Community First® Fund Partner Spotlight
The Community First Fund is a revolving loan fund that provides direct support to community development financial institutions, community development loan funds, and state housing finance agencies serving Illinois and Wisconsin. The Community First Fund is the first of its kind in the Federal Home Loan Bank System and is unique to the FHLBC.

To date, $39.75 million has been committed to seven partners. In this Community First Fund Partner Spotlight, we introduce Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF). CCLF is a mission-driven social investment intermediary that provides low-cost, flexible financing to non- and for-profit community development organizations for the revitalization of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods throughout the metropolitan Chicago area and surrounding counties.

What has an investment from the Community First Fund allowed you to do that you wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise?

CCLF has used the Community First Fund investment to create affordable housing, support the launch of a sports facility for low-income youth, and breathe new life into a commercial corridor that suffered from poor retail sales, heavy crime, and poor conditions. CCLF used the capital to finance six transactions to address the needs of communities in persistent poverty. Because of the Community First Fund, additional affordable housing is now available to families at 50% of the area median income in the Auburn Gresham community in Chicago. In the Edgewater community, the funds were used to convert a multi-family building into a cooperative—making home ownership a possibility for low-income families by sharing expenses.

CCLF used the investment for the XS Tennis and Education Foundation, which has plans to develop a new $12 million sports facility in Washington Park. This was formerly the site of the Chicago Housing Authority’s Robert Taylor Homes, which were notorious for gang activity and crime. This massive recreational haven for disadvantaged youth will also attract tennis greats like Billie Jean King, as well as notable players who are being coached by the founder of XS Tennis, Kamau Murray. Murray is currently coaching Sloane Stephens, a pro athlete who won the 2016 Volvo Car Open Tennis Tournament. The XS Tennis Village, as it’s being called, will feature tennis courts, basketball courts, and multi-purpose rooms for youth to complete homework and participate in other after-school activities that will shape them into winning citizens. This facility will bring a much-needed resource to low-income families on Chicago’s South Side.

The Community First Fund investment was also used in the Grand Boulevard community to transform a retail center that had been neglected and poorly managed for a long time. The changes have resulted in new businesses, a more attractive commercial corridor, and a reduction in crime. Because of the Community First Fund investment, CCLF was able to drive community change through the development of affordable housing, community facilities, and commercial retail space.

Do you consider partnerships with organizations like the FHLBC a success driver? What are some of the benefits of this type of collaboration?
CCLF has much more to accomplish with the Community First Fund investment, but the current impact of these six projects already includes 52 jobs created, 26 units of affordable housing created, and 135,645 square feet of community and commercial retail space developed in low-income communities. These under-invested communities on the South Side of Chicago are fortunate to have visionaries like the FHLBC because its investment allowed CCLF to be responsive to community needs and deliver very high-quality real estate assets that attracted other investments. CCLF has been able to leverage an additional $4,174,033 for these projects, bolstering community transformation one project at a time.

CCLF has also been able to attract interest from other potential investors because of our partnership with the FHLBC. Being able to list the FHLBC as one of our investors provides validation of the projects CCLF underwrites and demonstrates confidence in our ability to serve low- to moderate-income communities.
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Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago
200 East Randolph Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
www.fhlbc.com
This newsletter contains forward-looking statements which are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. These statements may use forward-looking terms, such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "could," "plans," "estimates," "may," "should," "will" or their negatives or other variations on these terms. We caution that, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk or uncertainty, that actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements, and that actual events could affect the extent to which a particular objective, projection, estimate, or prediction is realized. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risk factors set forth in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on our website at www.fhlbc.com.

Copyright © 2016, Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. "Downpayment Plus," "DPP," "Downpayment Plus Advantage," and "DPP Advantage" are registered trademarks of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. "Community First" is a registered trademark of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.
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