A new collaborative aims to level the playing field in education, health and workforce readiness for young people in East Tampa, Florida. The Skills Center (TSC), a sports-based youth development organization, is building a strategic alliance with four other Black-led nonprofits to leverage resources, programming, funding and impact. With Reinvestment Fund financing, TSC is acquiring a five-acre campus that will house its headquarters and its partner organizations. The facility will be dedicated to afterschool and summer youth programs across a range of sports leagues, sports training and travel sports teams. The facility will also be a premier event space in East Tampa for athletic, corporate and community events. Rehabilitating, repositioning and reactivating this campus is expected to impact the immediately adjacent residential community and support a broader transformation of an area historically excluded from investment at scale. Read more.
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. As the moratorium expired on July 31st, notwithstanding innovations like pre-filing mediation and rental assistance, the court will begin processing a backlog of cases 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. Read more.
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health and Reinvestment Fund are launching the 2021 funding round for the Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative (PFJI). PFJI is seeking innovative proposals from community-led projects that grow food justice. For the 2021 funding round, PFJI welcomes ideas and projects from any applicant that wants to build food justice in Philadelphia and embodies a health justice vision. Applicant projects must include at least one of the following: 1) deep roots in a neighborhood or (defined) community; 2) broad citywide reach; or 3) potential for systems change or scaling up over time. Learn more about the program and how to apply.
News: Reinvestment Fund welcomes new staff! Meet Olivia Chatman, Program Associate for Food Initiatives; Natasha Dowell, Lending Associate, Southeast; Rhonda Smith, Executive Assistant to our President & CEO; and Kareem Thomas, Managing Director of Credit.
Resource: New Reinvestment Fund report, funded by Abell Foundation, examines trends and geographic distribution of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM)–also known as Reverse Mortgages–in Baltimore.
News: Reinvestment Fund CEO Don Hinkle-Brown and peers from IFF, Capital Impact Partners and Low Income Investment Fund weigh in on how the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed Community Reinvestment Fund can invest in projects that build wealth in communities of color & rural communities.
News: With support from the Philadelphia Food Justice Initiative, Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha is relaunching a bulk food-buying club with hopes to ultimately empower the neighborhood. Read the story in Next City.
Resource: New report from Reinvestment Fund looks at demographic, economic, and housing market trends for New Orleans and offers policy recommendations aimed at recovery from pandemic shocks and addressing inequities.
News: Our 2020 Annual Report is available now! Read about how capital, data, and partnerships can be used to challenge injustice and deliver equitable solutions.
News: Small but mighty: How small-scale developers are reimagining Atlanta’s affordable housing playbook. Reinvestment Fund’s Robert Cox & Khaliff Davis spotlight this trend in a Saporta Report article.
News: We are pleased to partner with the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, peer CDFIs and local foundations on the new Community Guarantee Pool program that will unlock federal funds for nonprofits providing essential services in Metro Atlanta.
Resource: Since 2014, high-quality early childhood education in Philadelphia has grown by almost 50%, making room for more than 11,000 children every year in high-quality classrooms. Learn more about Philadelphia’s progress in early childhood education.
News: At 53 years old, will the Fair Housing Act finally address segregation? Reinvestment Fund’s Yonina Gray highlights how new leadership in the White House offers an opportunity to revisit policies intended to address racial inequities and persisting patterns of economic segregation in communities.
News: In West Dayton, Ohio, a neighborhood store is the first full-service grocer serving the local community in a decade, thanks to Reinvestment Fund support. Learn more about how after six years of organizing, Gem City Market is now open.
News: PolicyMap, in partnership with the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, announces the launch of the Delaware Child Care Map. An interactive mapping tool, it allows users to see the locations of licensed childcare providers & facilities alongside community indicators.
News: Reinvestment Fund is among 10 awardees receiving grants through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Micro Lender Support Grant Program.
News: Rabbit out of a hat: How a local nonprofit developer is working magic for mission. Seen through the example of the Historic District Development Corporation, Reinvestment Fund’s Christina Szczepanski shares how good things can happen when development is led by residents.
News: Urge Congress to enact the Community Revitalization Fund, a new proposal to invest in community assets that build wealth for residents, increase community engagement, and strengthen civic infrastructure.
Policy Analyst – Philadelphia, PA
Systems Support Associate – Philadelphia, PA
Senior Director, New Markets Tax Credits – Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD or Philadelphia, PA