Low Income Investment Fund

Programs: Lending activities: liif employs a holistic strategy that focuses on five priority programs--affordable housing, child care, k-12 education, transit oriented development and health (through access to healthy food and health care clinics). These programs are supported by liif's federal policy presence that works to preserve and maintain community capital programs. Liif uses innovative strategies to attract private capital to areas with underserved communities that would otherwise be out of reach. Since inception, we have provided over $2. 1 billion to projects serving low income individuals and families, and these investments have leveraged $10. 0 billion in other capital investments. Liif's work supports those most in need - of the 2. 0 million people served through liif's financing and technical assistance - nearly 97% have been low income. Liif's flexible and affordable capital fills a gap for community development organizations that are unable to consistently access loans from traditional financial institutions. Liif makes direct loans through its revolving loan fund ("rlf") and other loan funds. Liif also underwrites and packages loans acquired by banks, other intermediaries and conventional lenders through innovative program-specific funds to support community development organizations across the nation. Liif complements its loans with thorough, time-intensive technical assistance ("ta"). Liif's ta guides organizations through real estate development, helping them develop and sustain their financial stability to ensure prudent planning and management of their financial obligations, and ultimately enabling these community borrowers to ready their organizations to approach conventional lenders. Affordable housing is the cornerstone of liif's work, comprising nearly half of the organization's historical activity. Since its inception, liif has invested more than $994 million to support the development of 73,431 units of affordable housing, which has produced enhanced living conditions and saved low income families more than $19 billion through reduced housing costs. Availability of affordable housing is vital in creating a foundation for community revitalization and family stability, linked, as it is, to employment, wage gains, educational attainment, and improved health for poor families. Education is a key component in enhancing opportunities for economic mobility and asset growth for low income households. Liif launched its education program in 1998, and currently focuses on helping charter schools bring quality educational opportunities to underserved, distressed communities. Liif's education program uses a three-pronged approach to achieve its goals: providing direct financing for schools, leveraging third-party capital for schools, and building the capacity of school developers and the education system. Liif is one of the largest cdfi charter school financiers in the nation, having invested over $559 million supporting the development of 88,717 quality charter school spaces for low-income students. Liif's transit oriented development (tod) program invests in projects that place affordable housing and vital community services close to accessible transportation. Liif manages the $50 million bay area transit-oriented affordable housing (toah) fund, an innovative structured fund that provides developers with flexible, affordable capital to purchase or improve available property near transit lines in the bay area.

child care program: quality child care enables parents to work or attend school without worry for their children's well-being, and provides children with a strong start on the skills necessary for future success in school and in life. Liif launched its child care program in 1998, offering loans, grants, and technical assistance to support the development of high quality child care slots for low income families. Since the program's inception, liif has provided trainings and workshops on the development and financing of child care facilities and one-on-one technical assistance to providers. In addition, liif has offered millions of dollars in loans and planning grants. Its child care goals are accomplished through three primary funds: the award winning child care facilities fund, the los angeles emergency bridge fund, and the fund for children and communities. In 2016, in consultation with the department of education (doe), liif designed and launched the deutsche bank universal pre-k capacity building program to improve the business operations and sustainability of child care operators in new york city. Through this program, in 2017, liif provided specialized technical assistance and trainings to 30 pre-k providers to preserve and enhance over 1,000 slots in low income communities.

other development services: other development services include key initiatives that support high quality early child care and the strong, prosperous, and resilient communities challenge (sparcc). In partnership with enterprise community partners, the natural resources defense council, and the federal reserve bank of san francisco, and supported by the california endowment, ford foundation, the jpb foundation, the kresge foundation, and robert wood johnson foundation, liif designed and launched sparcc, a three-year, $90 million initiative to amplify locally driven efforts to ensure that major new infrastructure investments lead to equitable, healthy opportunities for everyone. Sparcc seeks to help regions refine and integrate their vision for the future, where the policies and practices that shape the built environment address the issues of racial equity, health, and climate resiliency. Local leaders know that, while typically tackled separately, these issues are deeply intertwined.

national policy: liif designs and implements advocacy strategies to ensure the organization is active in federal policy initiatives relevant to its main program areas. The national policy program advances the policy agenda of liif, leveraging relationships and building dynamism around the organization and its mission of poverty alleviation.