Loans: Housing and Shelter
Featured Loan: Churches United for Fair Housing
Preserving and creating a vibrant North Brooklyn
$500,000 acquisition loan (December 2022)
Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH) uses community organizing, youth engagement, and social services to create inclusive communities in North Brooklyn. CUFFH believes that housing is a human right, that housing justice is racial justice, and that all New Yorkers regardless of their income level, race or immigration status deserve to live in a home that is safe, affordable, and permanent. CUFFH partners with churches, nonprofits, schools, and activist groups to reach thousands of community members across New York City – and they serve over 6,000 families annually through weekly workshops, youth organizing, social services, job training, legal support, and more.
Until now, CUFFH has not had a sufficiently large permanent home from which they can run and expand their programs and house their operations. However, CUFFH identified a building that it can use to operate its full array of programs early last year, and they are now ready to submit their deposit. New York State has committed to allocating grant funding to CUFFH to purchase the building, but the organization would like to purchase the building before that grant funding will become available. In the meantime, NFF’s bridge loan will help the organization pay the deposit to the seller of the contract while it continues to perform due diligence of the site and building. This brings them one step closer to acquiring a permanent home for their work to build thriving North Brooklyn communities.
700 Simmons LLC: Increasing access to affordable housing in East Los Angeles
$200,000 predevelopment loan (July 2022)
Founded in 1979 by Japanese American activists, Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) provides social services and community development services in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo Historic District and neighboring Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. LTSC serves about 10,000 clients in Southern California annually through counseling, case management, senior services, and more – with many of their clients identifying as low-income.
In December 2020, FCTL entered a partnership with LTSC to create 700 Simmons LLC – and together, they acquired an 11-unit apartment building. In the Los Angeles housing market, there are simply not enough resources to support community land trusts that work tirelessly to secure affordable housing. This loan will address a funding gap exacerbated by rising property costs and operating expenses. Financed through NFF’s CARE Fund, which offers 0% interest loans to community-centered nonprofits led by people of color, this loan will supply some of the funding needed for repairs and renovations to the building. With support from this loan, 700 Simmons LLC will be able to improve the lives of tenants by providing a better quality of living while keeping units affordable so that the tenants can remain in their community.
The Center at Blessed Sacrament: Critical services for Hollywood's unhoused communities
$500,000 bridge loan (February 2022)
The Center depends on contracts with government agencies for a large portion of its funding. However, agencies typically pay those contracts after nonprofits conduct their programs, not in advance. In addition, the Center's primary funders have delayed paying their contracts due in part to COVID-19 and in part to internal transitions at those agencies. Bridge financing like this loan fills these gaps by ensuring that organizations like The Center have enough cash on hand to pay their staff, keep the lights on, and offer their essential programs. With support from this financing, The Center can continue offering hundreds of homeless Angelenos the housing and wraparound services they depend on to achieve their aspirations.
New York State Tenants & Neighbors Information Service: Advocating for tenants’ rights across New York
$100,000 bridge loan (May 2022)
Tenants & Neighbors depends on contracts with government agencies for a portion of its funding. Government payments to nonprofits are often delayed; however, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these delays. Supported by the Trinity Church Wall Street Grantee Loan Fund, this loan will make sure that Tenants & Neighbors has consistent access to working capital for its essential programs while it waits for that funding to arrive. Smoothing over this cash flow issue will help the organization maintain and grow programs that help tenants build economically just neighborhoods and futures.
Sustainable Futures Project: From survival to stability in South Los Angeles
$50,000 working capital loan (February 2022)
Sustainable Futures Project is looking to operate more wraparound services and plans to open childcare and Office of Diversion and Reentry (ODR) programs. This loan will provide Sustainable Futures Project with some of the cash they need to rent and redesign facilities and hire staff to run these programs. At the same time, Sustainable Futures Project is working with NFF consultants to budget for these new programs – and track their actual spending against their planned budget. As they grow, Sustainable Futures Project will be able to provide more comprehensive services to families who wouldn’t otherwise have stable places to live.
PATH Ventures: A much-needed response to California’s housing and homelessness crises
$1 million working capital loan (December 2021)
Affordable and permanent supportive housing developers like PATH Ventures often struggle to access the flexible capital they need to develop housing at the scale required to curb the United States’ homelessness and housing affordability crises. NFF’s Accelerating Permanent Supportive Housing Fund responds to this by providing $10 million in unrestricted capital for nonprofit developers in the Los Angeles area – developers like PATH Ventures. Offered through this fund, this loan provides flexible capital that PATH Ventures can use to support the LA area projects in pipeline – projects that will house more than 1,000 people in a region where affordable housing remains in short supply. Stable, secure places to live will help these people overcome their immediate challenges and work towards achieving their long-term goals.
Bayview Hunters Point Foundation: A Holistic Approach to Unhoused Services in San Francisco
$250,000 bridge loan (December 2021)
The organization has experienced increased demand for its services since the onset of COVID-19: it served approximately 12,000 people last year and is preparing for continued growth. BHPF relies on contracts with the City and County of San Francisco for much of its revenue. However, these contracts are paid after BHPF offers services instead of before, creating cash flow challenges for the organization that only increased with rising demand. Offered through NFF's zero-interest CARE Fund, this loan will bridge those delayed payments, helping the organization focus on stability while allowing it to scale its programs to more people who need them. As the organization grows, it will help thousands more people move from homelessness to stable housing and support their long-term goals.
Impact Services: Employment, housing, and stability in Philadelphia communities
$1.5 million facilities loan (December 2021)
NFF’s loan will support a phased redevelopment of Impact Services’ historic campus, which will be financed with a mix of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, grants, and loans. The resulting campus will include an existing 57-bed shelter for veterans who are experiencing homelessness, a multi-purpose community gym facility, 47 units of affordable housing, program space for Impact Services, and several floors of commercial space for office or community purposes. With this redevelopment, Impact Services will be able to expand its programs to even more Philadelphia residents, giving many people the support they need to overcome obstacles and achieve their aspirations.
The WIN Project: Housing equity in Compton, CA
$250,000 predevelopment loan (November 2021)
Bowery Residents’ Committee: A caring response to homelessness in upper Manhattan
$5.7 million loan to support acquisition and predevelopment (November 2021)
Partners: Citi Community Capital, Leviticus Fund
Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services: Affordable homes for Bay Area families
$250,000 working capital loan (October 2021)
RNHS has received a federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) in support of its efforts to develop and rehabilitate affordable homes across the East Bay. However, without access to debt, the organization would need to divert money from their development pipeline to maintaining their existing properties, slowing the rate at which they could build or rehab new ones. Financed through NFF’s CARE Fund, which offers 0% interest loans to community-centered nonprofits led by people of color, this loan will ensure that RNHS has sufficient cash flow to both continue its existing services and develop new affordable homes for Bay Area families.
Interested in a loan for your housing organization?
Visit our financing page to learn more!
Explore your financing options