February Loan Closings: Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens and 822 Dumont, Hanini Group and SHIFT, Little Tokyo Service Center, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition, The Play Company

$4 million participation in an $8 million facility loan with LISC as the lead lender (December 2023)

Catholic Charities Brooklyn & Queens (CCBQ) was founded in 1899 on principles of compassion, social justice, and the Catholic faith. Since its inception, CCBQ has been providing quality social services in Brooklyn and Queens with a special focus on serving people with developmental disabilities and who live with mental illness. It currently offers more than 160 programs and services for youth and adults. One of the oldest and largest faith-based developers of affordable housing in the country, Catholic Charities provides 4,330 units of housing for low-income older adults, families, the formerly unhoused, and HIV-positive individuals.

822 Dumont Millennium LLC has signed a ten-year lease with Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services (CCNS), which manages the majority of CCBQ’s programs. This financing will help the organization pay off their acquisition loan and renovate their building, previously a school, into a childcare facility that offers Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the predominantly Black and Latinx neighborhood of East New York. These free, federally-funded programs promote school readiness for children from low-income families. Early Head Start serves pregnant women and families with children under the age of three, while Head Start programs serve children between three and five years old.

When completed, the facility will enable CCNS to expand its Head Start and Early Head Start programs by at least 30%. Expanding these programs to a new location will address overcrowding at CCNS’ current facility and help families access childcare and essential early education.

$6 million participation in a $28 million construction loan with Capital Impact Partners as the lead lender and LISC as a participating lender (December 2023) 

Hanini Group invests in urban communities by focusing on conscious design, sustainable construction, and equitable urban revitalization. The organization was co-founded by Samer and Thafer Hanini, first-generation Jordanian Americans who were born and raised in Jersey City and Newark, New Jersey. For the past 19 years, Hanini Group has restored historic buildings across Newark and New Jersey, offering development, construction, architectural design, and property management services.

A full-service real estate management firm based in Philadelphia, SHIFT connects developers of color with capital and resources to build quality affordable housing – from investment management to property management. SHIFT currently serves seven neighborhoods, 29 Black, Indigenous, and people of color-owned small businesses, and 29 woman-owned small businesses through their spaces and programs.

Hanini Group and SHIFT formed 10 Commerce Newark LLC to complete the conversion of a 12-story, 126,088 square-foot vacant office building located at 10 Commerce Court, a highly desirable location in the heart of the downtown Newark business district into a mixed-use, mixed-income development. NFF’s loan participation will help finance the construction of 110 housing units – 20% of which are affordable housing – and two commercial units with easy access to Newark Penn Station, where NJ Transit, Amtrak, and PATH trains to New York City can be accessed. With this development, Newark residents will have more affordable housing options and better access to transit and employment opportunities.

$4 million participation in an approximately $12 million CDFI Source Loan with Genesis LA as the lead lender and Low Income Investment Fund as a participating lender (January 2024)

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 – 90% of whom identify as low income – in Southern California annually through counseling, case management, senior services, and more. In 2022, LTSC provided over 600 hours of counseling to small businesses and about 4,200 hours of mental health support to adults and older adults. Throughout its history, LTSC has developed 22 residential properties totaling over 1,000 units and three commercial properties totaling 84,000 square feet.

In partnership with the City of Los Angeles and the Go for Broke National Education Center, a nonprofit organization that educates people about Japanese-American veterans who served in World War II, LTSC will develop a vacant lot into a mixed-use development including over 200 affordable housing units and 45,000 square feet of commercial space. NFF’s loan participation will help finance the commercial portion of the project, which will preserve several legacy businesses in the surrounding Little Tokyo community and create a permanent headquarters and exhibit space for the GFB Center. Additionally, the new building will provide office space for LTSC’s growing supportive services department. With this investment, LTSC will be able to expand affordable housing opportunities for residents of Los Angeles while also expanding its offices to meet the growing demand of their services.

"Little Tokyo Service Center is about neighborhood building and neighborhood re-building. Community development corporations in this city and across the country look to the work of Little Tokyo Service Center because they have really paved the way. With financing from Genesis LA, Nonprofit Finance Fund, and Low Income Investment Fund, Little Tokyo Service Center can move forward with creating spaces to preserve legacy small businesses and nonprofits, and expanding affordable housing opportunities in the community."

Tom De Simone, President and CEO, Genesis LA

$580,000 acquisition loan (December 2023)

Founded in 1984, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition (SEAMAAC) serves about 11,600 individuals and more than 4,215 households annually through their community development, health and social services, education, and hunger relief programs. Pre-COVID, SEAMAAC served 25 linguistic communities, and that number has grown to more than 60 distinct linguistic communities from 45 different countries.

SEAMAAC has leased their space for 40 years. With a loan from NFF, they are acquiring their first property at 624-628 Snyder Street, which will serve as their permanent headquarters. By moving from their current space, which can be hard for many of their clients to access, the organization will be able to deliver services to clients in the heart of the community.

"Through NFF's consulting and financing support, SEAMAAC is finally able to set firm roots in the ethnically diverse neighborhood of Southeast Philadelphia, a community where we have faithfully served for the past 40 years. SEAMAAC will be able to grow our programs in breadth and depth to build an even stronger community in this vital and vibrant neighborhood."

Thoai Nguyen, CEO, Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition

Watch SEAMAAC's video to learn more.

$80,000 working capital loan (December 2023)

The Play Company is an award-winning off-Broadway theatre known for developing and producing adventurous new plays in the U.S. and internationally. By hosting residencies, productions, and workshops, they encourage new work by collaborating with artists all around the world. The Play Company commits to affordable access and collaborative community partnerships to make their work available and welcoming to all.

This loan will help the organization overcome cash flow challenges caused by delayed major funding, which is a common experience for many nonprofits. It will help bridge cash shortages throughout the year so The Play Company can continue their important mission of advancing an inclusive and innovative American theatre system by championing new, often marginalized voices.

Learn more about NFF’s loan products on the financing page of our website.