Restoring Markets. Reimagining Possibilities.

Reinvestment Fund received a $60 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation award today as part of the 2020 round of awards announced by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund. Reinvestment Fund will use its award to support investments in its core markets, with an emphasis on projects that improve outcomes for communities of color that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic fallout. Reinvestment Fund is among 100 awardees who received a total of $5 billion in awards this round.

“The pandemic has only underscored the vulnerability of Black and brown communities in the face persistent systemic challenges,” said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. “With this award, we will invest in projects that advance equity and strengthen the resources that people need in order to be healthy, obtain a quality education, earn a living wage and build wealth.”

Since April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the evictions moratorium have drastically reduced Landlord-Tenant court activity, allowing Philadelphia renters to stay in their homes during a period when an eviction would subject them to risk of contracting and spreading the virus. If the moratorium set to expire on July 31st 2021 is not extended, notwithstanding innovations like pre-filing mediation and rental assistance, there will be a backlog of cases to process in court and the amount of pressure under which at least some tenants (and landlords) will be operating will be heightened. It is a critically important time to address decisions around court procedures and resources to ensure that the eviction process operates in a way that is both fair and efficient for all parties. Our newest research brief looks at the process in Philadelphia and identifies ways in which the court experience can be improved and made more equitable for both tenants and landlords as the city emerges from the pandemic.