2020 In Review: CCLF Continues Growth Even During a Pandemic
During a year of health challenges and civil unrest, CCLF ended 2020 as an organization better positioned to ensure capital continued to flow in low-income areas throughout Chicagoland. CCLF ended 2020 with nearly $97 million in loans outstanding to 179 customers working to create communities where people thrive. CCLF completed 48 loans totaling $24.2 million […]
CCLF Supports Businesses During Pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged Chicago-area small businesses and nonprofits, CCLF delved into its resolve to support impacted businesses and communities. CCLF became a partner in several public emergency funding initiatives. Together Now: Chicago’s Fund to Rebuild Our Neighborhoods, a collaboration with the Chicago Community Trust and the city of Chicago, raised monies from the […]
Bubbly Dynamic’s The Plant: Social Enterprise
Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood is a historic community known as the home of the Union Stockyards. Located on the southwest side of Chicago, this is the neighborhood that author Upton Sinclair wrote about in the 1906 novel, “The Jungle.” After the stockyards closed in the 1970s, Back of the Yards became a community […]
CCLF Empowered by Largest Donation In Its History
In December 2020, Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott released a blog post entitled “384 Ways to Help” announcing $4.1 billion in donations to 384 nonprofits across the United States, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. CCLF was among the 24 CDFIs included in the donations. Scott and her team undertook a rigorous, data-driven due diligence process to select […]
CCLF Receives Citi Foundation Award
CCLF has been selected to receive an award of $500,000 in unrestricted funds as part of Citi Foundation’s $15 million fund supporting the work of Community Development Financial Institutions. CCLF was among 30 CDFIs awarded nationwide, all selected based on their strong track record of serving small businesses owned by people of color and underserved […]
CCLF Receives FHLB Chicago Targeted Impact Fund Grant
CCLF received a $15,000 Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago (FHLB Chicago) Targeted Impact Fund grant in October 2020 to support those most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis as well as organizations that promote equity and opportunity for communities of color. Announced in August 2020, the $14 million Targeted Impact Fund grant program provided up […]
CCLF Named In MacKenzie Scott Donations
On December 15, 2020, MacKenzie Scott announced $4.1 billion in donations to 384 organizations across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. Chicago Community Loan Fund is honored to be named among the not-for-profits selected for a grant to help people suffering the economic effects of COVID-19, racial inequity, high poverty rates, and limited […]
CCLF’s Wendell Harris Appears on FOX-32
Wendell Harris, Vice President of Lending Operations at Chicago Community Loan Fund appeared on FOX-32 Chicago December 14, 2020. Harris joined anchors Anita Padilla and Scott Schneider at the 7:30 hour of FOX’s Good Day Chicago morning program. In the segment, Harris explained CCLF’s efforts to support low-income residents struggling to stay afloat during the […]
Funders and Investors Support CCLF’s Mission During Crises
As the COVID-19 pandemic pervaded the country in early 2020, comingled with social unrest in the wake of civic injustices, CCLF resolved to persevere and continue providing financing and technical assistance that benefit low- to moderate-income communities throughout metropolitan Chicago. Thanks to the extra efforts of its funders and investors CCLF has been able to […]
Landmarks Illinois Honors Two CCLF Borrowers
In September, Landmarks Illinois announced nine recipients of the 2020 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards, which included two CCLF borrowers. The annual awards program honors exceptional historic preservation projects and the people working to save important locations throughout Illinois. Among the winners, the CCLF-funded Aurora Arts Center in Aurora, Illinois, earned the […]
