CDFI Success Stories

For over 20 years, CDFIs have been making financial services accessible to underserved communities and populations across the country. Among their many achievements, CDFIs have financed improved access to affordable housing, critical community facilities, and schools. They have financed small and growing businesses. Through their efforts, millions of dollars have been leveraged for investment in communities often left out of the economic mainstream, creating jobs and opportunities. Below are some of their stories. You can also view success stories by state.

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“Built in Bremerton” program helps eliminate foreclosed and vacant, single-family homes

Bremerton,
Washington

Community Housing Capital

Community Frameworks initiated the “Built in Bremerton” program to help eliminate foreclosed, vacant, and distressed single-family homes in Bremerton, Washington. Through this acquisition-rehab sweat equity program, they have completed the rehabilitation and sale of 21, affordable, energy-efficient homes since 2013. Eleven of the homes were financed by Community Housing Capital (CHC) with a revolving $1 million line of credit.

$1 million in updates to Rolla multi-family property will be ‘truly transformational’

Rolla,
North Dakota

CommunityWorks North Dakota

The project is having a positive ripple effect in Rolla, a 1,200 resident community located in Rolette County, which is the third poorest county in North Dakota.

$1 million on the street:’ With UofM grant, River City Capital helps businesses in underserved areas

Memphis,
Tennessee

River City Capital Investment Corporation

Franklin is one of many Memphis business owners who have received a loan from RCC, the local Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that’s an affiliate of Community Lift and certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Founded in 2011, RCC focuses on providing low-interest loans to businesses in underserved neighborhoods throughout the Mid-South — its average loan size is about $50,000. And the organization has made some recent moves to further fuel its growth.

$15 MM Construction Loan & $3.3 MM Permanent Loan Creates the 86-unit Valley View Apartments in San Luis, Arizona

San Luis,
Arizona

Community Housing Capital

Community Housing Capital (CHC) has provided Comite de Bien Estar (Comite) over $55 million in lending capital since 2009, including $27 million in Single-Family lending and $28 million for predevelopment, land acquisition, multi-family construction, and permanent lending. In its most recent project with Comite - the Valley View Apartments, CHC has been Comite's lending partner from the project's inception.

$6.3 Million Helps Create Workforce Housing in the Aftermath of Hurricane Irma

Big Pine Key,
Florida

Community Housing Capital

Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys on September 10, 2017, and left this chain of islands with 1,200 homes destroyed and an additional 3,000 homes significantly damaged. As part of the recovery effort, Rural Neighborhoods (RN) will create three new neighborhoods in Big Pine Key, Monroe County, Florida. Community Housing Capital (CHC) provided $6.3 million for construction and permanent loans to the three phases of the project, Seahorse Cottages at Big Pine Key, Seahorse Cottages II at Big Pine Key, and Avenues at Big Pine Key. Constructed to State required hurricane-resistant standards, the workforce housing will have 31 elevated single-story modular homes on podiums. The affordable rentals are reserved for tenants earning 80% area median income (AMI) and extremely low-income tenants earning up to 25% AMI.

124th and Ash LP

Portland,
Oregon

Network for Oregon Affordable Housing

124th and Ash Limited Partnership funding provides the permanent financing for the Wy’east Apartments, new construction completed in December 2020 that was financed with 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits and Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credits. The Wy’east Apartments is one building containing 175 units catering to individuals and families in East Portland. Unit configuration includes 79 Studios, 81 1BR , and 15 2BR units.

12th Ave Arts

Seattle,
New York

Grow America Fund

Capitol Hill is the most densely populated neighborhood in the Northwest, and it remains a rapidly growing population center. Recent years have brought dramatic gentrification to Capitol Hill, with massive development of high-end condominiums replacing older apartments and single family homes and leaving low-income residents with few housing options. Affordable office space and arts space is also becoming increasingly rare.

140 New Construction Senior Apts. serving 30%-80% AMI

Charlotte,
North Carolina

Community Housing Capital

DreamKey Partners, a leading nonprofit developer of affordable housing in Charlotte, North Carolina, has used $1,846,520 of its $13 million line of credit from Community Housing Capital to acquire a 6.3-acre site that will become the Johnston Oehler Senior Apartments. With low-income households currently priced out of Charlotte’s increasingly expensive rental market, the new construction project will create 140 apartments for seniors with household incomes from 30% to 80% area median income. The high-quality, new construction housing will offer an active lifestyle for the residents and a full-time professional property management staff that will serve onsite.

1911 Smoke House Barbeque

Trenton,
New Jersey

Community Loan Fund of New Jersey

Thanks to a $20,000 loan awarded through the Trenton Small Business Emergency Loan Program during COVID-19, Maurice was able to quickly pivot his business and begin serving affordable family-style meals to customers.

20 garden-style apartments dedicated to low-income farm labor households in Albany, GA.

Albany,
Georgia

Community Housing Capital

Located in southwest Georgia, Albany has a diverse mix of low- to moderate-income workers employed in the agriculture, service, trade, and manufacturing sectors. Wealth Watchers, Inc., located in Jacksonville, Florida, is a Certified Housing Development Organization (CHDO) dedicated to providing communities with the highest quality of affordable housing opportunities.

2020 Small Business Finance Forum – Redbone Logging

Wellpinit,
Washington

Northwest Native Development Fund

Jerry Ford, owner of Redbone Logging in Wellpinit, WA (Northwest Native Development Fund client) led a logging demonstration.

21c Durham

Durham,
North Carolina

CAHEC Capital, Self-Help Ventures Fund

Standing tall and proud in the center of downtown Durham, 21c Museum Hotel is a multi-venue contemporary art museum offering more than 10,500 sq. ft. of art-filled exhibition and event space, a full-service boutique hotel with luxurious guest rooms, and home to Counting House restaurant.

2201 Washington Street

Roxbury,
Massachusetts

Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation

Mixed-use with Alternatives for Community and Environment

2205 Mission St. | Mission Economic Development Agency

San Francisco,
California

NeighborWorks Capital

In San Francisco, where the cost of living is among the highest in the country, educators and other public service workers struggle to afford to live in the community where they work. Salaries have not kept up with rising costs, and workers have been forced to move outside of the city or turn to other professions entirely.

232 Elm Street

Ludlow,
Kentucky

Catalytic Development Funding Corp. of Northern Kentucky

The Ludlow Historic Society completed this project to demonstrate the feasibility and marketability of restoring altered historic homes back to a high quality and historically appropriate condition. The Catalytic Fund provided this non-profit organization with a revolving line of credit to complete multiple house renovations over time.

CDFI Success Stories

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