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IN THIS ISSUE


IFF's Chicago headquarters move

Milwaukee's Escuela Verde

XS Tennis in Chicago

St. Louis' Provident

Center for Great Neighborhoods in Covington, KY

Profile on Detroit's Southwest Solutions president and CEO

 


CONNECT WITH US


Thursday, September 3
Gaining Access to Capital workshop
St. Louis, MO

Thursday, September 3
IFF open house
St. Louis, MO

Thursday, September 10
Escuela Verde grand opening
Milwaukee, WI

Tuesday, September 15
St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care open house
Milwaukee, WI

Thursday, September 17
Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington groundbreaking
Covington, KY

 

GOOD NEWS


On August 27, a Save-A-Lot grocery store owned, developed, and financed by IFF opened in Rockford, IL. The project was financed through the Illinois Fresh Food Fund. Read the article that appeared in the Rockford Register Star. See grand opening photos on Facebook.

Last month we also closed on a second collateral trust note sale for 2015, bringing the total amount of private capital raised through our Investor Consortium to nearly $200 million. Read the release.

IFF moves Chicago headquarters to new office in downtown, supports expansion


IFF is relocating its downtown Chicago corporate headquarters to offices only a few blocks away that will provide the larger space needed to support its continued expansion across the Midwest. The 27,900-square-foot space will allow IFF to house all its employees on one floor and leave room for future growth.

“Each move in our 27-year history has been about increasing our capacity to help even more nonprofits across the Midwest meet their mission,” IFF CEO Joe Neri said. “In our new Chicago headquarters, we’ll have the space and resources to provide the financing and other services needed by organizations to build stronger communities.”


Starting Friday, September, 25, IFF's new address will be the CNA Center, 333 South Wabash Avenue, Suite 2800, Chicago, IL 60604. CNA Center is a 44-story, high-rise building in the Loop area of Chicago, known for its brightly painted red exterior.

IFF embarked on expanding into other states beyond Illinois in 2006 and opened its first of four regional offices in 2008 in St. Louis, MO. Milwaukee followed in 2009, Indianapolis in 2012, and Detroit in 2014. IFF also provides its lending, real estate consulting, and other services to nonprofits in Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Ohio.

Milwaukee's Escuela Verde charter school moves to larger location
 

At Escuela Verde in Milwaukee, students often fulfill the required 50 hours of community service by participating in sustainability-focused activities organized by the charter school. So it’s no surprise students and staff are excited that their new, larger facility puts them within walking distance of such resources as Urban Ecology Center Menomonee Valley, the Wisconsin Bike Federation, Three Bridges Park, and Arlington Park.

The 10,800-square-foot building doubles the size of the school’s interior learning space, creates outdoor green space, and creates a sustainable property in keeping with the school’s mission. Small by design with only 100 kids in grades 7-12, EV has moved to the Layton Boulevard West neighborhood, where most of its students live. The school is in a zip code identified by an IFF study as a high-need area where nearly 4,000 children cannot access a high-performing high school.

In partnership with PAVE, IFF provided a $1.5 million loan to pay for buying and renovating the space, which has an open, flexible floor plan conducive to EV’s project-based learning. IFF also managed the initial site search, assisted with the purchase contract, performed a financial feasibility study, and supported capital planning. During construction, IFF also served as the project manager.

EV is the first school opened under TransCenter for Youth’s “umbrella charter” with the city of Milwaukee. TCY, considered one of the most successful models of its kind in the nation by the Center for Urban Community Development at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, has served at-risk students in Milwaukee since 1973 and operates two public Partnership schools, one private Choice school and one charter school.

XS Tennis to serve more players through larger facility on Chicago's south side


XS Tennis and Education Foundation serves over 2,000 underprivileged students across Chicago neighborhoods, from Bronzeville to Woodlawn. Its new athletic and academic center will double the number of Chicago Public Schools as well as participants in the program, and create an estimated 50 jobs.

XSTEF, which trains more nationally recognized minority tennis players than any other organization in the U.S., has operated from a leased facility in Chicago’s Hyde Park for several years. Its Tennis Village Project will be built on 13 ½ acres of vacant land in the Washington Park neighborhood to be acquired from the Chicago Housing Authority. The development will include 12 indoor and 15 outdoor tennis courts, a 5,000-square-foot fitness center, classrooms, and training space. 

Financing for the estimated $12.2 million project will come from a city of Chicago tax increment financing district; federal and state new markets tax credits equity from PNC Bank and U.S. Bank; and capital campaign proceeds. IFF also is providing up to $500,000 to bridge capital campaign pledge commitments, helping XSTEF meet its required $2.6 million cash contribution toward the project to maximize the amount of NMTC subsidy. XSTEF also launched a capital campaign in 2014 and already has exceeded its $1.9 million goal.

XSTEF evolved out of XS Tennis, which began in 2005 on the city’s south side with five minority tennis players. Four of them received full scholarships to college, and one, Taylor Townsend, is a professional tennis player who in 2012 became the Australian Open girls singles champion.

St. Louis' Provident makes improvements to current site, refinances existing debt


With nearly $1.3 million in loans from IFF, Provident, Inc., will make improvements at its 19,000-square-foot building in the St. Louis Midtown West neighborhood, including a new HVAC system, windows, and future projects such as a security system and lobby renovations. The loan also will go toward refinancing existing debt, reducing Provident’s monthly debt service and providing greater cash flow.

Working throughout the entire St. Louis metropolitan area, Provident is a long-standing and respected institution that provides critical services to youth, adults and seniors through counseling, suicide prevention, and community outreach. With a staff of 124 employees, Provident serves over 35,000 individuals annually through its programs, including its 24-hour suicide hotline — one of the oldest and largest in the country. Additionally, through a partnership with the Area Resources for Community and Human Services, Provident helps over 600 students across 10 schools through its after-school program. The agency’s work is made possible through its strong community support. Last year, volunteer help reached 23,000 hours.

Provident is one of the recent loans provided by IFF as it surpasses $50 million in lending to St. Louis nonprofits, housing developers, and grocery store operators since 2006. In the city, IFF has made loans to 42 organizations in such sectors as affordable housing, arts and culture, charter schools, child care, community development, and youth services. 
Photo by Seth Beattie

Nonprofit in Covington, KY, converts historic lumber mill into headquarters


The Center for Great Neighborhoods of Covington has completed the rehab of over 30 historic homes and one commercial property. The nonprofit in Covington, KY, also builds the leadership capacity of youth and adult residents, supports resident-led associations, offers activities that foster leadership and community involvement among kids, and provides financial education for teens and adults.

The center is converting a former lumber mill into its new headquarters, community meeting/event space, and 12 artist studios. As part of the Midwest Nonprofit Lenders Alliance, IFF is providing a $1.75 million loan with the Cincinnati Development Fund to help the center make renovations to the 13,800-square-foot building. The center applied for federal historic status for the circa-1880 building as well as federal and state historic tax credit equity. 

The center employs 13 employees and estimates adding two positions as a result of the larger facility. The $2.2 million project will allow the center to have presence on a major commercial corridor in the Westside neighborhood, where it has concentrated efforts for several years. The center recently received a $1.5 million grant as part of The Kresge Foundation’s creative place-making initiative. The initiative’s goal is to integrate arts and culture into neighborhood revitalization activities.

Southwest Solutions Executive Director John Van Camp recalls agency's start


During 30-plus years as president and CEO of Southwest Solutions in Detroit, John Van Camp has seen his organization grow again and again. He joined the agency as a college student in the 1970s.

How did you become involved with Southwest Solutions?
After living overseas for 7 ½ years — including participating in the Peace Corps in India, working as a civilian during the Vietnam War, and traveling around Europe — I came back to my hometown of Detroit and attended graduate school at Wayne State University. In 1973, through the school, I was placed with Pastor Bill Moldwin, whose church was in an abandoned HUD home in southwest Detroit.

It was great for me because Bill was building not only a ministry but a real community. Bill also was board chairman at Southwest Solutions, which had started one year earlier. On the same day in 1974 that he went from chairman to executive director, Bill hired me as his administrative assistant. And, in 1981, I became executive director of the organization. When I started there as a student, we had a staff of 10 and a budget of $200,000. Now we have a staff of 480 and annual revenues of $43 million.

What accomplishment(s) are you most proud of?
Our work is based on the premise that there is an integral relationship between wellness of people and wellness of place. Southwest Solutions started as part of a national network of community mental health agencies. After creating a viable system for adults with mental illness, we used the same principles for homeless people. Then we helped kids in the juvenile system and especially focused on bringing them back to the community. Seeing a system of care we’ve created for one vulnerable population applied to other vulnerable populations and to neighborhoods is one of our foremost accomplishments.

Partnering with other groups is another major accomplishment. The power of convening means bringing together businesses, the government, agencies, and residents, with a common agenda that’s not about any one organization’s growth and development but the overall goal of the group.

How have Southwest Solutions and IFF worked together?
We’ve partnered with IFF on a number of different initiatives in Detroit, including offering homebuyer counseling to increasing the number of childcare facilities (IFF is big in the child care space). But one of the most exciting ventures is an ambitious, resident-driven economic development project called the Vista Partnership. Through seed money from Skillman Foundation, we surveyed 1,800 households about what they would like to see in a 20-block area. To improve that neighborhood, we’re gaining ownership of vacant land and buildings for future redevelopment, and IFF gave us a $1 million loan to secure some of that property. The Vista Partnership has the potential to be a truly transformative community development initiative.

What other hobbies and interests do you have?
I love adventure travel. A year ago, my wife and I went on an African observation safari for 3 ½ weeks. One-third of our vacation was spent in a Range Rover, another third was spent following wild dog or elephant tracks — we had a phenomenal guide who found them — and the other third was spent canoeing down the Zambezi River dodging hippos and crocodiles. I also like to ski, play tennis, and cook with small plates paired with wine. I love good conversations, but most of all, I love my grandkids.
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