2019 AT A GLANCE
FEDERAL FUNDING EXPANDS LENDING
It was an important achievement for Leviticus to receive $3.23 million in grants from the federal CDFI Fund in 2019. This funding is an essential resource to expand the scope of our lending, and in particular the grants will be used as loan capital for development, preservation and rehabilitation of affordable housing, and projects that address healthy food access, disabled individuals and counties facing persistent levels of poverty.
Leviticus was one of 261 awardees from a pool of 412 applicants, which underscores the level of competition for these federal dollars. In addition, three of the four awards required a dollar-for-dollar match to receive all of the funding. Leviticus’s $1.23 million required match was only made possible because of the generous donations and grants that we receive from individuals and institutions.
YONKERS HOUSING REPORT RELEASED
Leviticus has a long history of providing technical assistance to our nonprofit borrowers to support their community development work. In 2019, our TA took a more expanded form when we released a 57-page report offering tailored policy recommendations to stimulate new approaches to housing within Yonkers, NY. The report was based on 18 months of work in the city, including extensive research of the city’s housing conditions and existing policies, plus direct conversations with community stakeholders and residents of Yonkers.
Leviticus initiated the Yonkers housing study because we recognized that the city is very much a microcosm of the challenges and opportunities facing many urban areas. The issues specifically facing Yonkers are how to best balance housing affordability and inclusive housing policies along with the need to attract new investments to tackle urban blight. We believe the report provides practical and stimulating new thinking regarding Yonkers’ high-need, southwest quadrant and will be an important touchstone for Yonkers for years to come. To read the full report, please click here
Leviticus is currently working on a similar housing study for the City of Newburgh, with the final report expected in 2021. Funding for both reports was provided through a generous grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
2019 CORNERSTONE AWARDEE
The Community Builders (TCB) has a 56-year history of building affordable and mixed-income housing in 14 states, including New York and New Jersey. The organization approaches its work with a consistent focus on how best to serve and involve residents in each development in order to promote sustainable, strong communities for the future.
In 2019, Leviticus selected TCB for its Cornerstone Award in recognition of its innovative community-building work that aligns with our mission of economic social justice. The organization has developed over 29,000 units of housing for families and seniors, and owns or manages more than 11,000 rental apartments. Leviticus, to date, has financed nine of TCB’s projects, including Bergenview Apartments, which is one of five projects profiled in this year’s annual report. To learn more about how TCB works locally, please click here
Impact
View More Information About Our Impact
Celebrating a year of
growth and expansion!
Every aspect of our community development work is sustained by the value-based commitment of our investors, donors, volunteers, nonprofit partners, pro bono counsel and Board of Directors.
That support, in turn, fuels our growth in capital and organizational capacity that provides the opportunity to renew once again our commitment to our mission and the communities we serve. The photos on this page provide just a few of the highlights from the year: (from top left) the gathering of our Member investors at our annual meeting; the skilled community development work by The Community Builders, selected in 2019 as the Leviticus Cornerstone awardee; the release of our housing report for the City of Yonkers; recognition by Greg Maher, our Executive Director, for the service of two outgoing board members – Justin Towey, who served as Treasurer and Sr. Geraldine Kennedy, OSU, who served as Secretary; our Annual Meeting’s community investment spotlight speaker, Anahaita Kotval, who is Chief Executive Officer for Lifting Up Westchester; Mr. Maher and Kayla Jeffrey, our Loan Officer, presenting at the Nonprofit Westchester’s Emerging Leaders Program Class of 2019; Mr. Maher joining with Congresswoman Nita Lowey (NY17 District) in denouncing proposed cuts to the 2020 federal budget that would undermine local community-focused programs; and Leviticus Board Member, Peggy Scarano, OP, and Mr. Maher welcoming one of our investors, Patricia Russell, OSU, of the Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union at the 2019 gathering of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
