Illinois Facilities Fund

November 6, 1998 MEMORANDUM FOR THE FIRST LADY FROM: Neera Tanden SUBJECT: ILLINOIS FACILITIES FUND: Recent Contributions to Childcare The Illinois Facilities Fund (IFF) is a community development financial institution that has been an independent lender since March 1990. It receives funding from the Community Development Financial Fund of the Department of the Treasury. The IFF is committed to investing in disinvested and low income communities. The Fund provides below-market lending, owns and develops property, conducts financial analyses and undertakes real estate development for the nonprofit sector. The IFF's vision statement for the future states that it will continue to emphasize efforts in child care and public policy to improve the quality of life for underserved people in Illinois. To this end, they have developed and implemented new strategies and programs to provide more services and better respond to borrowers' needs. Some of their more recent programs, over the past two years have been the residential program mortgage, the facility improvement loan, and the charter school loan program. The IFF's major areas of interest are community health, early childhood education and family support. In community health, the Fund has recently provided loans to five clinics, has consulting projects with three other clinics, and is creating the Community Health Care Fund to support the needs of clinics that provide services in low income neighborhoods. In childcare, IFF has created the Child Care and Education Fund in 1998 to help meet the growing demand from working families for adequate and affordable child care centers. IFF continues to work with the National Children's Facilities Network during 1997 and 1998. Also, it has formed an alliance with the Chicago Public Schools to provide facilities and equipment for charter schools. The projects that IFF is currently involved in reflect their goal to become the best financial and development service provider for undercapitalized nonprofits in Illinois. The Family Resource Center Partnership is the largest project currently underway. Using Empowerment Zone Funding, the IFF is in partnership with two community organizations and a child care provider to provide support programs to needy families. The Fund acts as project manager - providing debt and the development team, including contractors and architects, and ensuring that financing and equity are available. Two childcare projects underway are contracts with the City of Evanston and collaborative efforts with Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley. Both cities are determined to provide high quality early childhood development centers for low income families. Additional contracts and projects in 1998 include the Community Asset Builder Program, and the Bridge Investment Program. The Builder Program helps nonprofits to develop building skills in fundraising and organizational development and the Investment Program guarantees that IFF will be the first investor and manage the project.