
Deon Lucas’ advice for someone pursuing capital through the City of Chicago’s Community Development Grant

Contact IFF’s Real Estate Solutions team to learn more about real estate and capital readiness for community development projects

Webinar Recaps: Achieving Readiness for Nonprofit Community Development Projects February 5, 2026

Laying the Foundation: From Ideation to Activation

Webinar Outline

Project Readiness for Community Development Webinar

Webinar Outline