Mission & Focus
CCLF's mission, as stated on its website, is "to provide low cost, flexible financing to community development organizations... throughout metropolitan Chicago." Its focus is on providing loans to agencies engaged in planning and building affordable housing. It also lends money to other types of community development organizations and organizations that support environmental sustainability, such as Chicago's nonprofit car-sharing program, I-GO, Logan Square Kitchen, a commercial shared-use kitchen and 75-seat event space, and Whistler-Crossing in Riverdale, IL, the first LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) in Illinois.
The loan fund is distinguished from traditional banks by its track record of taking on "risky" projects, such as affordable housing and cooperative housing, and by its high level of assistance to borrowers. One of the unique technical assistance programs it offers is the Project Readiness Workshop, occurring about four times a year, which it describes as "intensive" all-day "sessions that provide an overview of the complexities and requirements involved in launching and sustaining a successful real estate development project,". CCLF also organizes a yearly "Building for Sustainability" seminar at the Chicago Center for Green Technology.
Over the next four years CCLF aims to increase lending volume and accelerate the rate of business development, social service provision, and job growth in the communities of Englewood, North Lawndale, and Woodlawn on the South and West Sides of Chicago and in parts of two high-poverty suburban corridors.
CCLF is certified by the US Department of Treasury's CDFI Fund and is an active member of the Opportunity Finance Network.
Read more about this topic: Chicago Community Loan Fund
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