The First Ten Years at the Illinois Facilities Fund - IFF

full payments were flowing again. Another default—a management failure—couldn’t be saved, but the IFFrecouped most of the $98,000 balance by selling theproperty. Results were less favorable when one of theChicago charter schools closed. “All that was left,”reported loan officer Marcus Weathersby, fighting backa grin in his presentation to the loan committee,“were bookcases and a few brooms.”Loans in a social contextWhatever the outcome, the lending process hasgenerated new ideas and programs as the contact withborrowers (and even those unable to borrow) promptsquestions about what more can be done to serveIllinois’ human service agencies.The overwhelming need for child care facilities, forinstance, prompted the IFF to become a developer aswell as a lender. The need to understand its markets ledto research studies that documented tremendous needsamong Illinois’ 5,000 nonprofits. This in turn expandedIFF’s public policy work, especially in child care butalso across the nonprofit sector, because management,financial stability, government support and programquality are all threads of the same cloth. Finally, as loanvolume grew year to year, the IFF would face an internaland ongoing fiscal need: how to raise more funds forlending. These challenges began emerging within thefirst two years of the IFF and increased as the organizationscaled up for its first major leadership role: the ChildCare Facility Development Program.Illinois Facilities Fund loan productsBridge Investment (Community Asset Builder)Allstate Child Care and Education FundCharter School Loan FundElgin Area Facility Action ProgramFacility Improvement LoanFacility Line of CreditResidential Mortgage ProgramNew Visions3435