CINCINNATI DEVELOPMENT FUND INC

At CDF, we focus on projects that have a positive, catalytic impact in low-income neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati.

Our real estate financing focuses on projects that result in substantial redevelopment of property and do at least one of the following:
*Align with the goals of a community development corporation, neighborhood council, municipality or economic development agency
*Create or preserve affordable housing
*Produce market-rate development in areas experiencing population loss or blight
*Contribute to job creation through commercial or mixed-use development
*Improve access to healthy food in USDA-designated food deserts and for low-income households lacking access
*Strengthen communities through the arts

Our nonprofit facilities and equipment loans support organizations that serve low-income neighborhoods and special-needs populations in Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Dayton, Ohio.

LOAN PRODUCTS: CDF provides loan products structured with flexible terms and conditions including higher loan-to-value limits, below-market interest rates, subordinated debt options, and a longer interest-only period that are suitable for borrowers who are unable to obtain all the needed financing for real estate projects from conventional sources. We also offer subordinate financing to provide conventional lenders with underwriting support needed to commit financing. Without our pioneering approach, it is likely that critical real estate development projects in low-income communities would not happen or would not happen at the scale and pace that the communities so acutely need.

RAISING CAPITAL: CDF actively seeks diverse sources of capital to increase our lending and fill financing gaps for projects in priority neighborhoods. Specifically, we have built long-term, collaborative partnerships with dozens of financial institutions. We continue to attract new financing partners through our extensive track record of successful lending in emerging urban neighborhoods. We have also nurtured long-term relationships with community leaders and organizations, providing development services that increase the likelihood of each project’s success.

COMMUNITY COORDINATION: In addition to flexible, pioneering loan products and raising capital, CDF has established a strategic approach for community coordination by forming close relationships with Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and other partners who support a variety of aspects of neighborhood revitalization. While the CDCs are enduring champions for revitalization to benefit all residents, these organizations and other community partners often lack the capacity to provide financing and help pioneer developers structure deals that will meet the needs of these neighborhoods. This is where CDF provides significant value alongside the CDCs, which have intimate knowledge of their communities’ needs.

Aligned with these strategies, we are committed to bringing about equitable development that provides commercial goods and services, access to healthy foods, affordable housing, and community facilities that respond to the needs of our target market.

EXTERNAL RESOURCES:

• Partnerships: Strong partnerships enhance our capacity to achieve our goals and meet the needs of low-income communities and residents in our focused neighborhoods, including:
* Conventional lenders: We raise capital to fund our strategic lending goals by bringing diverse banks together to share risk on loans in low-income neighborhoods.
* Community-based funders/planners: Place Matters funders (United Way, Sisters of Charity, Greater Cincinnati Foundation), LISC, Community Building Institute, and The Port identify and work with priority neighborhoods to create revitalization plans. These partners engage CDF early in the development process to discuss financing options.
* City of Cincinnati: Grants from the City to CDF provide a credit enhancement that enables traditional lenders to invest in low-income neighborhoods.
* Other CDFIs: Partnering with other Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) contributes to CDF meeting the needs of residents in our focused communities through expansion of our financing products.

• Capital: CDF has raised more than $236.1MM capital from profit-motivated investors and government and philanthropic institutions. These include below-market-rate loans; CDFI Fund Financial Assistance awards, New Markets Tax Credit allocations, and Capital Magnet Fund awards; City and State grants; and grants and loans from private foundations and charitable organizations. This capital supports our mission and enables us to invest back into our communities.

INTERNAL RESOURCES:

• Board of Trustees: CDF is led by a Board of Trustees composed of 15 members with strong lending, compliance, finance, and community engagement experience. They share diverse perspectives as professionals, innovators, and residents of the communities we serve. Many board members have significant fundraising experience and advise staff on capital-raising efforts for projects ranging from low-income housing to commercial and/or mixed-use developments. The capital raising experience and relationships of these board members have significantly benefited our staff’s capitalization efforts. Board members are experienced in serving low-income communities, often leveraging other key community roles to ensure we are at the forefront of high-impact projects in our service area.

• CDF’s staff of 14, whose lending personnel average 20+ years of community development and lending experience, is the most important factor in our sound operations and success. Through high-quality management, sound loan underwriting/servicing, and strong asset management, CDF has earned investor confidence and sustained high-impact lending that is responsive to community needs.

Since inception in 1988, and as of March 31, 2021, CDF has created a positive, catalytic impact in low-income neighborhoods in Greater Cincinnati illustrated by the numbers below:
• CDF has raised more than $451.1MM in lending capital, of which $382.4MM is from 9 CDFI New Markets Tax Credit allocations, $12.3MM is from 11 CDFI Financial Assistance awards, and $900,000 from a CDFI Capital Magnet Fund award
• CDF has originated 527 loans with total lending of $420MM
• CDF has created or preserved 6,348 housing units, of which 3,692 are affordable
• CDF has created approximately 14,770 construction & permanent jobs
• CDF has created more than 3.3MM square feet of commercial space and 1.7MM square feet for community facilities

For more than 30 years, we have lived by our mission and have worked diligently to make a difference in the scale and sustainability of long-term neighborhood revitalization. Through our diversified financing programs and partnerships, several communities within the Greater Cincinnati area have experienced renewed economic growth.

Progress we helped to support in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood provides a roadmap for our continued impact. Once considered one of the nation’s most dangerous neighborhoods, OTR is now experiencing a true renaissance that is accessible to a spectrum of household incomes.

We are working to replicate the success in OTR in other high-opportunity, distressed neighborhoods. We will continue expanding our investment and impact by offering flexible, pioneering loan products, actively seeking diverse sources of capital, and working closely with Community Development Corporations to be at the forefront of redevelopment plans. We remain committed to helping low-income communities preserve their historic buildings and create vibrant, inclusive neighborhoods.