Reinvestment Fund Fall Newsletter 2025
Celebrating 40 Years of Impact and Vision
This year, Reinvestment Fund marks a major milestone – 40 years of using capital, data, and expertise to foster opportunity and create lasting change. Over the past four decades, we’ve seen that change doesn’t happen overnight; it happens one investment, one policy, one community at a time.
Our Why Campaign spotlights the voices of our organization’s founding members and the people behind our work. But this milestone isn’t just ours—it belongs to our partners, whose trust and collaboration make our work possible. It also belongs to the communities we serve, whose resilience and leadership continue to inspire us.
As we reflect on our journey from a local initiative to a nationally recognized Community Development Financial Institution, our partners, supporters, and civic leaders expressed in their remarks that equity is not a destination—it’s a daily practice.
We invite you to explore the Why campaign to view highlights of our balanced financial approach, our grounding in community, and why partners choose to work with Reinvestment Fund. Join us in celebrating our past and shaping our future—share your “why” and help us continue our enduring mission: to build communities where all people thrive.
Data-guided Program for ECE Providers Launches in Maryland
In Montgomery County, Maryland, Reinvestment Fund is expanding access to capital for early childcare education (ECE) providers so that they can renovate and improve facilities for children in their care.
Our 2024 Policy Solutions report, commissioned by the County’s ECE Initiative, surveyed the state of local childcare for families and providers. Among other findings, the report recommended tailored business supports to help providers address shortages in care.
In response, the new $4 million Montgomery County ECE Facility Loan Program was created in partnership with the County’s Department of Health and Human Services Early Childhood Services. This program aims to support licensed child care facilities by providing a combination of forgivable and interest-free loans.
“This project exemplifies Reinvestment Fund’s strategic approach to tackling the national child care crisis. By blending innovative financial solutions with deliberate local collaborations, we are expanding access to high-quality care for a greater number of children and their families,” said LaToshia DeVose, managing director for ECE at Reinvestment Fund.
News & Resources
- Welcome to new Reinvestment Fund staff members Stephani Peters and Cori Cubberley.
- The City of Philadelphia led by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, launched the One Philly SNAP Support Program to address food insecurity during the federal SNAP benefits lapse. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health, working with Reinvestment Fund, is distributing $2 million in grants to organizations to provide healthy, culturally appropriate food to residents.
- New research from Moody’s Analytics, PolicyMap, and Reinvestment Fund reveals a nationwide shortage of rental housing, with the most severe gaps affecting moderate- and middle-income communities. While affluent urban areas show rental surpluses and low-income neighborhoods face smaller deficits, the middle is critically underserved—explore the interactive maps and data on PolicyMap to learn more.
- Building Healthier, More Equitable Communities, led by Reinvestment Fund and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, leveraged an initial $4.68 million of direct investment into $98 million in investments and influenced state policy shifts to create healthier, more equitable communities across four New Jersey cities. This multi-year initiative transformed local capacity and statewide programs—read the full report here.
- Emily Dowdall, Reinvestment Fund’s President of Policy Solutions was recognized by City and State Pennsylvania’s list of 40 in their Forties. Emily’s passion for cities stems from her Philadelphia childhood – and has never waned. “There were lots of news stories talking about the problems – disinvestment, population loss,” recalls Dowdall. “But I saw the value in my neighborhood. I figured out pretty early that I wanted to study cities – and how to make them work.”
- We are scaling clean energy access by supporting Allumia’s Efficiency-as-a-Service model, which enables schools, nonprofits, and small businesses to cut energy costs and emissions—often with no upfront cost.
- Reinvestment Fund’s Community Advisory Board (CAB) demonstrates how lived experience and local insight can guide equitable investment strategies that reflect real community priorities. Read the full story to see how CAB members are helping direct capital toward lasting, inclusive change.
- Congrats to McKenna Gosa who was recently accepted into ULI Atlanta’s Center for Leadership, a program that equips professionals to advance equitable, community-centered development.
- Reinvestment Fund’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative helped expand Major Market Inc, one of the few Native-owned brick-and-mortar businesses in Zuni Pueblo, NM that provides fresh local food. Read how the Tsabetsaye family’s vision is transforming a rural desert community by creating jobs, promoting health, and advancing food sovereignty for Native families.
- Damien Center’s bold expansion in Indianapolis, supported by Reinvestment Fund’s first health care investment in Indiana, brings a state-of-the-art facility that integrates medical care with vital social services. This transformative project not only increases access to compassionate, community-centered care for thousands, but also revitalizes the neighborhood and creates lasting economic opportunity.
- Using Federal housing data, a new Reinvestment Fund study in Philadelphia finds that buyers in minority neighborhoods often receive appraisals below the agreed sale price, while Black and Hispanic homeowners face higher denial rates for refinancing due to low valuations—directly impacting their ability to access equity and widening the racial wealth gap. Hear our Ira Goldstein discuss this report on WHYY.
- Dr. Sara Patenaude, Reinvestment Fund’s Director of Policy Solutions for the Southeast, was recognized as one of Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40. Dr. Patenaude is shaping housing policy with purpose, data, and humanity. In a recent Q&A, she shares her journey from development to policy leadership and why centering lived experience is key to building belonging and opportunity.
Work With Us
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