The new home of the Mission Economic Development Agency
For nearly 35 years the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), located in San Francisco’s Mission District, has focused its efforts on economic justice within this heavily Latino community, with an emphasis on immigrants and working-class families. MEDA’s mission statement reflects the value they place on strengthening the neighborhood’s cultural integrity through asset building within the community. This is realized through a community-based planning approach which looks to the long-term health of the neighborhood in a manner that is culturally inclusive and able to sustain economic diversity. MEDA has, for example, programs for first-time homebuyers and for business development; they educate the community about anti-predatory lending.
MEDA’s initial contact with the Northern California Community Loan Fund was in late 2001, when they requested help in evaluating their financial reporting system, and in developing an organization-wide budget. NCCLF did an in depth assessment of MEDA’s financial systems and recommended the organization hire a financial analyst to put better financial practices into place. Working closely with MEDA’s board of directors, NCCLF was present for the financial analyst candidate interviews, thus ensuring that MEDA hired the person best suited for their needs.
In late 2004, MEDA returned to NCCLF to receive an in-depth facility assessment. At 3,000 square feet, MEDA was fast outgrowing its current home and was looking to double the square feet available for their programs and office space. The organization was also seeking to create a community center that would serve the comprehensive needs of working class Mission District residents. In order to acquire the space they needed and to meet the growing needs of its clients, MEDA hoped to collaborate with other community organizations to create a “hub”, comparable to a retail shopping center of social services. A planning grant awarded to MEDA by NCCLF ensured the feasibility of the project could be fully explored.
After working together to determine that the project was viable, NCCLF and MEDA began looking for available locations in the Mission District that would serve the needs of MEDA and its partners. NCCLF consulted extensively with MEDA and their partner organizations to ensure that each organization understood the scope and purpose of the project, and the unique role each would play to ensure the project’s success.
Finally, some partner organizations and a building were agreed upon, and NCCLF, in conjunction with Catholic Healthcare West, provided a $2,845,000 loan to make the community hub a reality. Currently under construction near the corner of 19th and Mission Streets, in the heart of the Mission District, this facility will become the home to MEDA, Good Samaritan Family Resource Center, Mission Asset Fund, One California Bank, Caminos Pathways Learning Center, and several more as of yet undetermined community-oriented tenants.
NCCLF’s eight year relationship with MEDA demonstrates the Loan Fund’s commitment to partnerships which foster positive change in low-income communities. Using all the tools at its disposal – technical assistance, grant-making, facility fitness assessment, and loan capital – and with the invaluable help of other like-minded organizations (Insight Center for Community Development, Legal Beagle), NCCLF joined with MEDA to increase their long-term financial resiliency and sustainability, allowing them the opportunity to continue to fulfill their mission statement, and allowing NCCLF to do the same.
