Calvin L. Holmes has served as the President of Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) since 1998. CCLF is a nonprofit, U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution with $140 million in assets that provides responsible financing and technical assistance for community stabilization and development efforts that benefit low- to moderate-income neighborhoods throughout metropolitan Chicago. Under his leadership, CCLF’s lending is leveraging over 11,000 housing units, 6,500 jobs and $1.6 billion in additional capital in 70 lower wealth Chicagoland communities; and CCLF has become one of the largest single metropolitan area CDFIs in the country.
Holmes’ community development career spans over 30 years and he is a recognized expert in community development finance and issues involving access to capital. He is a past Chairman of Community Development Advisory Board-CDFI Fund (appointed by President Obama) and currently serves on the U.S. Bank National Community Advisory council, PNC Bank Advisory Board (Illinois) and the advisory board of the Chase New Markets Corporation. Further, Holmes serves as Vice Chair of the newly-formed African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs which aims to leverage its members resources to reduce the American racial wealth gap. He also serves on the boards of several additional national and local nonprofits focused on creating racial, social and economic equity for under-resourced communities, including the Chicago Housing Trust (Treasurer), Southland Development Authority (advisor), Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative, Interfaith Housing Development Corporation (Secretary) and City of Chicago Community Wealth Building Advisory Committee.
Holmes is a 2003 Leadership Greater Chicago fellow and led CCLF to receive a 2009 MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, 2014 Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial Excellence and 2021 $10 million donation from MacKenzie Scott to further racial economic justice. He holds a master’s degree in urban and regional planning, with a concentration in real estate finance, from Cornell University and a bachelor’s degree in African American Studies from Northwestern University.