Chicago-based CDFI expands reach into West Michigan to support nonprofits

Chicago-based CDFI expands reach into West Michigan to support nonprofits
A rendering for an early childhood education center in Grand Rapids’ Boston Square neighborhood. The project is a partnership between IFF, Amplify GR and Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative.

A Chicago organization that provides capital and other support to nonprofits looks to build momentum and reach across the west side of the state after opening an office in Grand Rapids last spring.

IFF, a federally-designated community development financial institution (CDFI) that operates in 10 Midwest states, has been steadily building a broader market presence in Grand Rapids since opening the office on Madison Avenue SE.

“I do feel like an uptick in momentum is happening right now,” said Chris Uhl, executive director for IFF’s Eastern Region. “When we come into a place, we start getting a little bit of momentum and it takes a while for people to understand who we are and what we do, but once the word gets out you definitely see an uptick in business and we’re definitely feeling that momentum.”

IFF began 35 years ago in Chicago as the Illinois Facility Fund that was formed by United Way and Chicago Community Trust with $2 million in seed capital they provided to start a real estate loan fund for nonprofit organizations.

Financial backing from IFF today comes from multiple sources, primarily banks that can receive credits for compliance with the federal Community Reinvestment Act for investing in CDFIs. IFF also gets financial backing from several health systems, including Trinity Health, and foundations such as Battle Creek-based W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

IFF has become one of the largest CDFIs in the nation, covering 10 states in the Midwest and over the years providing $1.3 billion in capital to nonprofit organizations to finance projects such as health clinics, housing and homeless shelters, food pantries and more.

Additionally, IFF has a real estate consulting and development arm that works with nonprofits looking to expand or develop a facility and manages the construction project. IFF hired two West Michigan-based real estate consultants about a year ago and plans to hire two more, plus a second lender, Uhl said.

The organization moved into Michigan in 2014 with the opening of a Detroit office and a charge to “look to do business all over the state,” Uhl said. IFF has since deployed nearly $170 million in capital into play in the state, mostly in Southeast Michigan.

About $15 million was lent to nonprofits in West Michigan, Uhl said. He describes IFF’s presence in Grand Rapids as being at an “inflection point.”

“With that increase in business and the recognition that it makes sense to have a staff on the ground there — and we truly want to plant our roots in West Michigan — we opened an office in Grand Rapids last spring,” Uhl said. “We’ve been doing business in Grand Rapids for the better part of the last eight or nine years, but really want to accelerate that business now.”

Among the organizations IFF has worked with are LINC Up, Dwelling Place, the Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation, and YWCA for a women’s shelter.

IFF also prioritized early childhood education. The organization in 2021 partnered with Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative and Amplify GR for the development of a new early childhood education center in Grand Rapids’ Boston Square neighborhood, as well as upgraded home-based early childhood facilities in the city with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

As well, IFF received $50 million last year from the Michigan Department of Education to provide grants for child care centers to expand or upgrade their facilities.

From the Grand Rapids office, IFF sees opportunity to expand further across Western Michigan, whether in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, the lakeshore and northward to Traverse City for lending and real estate consulting with nonprofits. Even with a number of similar organizations that already work in the region, “the West Michigan market is kind of under CDFIed,” said Uhl, noting that 30 CDFIs operate in the Detroit area.

“There’s room for this type of capital at large across West Michigan,” he said. “We fill a unique niche, but I think there’s certainly room for everybody and room to build out that kind of CDFI community investment ecosystem in West Michigan.

Among the CDFIs operating in West Michigan in addition to IFF are Grow (formerly Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women), Northern Initiatives, Rende Progress Capital, and Michigan Women Forward.