The Leviticus Fund, a regional nonprofit loan fund, received a $1.6 million Financial Assistance (FA) Award from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund.
The FA Award comes as the Leviticus Fund marks its 40-year history of providing flexible, fixed-rate, low-fee capital, coupled with highly valued free technical assistance to nonprofit borrowers.
“Leviticus has earned a reputation as a nimble and customer-focused lender serving nonprofit developers primarily in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut,” said Greg Maher, Executive Director of the Leviticus Fund. “This award will allow us to continue our mission of providing financing to efforts that serve low-income communities and people of color, expand our lending activities, and further growing our capital base.”
The Leviticus Fund’s lending focuses on stabilizing and improving the economic and social conditions of low-income individuals and families, and providing flexible financing and technical assistance to businesses or projects that align with their strategic mission.
Over the last 40 years, Leviticus’ $194.2 million in cumulative lending has helped bring $2.8 billion of project based private and public capital into projects, helping nonprofit developers increase their scale and impact.
According to Maher, “Our success in achieving these goals has been bolstered by prior CDFI awards of more than $18 million in capital. This $1.6 million in new loan capital will help us continue to address the acute affordable housing shortage in the tri-state area.”
In 2022, the Leviticus Fund closed $25.6 million in loans, and made $22.1 million in loan disbursements. Many of the projects financed provide not just affordable housing, but the supportive services that assist homeless or formerly homeless people. These places provide formerly homeless individuals with a sense of community as well as access to a wide variety of resources that help them develop and maintain the skills they need for independent living.
“Safe, stable, and affordable housing is beyond the reach of many low-income people,” said Maher. “For those with mental health or substance use issues, the lack of affordable housing also impedes the recovery process. These are lifelong struggles and housing, along with accompanying supportive services, can help people avoid homelessness, hospitalization, and incarceration. This grant from the CDFI Fund will help us continue to invest in people and ensure that they have access to quality housing and essential services that enrich their lives.”
