IFF’s mission is to strengthen nonprofits and the communities they serve by providing leadership, capital, and real estate solutions. We are a mission-driven lender, real estate consultant, and developer that helps communities thrive by creating opportunities for low-income communities and people with disabilities. Key to our success has been a deep sense of purpose, a broad perspective, and a relentless focus on achieving positive results. Social return can coincide with financial return.
We help clients from every sector, including human service agencies, health centers, schools, housing developers, and grocery stores. Our staff of more than 100 work from our Chicago headquarters, and we also serve the Midwest from six regional offices: Indianapolis, IN; Detroit, MI; Kansas City, MO; St. Louis, MO; Columbus, OH; and Milwaukee, WI.
IFF is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the largest nonprofit CDFI in the Midwest.
What is one interesting fact about your organization’s work?
As a lender for real estate projects, IFF does not require an appraisal. Rather, we underwrite on a nonprofit’s financial history, current ability to pay debt service and other factors. We structured our lending program this way to address the historical inequity in neighborhoods where buildings don’t appraise well because of a legacy of redlining and other disinvestment.
What are your favorite resources that you would recommend to others?
As a real estate consultant and developer, we rely on local resources such as city land use maps, city zoning ordinance, and real estate databases (like costar.com) to get data on recently sold and currently listed commercial properties.
Organization Name: IFF
Location: Detroit, MI
Organization Website: www.iff.org
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