NCCLF invites you and a guest to attend our Community Facilities Challenge Kick-Off Party! The kick-off party will take place at Fresno State University’s Henry Madden Library, Room 2206, on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Community Facility Challenge is a unique opportunity for students from California State University Fresno to work with local community building organizations (CBO) and municipalities to apply their skills to prepare a real estate feasibility analysis for a proposed community facility real estate project to benefit a low-income community in Fresno County.

Please RSVP to Alice Rocha, Business Development, NCCLF at arocha@ncclf.org or at 559-452-0327 We look forward to seeing you on the 8^th!

Want a sneak peek into something that will be fun…and will lead to more fun?! Please join NCCLF as we celebrate our incorporation as a nonprofit agency providing service to
low-income communities.

Where: Antonia Manor, 180 Turk Street San Francisco, CA
When: Thursday, February 16, 2012

The kick-off will feature surprises, special guests, give-a-ways and lots of fun and entertainment!

Please RSVP to Sherry Simmons, Director of Resource Development at 415-392-8215 or email Sherry Simmons.

Chase has awarded a $2 million grant to NCCLF. The grant will be used to provide loans to nonprofit agencies to support larger-scale affordable housing preservation projects in the greater San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley communities.

“This is one more way we are helping communities survive and grow in this challenging economy,” said Peter Barker, Chairman of JP Morgan Chase in California.  “NCCLF is well-respected in their communities and has forged deep relationships with their clients and community leaders.  Our grant ultimately will help increase the financial resiliency and sustainability of community-based nonprofits and enterprises which serve low-income populations throughout Northern California.”

Chase has partnered with NCCLF since 1998, supporting them in developing innovative ways to provide much-needed financing to preserve affordable housing units. We thank Chase for their generous support over the years and look forward to working with them in the years to come.

Axis Community Health, Inc. provides accessible and compassionate healthcare services to low-income and working- poor residents in the Tri-Valley area of Eastern Alameda County. The organization was founded in 1972 and currently has six sites. Services include medical, mental health counseling and a WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Nutrition Program. Annually, Axis provides medical care for more than 12,000 local residents, enrolling nearly 400 patients each month and experiencing a year-over-year increase of 15% in medical visits. Axis is the only nonprofit provider of medical care for low-income and uninsured residents of the Tri-Valley in Eastern Alameda County.

The growth in patient visits, and a 65% increase of people living under federal poverty levels in the Tri-Valley from 2007-2010, has strained Axis‘ capacity for services in its existing facilities. NCCLF has provided a $1,997,500 loan to finance the acquisition of a +24,000 sq. ft. community facility in Pleasanton. By doubling Axis‘s service capacity sq ft, the new space will provide adequate space for delivering medical and behavioral health care as well as ancillary services (laboratory, administration, patient education), to meet the projected numbers of patients in need of services within the region.

The project will allow Axis to meet its goals as a “medical home”, providing combined primary and preventive care to vulnerable populations in Eastern Alameda County and serving as a one-stop‘ shop for MediCal and uninsured residents.

NCCLF presents two webinars in January 2012. The first webinar will be on New Market Tax Credits, a financing option for community developers to develop facilities and create economic development opportunities in low-income communities. The tax credits can be used to leverage grants and the value of donated property to fill financing gaps. This webinar will take place Thursday, January 12, 2012 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm.

The second webinar will be an overview on how to get through your Annual Audit, stress free! If you are an Executive Director, Chief Financial Officer, Finance Manager, or Finance Committee member then this is the webinar for you. This webinar will take place on Thursday, January 12, 2012 from 12:00pm to 1:30pm. For more information and registration, click here.

25 Years – Uplifting Communities

NCCLF will be celebrating our 25-year anniversary event on Thursday, May 24 2012. The celebration will take place at City View in the Metreon. More information to come as we get closer to the date.

The Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) is a local, community-based economic development corporation located in the Mission District of San Francisco. For over 38 years MEDA has worked to improve economic and social conditions in the neighborhood by stimulating investment, enhancing the business environment, and creating jobs for area residents, while maintaining the cultural identity and resources of the Mission District. MEDA received a $1 million loan from NCCLF to acquire the 21,000 square foot facility to serve as the Plaza Adelante, a center that houses several community-based nonprofits, an in-house café, exhibits of work from local artists and a market that serves as a business incubator. The nonprofits in Plaza Adelante provide a wide range of services including technical assistance for microenterprises, homeownership counseling and foreclosure intervention, financial education, technology education and training, affordable financial products and services and tenant counseling. 

As part of their economic development strategy, MEDA created the El Mercadito, a retail business incubator, which allows low-income, small business owners to rent a small, affordable retail space with free business technical assistance and coaching provided by MEDA’s Business Development Program. The businesses will move from the Mercado when their leases are up and into a space in the Mission, creating and sustaining jobs and contributing to the economic well-being of the neighborhood.  

The Mercado is filled with an eclectic, vibrant group of small businesses with equally lively owners. Jessica, originally from El Salvador, happened to walk by the MEDA office while out looking for work. She had been unemployed for several months and knew she wanted more than just a job; she wanted a career with a future. MEDA’s small business development program gave her that opportunity. Jessica is now two months into running Express Beauty, a tiny women’s clothing boutique in the Mercado, and loves every minute of it. “I’ve never done anything like this, never run a business before,” says Jessica. “But it just seems so natural to me. I enjoy my customers and helping them find that perfect outfit.”

Through MEDA’s Business Development Program, qualified individuals can access the training and capital needed to become self-employed and develop a microenterprise that creates anywhere from one to five jobs. But, more importantly, the program helps build an economically sustainable community that empowers its members to build a better future for themselves. NCCLF is proud to be a partner with MEDA as it continues to revitalize the economic and social health in the Mission District.

At the recent Opportunity Finance Network national meeting, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, NCCLF’s President, Mary A. Rogier was re-elected to serve another three year term on the OFN Board of Directors. During Mary’s first term on the board, she was able to focus on the finance committee, membership committee and was involved with developing a fifteen year strategic plan.

Opportunity Finance Network is a national network of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) investing in opportunities that benefit low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged communities across America.

We are very proud of Mary’s achievements as a board member of OFN.

The Arts & Cultural District Strategy for San Francisco’s Central Market Economic Strategy is available here. The study provides an analysis of best practices from various North American Cities that supported the development of an arts district, which provided benefits to an existing underserved community.
This analysis will provide a framework for the creation the Central Market Arts Community as part of the revitalization of San Francisco’s Central Market District. Cultural Planner, Deborah Frieden conducted the study on behalf of the San Francisco Office of Economic & Workforce Development.

San Francisco Jazz (SFJAZZ) is one of the largest performing arts organizations in the Bay Area, sponsoring over 100 performances each year.  SFJAZZ has a dual mission — to explore the full spectrum of jazz, from the music’s origins to its diverse present-day expression, and to educate and inform the public and students through a range of programs aimed at youth in the City’s public schools.

SFJAZZ will be building its first permanent home aptly named the SFJAZZ Center.  It will be one of the first facilities in the country designed specifically for jazz music. Beyond increased production capacity, the center will be able to expand its education programming and the services it provides to low-income youth. Chief among these programs is Jazz in the Middle (JIM), a curriculum for San Francisco middle schools that integrates jazz learning with history lessons on the African slave trade.  The Center will be a ±35,000 performance space in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco. Among the key features of the Center will be a state-of-the-art 700-seat auditorium; an 80-seat multi-purpose ensemble room; rehearsal and digital lab spaces; and a sidewalk-level café.

In order to meet its timeline of completing the center by late 2012, SFJAZZ has requested a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to cover its temporary funding gap and move the Project forward. NCCLF provided a $7.4 million NMTC allocation combined with allocations from three other Community Development Entities (CDEs) to meet this request. U.S. Bank (USB)—the largest NMTC investor in the country—will be the investor for the SFJAZZ Center.

SFJAZZ currently employs 26 full-time staff and nearly 200 independent contractors annually.  With the completion of the center, SFJAZZ expects to add up to 24 administrative staff, production stagehands, front-of-house, maintenance, and other building operations staff, and 6 to 10 service and cook staff for the on-site cafe. SFJAZZ will also introduce an internship program in which local students will gain experience as stage crew, lighting, and sound assistants.

NCCLF is proud to be a partner with SFJAZZ in the building of their new center. Not only will the center enrich the community with its vibrant musical performances, but it will also create much-needed jobs in the Bay area.