CCLF Implements 2021-2024 Strategic Plan

As Chicago Community Loan Fund positions itself for the “new normal” of the post-COVID-19 era, CCLF has implemented a comprehensive four-year strategic plan that will enable the organization to further its mission and better serve Chicagoland’s communities.

The four strategic focus areas of CCLF’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan positions CCLF to expand, partner and invest. CCLF will be expanding its reach to better serve the Chicagoland region, work with partners to promote economic justice and invest $100 million in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and communities of color over the next four years as well as strive to double its size to $200 million in assets over the next four years.

Through its 2021-2024 Strategic Plan, CCLF will be best positioned to support the critical work of its grassroots community partners, ultimately bringing much-needed resources to Chicago’s disenfranchised communities.

To achieve the milestones, CCLF will work toward four strategic goals:

  1. Invest in Community.  CCLF will expand its impact through lending, equitable business practices, and increased advocacy to improve conditions for residents in economically disenfranchised communities. It will work closely with local partners to help stabilize communities and create opportunities for impactful growth so long neglected and disenfranchised communities emerge stronger through an equitable recovery.
  2. Invest in Community Developers and Local Entrepreneurs. CCLF will expand its work to build a pipeline of community-based developers and support the grassroots visionaries and local entrepreneurs pursing impactful projects in Chicago-area communities.
  3. Invest in CCLF’s People. CCLF will better serve its customers by ensuring that its staff reflects the communities it serves, and its values of equity are infused into all elements of its work. Under this goal, CCLF developed an organizational Human Resources roadmap and enhanced its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Framework to ensure that its values are reflective of its organizational culture.
  4. Invest in Organizational Infrastructure. As CCLF works to grow its fund to $200 million in assets, it will invest in organizational infrastructure to enhance online services and offer other best-in-class service delivery. Through this goal, CCLF’s customers will be able to interface with a high-touch, high-tech partner that is prepared to bring high-impact community development projects to fruition.
CCLF’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan will help expand its reach to better serve communities challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and historic disinvestment.

“The events of 2020 reaffirmed CCLF’s historic commitment to working with grassroots partners to finance community-based solutions that address economic disparities in the communities we serve,” said Bob Tucker, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Programs at CCLF.

He added, “Through this ambitious strategic plan, CCLF recommits to using its capital, expertise, and close community relationships in a continued fight for equity and justice, to finance prosperity and make lasting change in low-income communities across Chicagoland, particularly low-income communities of color.”

CCLF’s 2021-2024 Strategic Plan was developed by its Board of Directors Strategic Plan Subcommittee: Erik Hall, Board Vice Chair and Subcommittee Chair; Matthew Reilein, Board Chair; Dorothy Abreu; Sonya Malunda; Mark Spears; Kathy Tholin; Bob Tucker, CCLF’s COO/EVP; and Calvin L. Holmes, CCLF President. Strategic Planning Consultants included: Becca Boldstein of BG Consulting, LLC, Chase Service Corp., FUND Consulting, Plante Moran and Nancy Harris of Restart Consulting.