In Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, community organizations are helping residents build careers, connect with service providers and create new pathways to financial stability. The work often depends on a network of support: local organizations create programs that meet community needs, while mission-driven lenders and financial partners provide capital that helps the work continue and grow.

One of those partners is IFF, a Chicago-headquartered community development financial institution (CDFI) that strengthens nonprofits and the communities they serve across the Midwest by providing capital, real estate support and other capacity-building resources. Its work spans key sectors, expanding access to affordable housing, healthcare, education, workforce development and other essential services.

U.S. Bank and IFF have worked together for decades. Through U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance, the community development and infrastructure finance division of U.S. Bank, the relationship has helped IFF scale its reach and impact.

“Strong, long-term client relationships allow us to support community impact in a consistent and durable way,” said Laura Vowell, managing director of community finance solutions at U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance. “Our role is to provide capital and expertise that help organizations like IFF advance projects and services shaped by local priorities.”

“At IFF, long-term relationships with our partners and with the communities we serve give us the insight to keep improving our products and services and to show up in ways that respond to evolving needs,” said Kirby Burkholder, CEO of IFF. “That depth of relationship creates an ongoing feedback loop with community organizations, helping ensure our work is meeting real needs and supporting transformational community development over time.”

Putting capital to work in Chicago

During a recent visit to Chicago, leaders from U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance met with representatives from IFF and organizations serving North Lawndale to see that connection up close.

For U.S. Bancorp Impact Finance CEO Zack Boyers and IFF CEO Kirby Burkholder, the visit also marked a return to Homan Square, where the two first spent time together nearly 20 years ago. Revisiting the neighborhood offered a chance to see how local institutions have continued investing in services, facilities and economic opportunities.

"It's meaningful to come back and see how organizations rooted in the community have continued strengthening the neighborhood," Boyers said. "Progress like this doesn't happen because of any single project. It comes from years of commitment by residents, community organizations, investors and partners working toward a shared vision."

The visit included time at North Lawndale Employment Network (NLEN), a workforce development organization focused on helping residents build careers, strengthen financial stability and pursue fair-chance employment opportunities. One of the places they do that is at the beelove® café, part of NLEN’s Sweet Beginnings social enterprise, where residents can gain paid transitional job experience. The café serves as a gathering place for the community.

The video above shows how the pieces connect: the beelove café creates jobs and opportunities through NLEN; IFF supports NLEN through community finance; and U.S. Bank invests in IFF’s work. The U.S. Bank Foundation has also provided support directly to NLEN, adding another layer to the relationship.

“I am incredibly grateful for our partnership with U.S. Bank, not only because they see the good in the people and residents of North Lawndale, but they invest year over year to help improve the quality of life, with us,” said Brenda Palms, president and CEO of NLEN. “This is trusted, long, steadfast partnership — and honestly, it doesn’t get better than that.”

Together, these connections help community investment move from financing to services, jobs and opportunities on the ground.

A flexible approach to community finance

U.S. Bank supports IFF’s work through several forms of community finance capital, each designed to help move community-centered projects and organizations forward:

• New Markets Tax Credit investments, which help attract private capital to projects in communities where financing may otherwise be limited
• CDFI lending and debt capital, which helps IFF provide financing to nonprofit organizations and community development projects
• Low Income Housing Tax Credit financing, which helps create and preserve affordable housing for families and individuals

These tools can be used separately or together, depending on what a project or organization needs. That flexibility is important because community development work rarely follows a single path or timeline.

Over time, U.S. Bank’s relationship with IFF has helped finance organizations and initiatives that create economic opportunities, broaden the reach of essential services and strengthen local communities. In North Lawndale, that relationship helps illustrate how capital can move through trusted intermediaries to reach organizations like NLEN, supporting work that is rooted in the community and visible in places like the beelove café.