Insights

A newly released study by Reinvestment Fund details the volume and geographic distribution of eviction filings in the city of Philadelphia. The study updates our 2017 Evictions in Philadelphia research brief.

Reinvestment Fund announced three initiatives in memory of its founding Executive Director, Jeremy Nowak. Jeremy led Reinvestment Fund for 26 years, establishing a powerful vision for strong, equitable communities. The initiatives honor key aspects of Jeremy’s life work.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has announced the launch of the Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative, an exciting new program in partnership with the Reinvestment Fund to support community-driven projects to advance food justice. As part of the launch, the initiative announced the selection of six projects for a total of $180,000 in funding support.

Reinvestment Fund today announced $1.8 million in financial and technical assistance awards to 23 projects through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) inaugural grants program. Funding for the HFFI grants program is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Ten projects received a total of $1.4 million in financial assistance and another 13 projects received a total of $400,000 in technical assistance awards.

Reinvestment Fund today announced $1.8 million in financial and technical assistance awards to 23 projects through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) inaugural grants program. Funding for the HFFI grants program is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Ten projects received a total of $1.4 million in financial assistance and another 13 projects received a total of $400,000 in technical assistance awards.

On April 9 – 10, Reinvestment Fund and the City of Kansas City, Missouri hosted the second Market Value Analysis Community of Practice (COP) convening. The COP brought together representatives from cities and organizations from around the country who use Reinvestment Fund’s Market Value Analysis (MVA) to inform community and economic development activities in their communities.  This brief presents a summary of the panels, discussions, and key learnings from the event.

Throughout its history, the Pennsylvania’s HEMAP has received great acclaim for its design and impact. HEMAP is a program that was designed to provide temporary assistance to families who, through not fault of their own, were seriously delinquent with their home mortgage. Reinvestment Fund released a Research Brief titled “What if Pennsylvania Had Not Had HEMAP?” in 2012. At the time, Pennsylvania, like much of the United States, was climbing out of the throes of one of the most significant recessions in our nation’s history.

Reinvestment Fund announced the appointment of Jeff Hebert, Partner at HR&A Advisors to its Policy Advisory Board. The Policy Advisory Board provides strategic direction to Reinvestment Fund’s policy research and analytical efforts. It also reviews Reinvestment Fund’s research methods and products.

Reinvestment Fund announced Yonina Gray as its new Director of External Relations, responsible for driving national business development objectives to establish new market presence and relationships that pave the way for organizational growth.

With support from the Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Program™, Reinvestment Fund conducted a first-of-its-kind study to estimate the supply of and demand for care specifically for the infant and toddler sector in Philadelphia. Combining a citywide provider survey and focus groups with providers from center- and home-based settings, this study sought to estimate the shortage of infant and toddler care across the city and to learn more about the providers offering infant and toddler care as well as the barriers that prevent other providers from entering the infant and toddler care market.

In 2014, with support from The William Penn Foundation, Reinvestment Fund conducted an initial analysis of the supply of and demand for child care in Philadelphia to identify areas of the city where targeted investments could help address shortages of high-quality child care. Reinvestment Fund’s 2018 childcare analysis provides estimates to track the change over time in the supply of, demand for, and shortages in child care.

In 2017, Reinvestment Fund conducted an initial analysis of the supply of and demand for child care in the five-county metro Atlanta region (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties), to identify areas where targeted investments could help address shortages of high-quality child care. In addition, an interactive web-based tool, the ATL ACCESS Map: Atlanta Child Care and Early Learning Supply, was created to present the results of this analysis.

This report, developed with support from the Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation, presents the results of descriptive and spatial analyses of the child care landscape in the five-county region in 2018 and includes analysis of changes observed since the initial 2017 study.

Reinvestment Fund is pleased to welcome Marland Buckner, Mike Davis and Vicki Lundy Wilbon to its Board of Directors. The new Board members bring varied professional experience from public affairs to education to real estate development, and an expansive understanding of communities and regions in the Southeastern United States.

Reinvestment Fund is a national mission-driven financial institution that creates opportunity for underserved people and places through partnerships. In 2018, we marshaled the capital, analytics, and expertise necessary to build strong, healthy, and more equitable communities. Among the highlights: We invested $217.9 million, including $43 million in our hometown of Philadelphia and $33 million in the City of Baltimore.

GoATL Fund (GoATL), an impact investment fund launched by the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, recently closed a new $1 million investment to Reinvestment Fund to support a diverse portfolio of impactful investments throughout metro Atlanta. Focused primarily on low-income neighborhoods with historically deprived levels of investment, GoATL’s investment will provide Reinvestment Fund with locally-sourced, flexible capital that will support initiatives in education, food access, the arts and affordable housing.

Across the United States, communities are struggling with the challenges associated with neighborhood decline. Practitioners and policymakers are beginning to realize that the task is oftentimes more difficult when the communities facing these challenges are in older suburban areas where: (a) poverty is an increasingly prevalent issue; and (b) the resources and expertise to manage issues associated with poverty and disinvestment that exists in cities are less prevalent.

Reinvestment Fund announced Tracy Murray Moore as its new Chief Human Resources Officer. As CHRO, she is responsible for developing and executing the human resource strategy in support of Reinvestment Fund’s overall business plan and strategic direction, specifically in the areas of succession planning, talent management, change management, organizational and performance management, training, development, and compensation.

With wide bipartisan support, Congress passed The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (also known as the Farm Bill), which reauthorizes and expands the national Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) at the United States Department of Agriculture. In addition to providing healthy food for families, the bipartisan bill supports farmers and agricultural economy, invests in small towns and rural communities and supports local food economies.

Reinvestment Fund is inviting applications for financial and technical assistance through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative’s (HFFI) inaugural grants program. Funding for the HFFI grants program is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill.  As the National Fund Manager, Reinvestment Fund will offer financial resources and expertise to eligible healthy food retail projects to expand access to healthy foods in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities.

At Reinvestment Fund, the essence of our work is to build social cohesion and restore community fabric. This past week, we witnessed ghastly events fueled by division and hate—experiences that are fundamentally antithetical to our values. These challenging events underscore that our friendships, alliances and shared support is more important now than ever before.

The Federal Reserve Board announced that Reinvestment Fund CEO, Don Hinkle-Brown, will serve as Vice Chair of its Community Advisory Council (CAC), beginning in 2019. Mr. Hinkle-Brown began his three-year term on the CAC in 2018.

Reinvestment Fund, an S&P rated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), today announced the close of $75.7 million in general obligation bonds. Reinvestment Fund was one of the first CDFIs to access the capital markets in 2017 and this marks their second issuance.

Reinvestment Fund announced Cheila Fernandez as its new Chief Compliance & Risk Officer. This new position will lead the growing organization’s internal risk management and compliance.

Reinvestment Fund is pleased to welcome Dudley Benoit to its Board of Directors. Mr. Benoit, a long-time leader in the community development finance field, serves as Executive Vice President of Alliant Capital, Ltd., a top tax credit syndicator for the financing and development of affordable housing. Mr. Benoit has over 20 years of experience in the community development and real estate finance fields.

Despite gains over the past decade, limited access to healthy food continues to affect residents of both urban and rural communities across the United States—which is why Reinvestment Fund recently updated its Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) analysis. According to the 2018 update, 17.6 million people (5.6% of the population) live in LSA areas, a decrease of 3.1 million people (or 15%) from 2010.

Remembering and Honoring Jeremy Nowak and other news

Jeremy Nowak was a visionary leader, who worked tirelessly for equity in low-income communities. As we grieve the loss of our founder, we share with you a glimpse into his brilliance and what made him one-of-a-kind.

We at Reinvestment Fund are grieving the loss of our founder, Jeremy Nowak. Jeremy was a powerful, insightful and tireless voice for our nation’s underserved people and places. The world is diminished by his passing.

Despite gains over the past decade, limited access to healthy food continues to affect urban and rural communities across the United States. Financing the construction of new supermarkets and the expansion of existing stores is one of the primary strategies to increase access to sources of healthy food in underserved communities. Reinvestment Fund’s Limited Supermarket Access (LSA) analysis is a tool to help investors and policymakers identify areas across the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia that have both inadequate and inequitable access to healthy food and sufficient market demand for new or expanded food retail operations.

From 2009 through 2016, Philadelphia was one of the most active reverse mortgage lending markets in the nation. With support from the City of Philadelphia, Reinvestment Fund collected and analyzed data on the frequency, terms and geographic distribution of reverse mortgages. This lending analysis was supplemented with in-depth interviews conducted with Philadelphia homeowners, and their heirs, who obtained a reverse mortgage and subsequently experienced a foreclosure – something they never thought possible. Interviews focused on borrowers’ experiences, from the moment they first contemplated a reverse mortgage through the point that they experienced a foreclosure filing, and then through the resolution of that foreclosure process. This work is part of a larger investigation into the potential fair housing implications of reverse mortgage lending in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Reinvestment Fund and The Philadelphia Foundation announced the launch of PhilaImpactFund, a new place-based impact investment opportunity targeted to the Greater Philadelphia region. The Fund is believed to be a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a community foundation, The Philadelphia Foundation, and an asset manager that also originates community development loans, Reinvestment Fund. Each organization has committed $5 million toward PhilaImpact Fund’s $30 million goal.

Reinvestment Fund’s Senior Policy Advisor, Patricia Smith, has been named President and CEO of The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, a robust network of more than 170 philanthropic foundations across the U.S. and Canada.

High-quality early care and learning supports positive development and helps prepare children for success in school and beyond. Quality child care is also critical for families, as it allows parents to maintain employment. With support from the Richard W. Goldman Family Foundation and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, Reinvestment Fund conducted a study of the supply of and demand for child care in the five-county metro Atlanta region (Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties).

In 2014, with support from The William Penn Foundation, Reinvestment Fund conducted an initial analysis of the supply of and demand for child care in Philadelphia to identify areas of the city where targeted investments could help address shortages of high-quality child care. Now in its third update, Reinvestment Fund’s 2017 childcare analysis provides updated estimates to track the change over time in the supply of, demand for, and shortages in child care.  This report presents the results of descriptive and spatial analyses of the child care landscape in Philadelphia in 2017. It details both short- and long-term changes in the supply of, demand for, and gaps in care; the year-to-year changes from 2016 to 2017, as well as shifts since the first analyses were conducted in 2014.

Each year, lending institutions across the country report their mortgage lending activity under a law known as the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA). Enacted by Congress in 1975 and amended several times since, HMDA data are a critical resource to understand how dollars flow into communities to support home purchasing, refinancing mortgages, or making home improvements. Regulators use HMDA for various purposes, which include assessments of lenders’ community reinvestment obligations and adherence to civil rights laws.

The 2016 HMDA data were recently released providing an opportunity to look at the local mortgage lending environment – trends in loan volume, the kinds of loans being made, where loans are made, how efficiently different groups can access credit, what entities purchase the home loans once made, and what lenders are originating mortgages in Philadelphia.