We are thrilled to announce that the San Francisco Foundation has approved two new loans from the Bay Area Community Impact Fund, totaling $1,125,000.
Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
The San Francisco Foundation’s new loan of $625,000 will support two of MEDA’s programs: the Small Sites Program and the community nonprofit space preservation program. In 2017, the foundation made a loan of $875,000 to MEDA for its Small Sites program, which helps fund the acquisition of affordable, multi-family (4-25 units) rental properties in San Francisco’s Mission District.
The primary goal of MEDA’s Community Nonprofit Space Preservation Program is to prevent the displacement of the Mission District’s “cultural placekeepers”: nonprofits, arts and cultural organizations, and community-serving businesses located along the neighborhood’s main cultural corridor (Mission Street from 13th Street to 26th Street). Among other benefits, MEDA provides technical assistance, real estate financing, and direct center development to help nonprofits create and manage affordable space. MEDA has already preserved 120,000 square feet of affordable commercial space and aims to reach 200,000 by the end of 2020.
REDF Impact Investing Fund (RIIF)
A loan of $500,000 will support Roberts Enterprise Development Fund’s (REDF’s) newly created Impact Investing Fund (RIIF). Founded in 1997, REDF helps mission-driven businesses grow and improves the lives of people through jobs and critical support. In 2017, in response to demand from their employment-focused social enterprise (ESE) partners, REDF launched its Impact Lending practice, and in 2019 REDF created RIIF as a separate 501c(3).
RIIF provides financing and technical assistance to ESEs, targeting enterprises that hire people who face employment barriers such as histories of homelessness, incarceration, addiction or mental health issues, as well as youth aged 16-24 who are not in school or working. They focus on sectors including alternative staffing, recycling, cleaning and maintenance, retail, food services, and manufacturing. REDF’s goal is to support the employment of 50,000 people by the end of 2020. They have helped 37,000 so far.
In partnership with our Bay Area Community Impact Fund donors, we are proud to invest in these two entities. Learn more about the Fund and our current portfolio of loans.
