We believe in pursuing IMPACT before scale, having focused our initial pilot in the incredible community of North Chicago, Illinois. We will expand our innovative mission model by "giving it away"--empowering other communities to create lasting impact.
More on our Strategy & Vision below:
STRATEGY | VISION
North Chicago |
Our Initial Ecosystem
Our journey began in the incredible community of North Chicago, IL (December 2020).
Like many such disinvested communities, North Chicago lies only a few miles from pockets of massive surrounding wealth.
And yet, as outlined in the Brushwood Center "Health, Equity and Nature" Report (link below), a 15-year life differential emerges over that same distance, largely attributed to resource access.
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Our neighbors are deeply talented, generous and resilient, with remarkable local assets.
Since 2020, it has been our great privilege to lift up (and to learn from) our sisters and brothers.
Vision 2026
In 2020, we set an ambitious goal to achieve $4 million in funded loans in North Chicago by 2025.
This level of funding, along with our mission innovation (radically reducing operating expense), would allow us to launch Vision 2026--hiring a fully compensated staff from the community itself, so that the entire mission is not only sustainable, but also led fully "by, of, and for" the great community of North Chicago.
This becomes a model with tremendous potential of National replication in other disinvested communities.
As of the end of 2024, we have exceeded $3.1 million in committed funding, and are on track to execute on Vision 2026!
Long-Term Vision | A National Movement
We believe that scale follows impact. And, while our initial focus is in local Illinois communities, our long-term vision is to give life to a national movement.
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Importantly, our ambition is not to control this movement, but to "give it away" so that other communities might benefit from a fully Recyclable, Redemptive approach to community lending.
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We have begun this process of extending influence by:
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Engaging in dialogue and mutual learning with nonprofit partners nationwide
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Serving as an advisor to affordable housing / lending think tanks in the greater Chicagoland area.
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