New Loan Closings: Bayview Hunters Point Foundation, Homework Central, Just Cities, 1801 E. Huntingdon

$1.7 million net exposure in NFF's $5.7 million acquisition loan with Community Vision and Partners for the Common Good as participating lending partners (September 2022)

Bayview Hunters Point Foundation (BHPF) offers employment assistance, healthcare, educational programming, and affordable housing in the San Francisco neighborhood of Bayview. At its founding, BHPF’s programs responded to a critical need to address substance misuse in the Bayview community. In recent years, BHPF has expanded its outreach, case management, and permanent supportive housing programs to address its community’s homelessness crisis by helping people experiencing or vulnerable to homelessness access the social services they need to achieve their personal goals. 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.

This acquisition loan will provide the funding needed for BHPF to purchase the facility from which it has been serving its community for the last 25 years. Since real estate ownership is a key component to building wealth and defending the organization against gentrification, we hope this loan will allow Bayview Hunters Point Foundation to make the investments it needs to continue growing and to remain a pillar in its community for years to come.

$100,000 working capital loan (October 2022)

The mission of Homework Central (HWC) is to provide students and families in the San Mateo-Foster City School District with the tools they need to foster academic success. HWC partners with local schools and offers tutoring services, literacy programs, and family dinners – primarily to Latina/o English-language learners. For over 20 years now, HWC’s programs have served an average of 80 to 100 students per school year at no cost to their families.

In response to increased demand from the families it serves, over the past two years HWC has expanded its programs and established new ones, including a summer learning program and second-grade literacy pilot. Financed through NFF’s Bay Area Racial Equity Fund, which provides zero-interest loans with flexible repayment plans to BIPOC-led nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area, this loan will support the salaries of new staff that will expand the summer learning program and make the second-grade literacy program permanent. With this financing, Homework Central can continue investing in the success of even more students across San Mateo County well into the future.

$150,000 working capital loan (October 2022)

The mission of Just Cities is to advance racial and social justice through urban planning, public policy, leadership development, and community outreach. Co-founded by former Oakland mayor and congressperson Ron Dellums, Just Cities organizes community convenings, advocates for affordable housing, and invests in local initiatives to help overcome racial divides in the East Bay Area. In the past two years, Just Cities has served over 9,000 formerly incarcerated residents and over 5,000 low-income tenants and homeowners through their policy work.

NFF’s Bay Area Racial Equity Fund provides zero-interest loans with flexible repayment plans to BIPOC-led nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area. Offered through this fund, this loan will smooth over cash flow issues caused by delays in government reimbursement and fund vital trainings for staff. With support from this loan, Just Cities can focus on its critical work: designing cities that remember our collective past of injustice and forging new roadmaps of inclusion and self-determination.

$475,000 participation in a $950,000 predevelopment loan led by Reinvestment Fund (September 2022)

Smith & Roller Holdings (S&R) uses real estate development, communications, social impact, entrepreneurship, and community engagement to inform their approach to community development. By partnering with people in city government, education, urban planning, community organizing, and the arts, S&R reactivates historically significant properties in Philadelphia and turns them into spaces that nurture creativity, commerce, and public engagement. In North Philadelphia’s Kensington and Harrowgate communities, Smith & Roller recently developed 40,000 square feet of commercial space for entrepreneurs of color alongside 116 units of housing that offer discounted rent for residents who volunteer through the organization’s Good Neighbors program.

Smith & Roller Holdings is currently working on the construction of a new five-story residential building in North Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. They are also renovating two existing buildings: a former industrial building and a former bank. This loan will fund architecture, engineering, and pre-construction management costs for the three buildings, which will ultimately contain 90 units of housing, more than a third of which will be affordable to people earning up to 80% of the area median income. The building will also contain 36 live-work spaces for creatives and a food hall, commercial kitchen, and training program for BIPOC and low-income entrepreneurs. The development will offer Kensington residents affordable places to live and work – an important step towards the organization’s long-term goal of building a thriving Kensington that truly serves the diverse community of people who call it home.

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