Program’s first issuance designed to finance and refinance residential home mortgages for low-income families
MINNEAPOLIS – September 27, 2017 – Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a Minneapolis-based nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), issued a $100 million bond on behalf of Aura Mortgage Advisors, LLC (Aura). Aura is an affiliate of Boston Community Capital and part of its Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods (SUN) Initiative. Aura will use bond proceeds to help low-income families facing foreclosure repurchase their homes with fixed rate mortgages they can afford, stabilizing families and communities in Massachusetts, Maryland, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
“The housing foreclosure crisis disproportionately impacted low-income communities and communities of color, and many of these communities have yet to recover,” said Elyse D. Cherry, CEO of Boston Community Capital and President of Aura. “We are grateful to the teams at CRF and the CDFI Fund Bond Guarantee Program for their pioneering work and unwavering commitment to making this long-term, low cost capital accessible to provide these communities with lasting relief.”
For the first time in the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program’s history, a private foundation, The Kresge Foundation, provided a guarantee in support of an Eligible CDFI’s Bond Loan application, demonstrating a strong collaboration between the public and private sector. “Solving complex social programs, like the impact of foreclosures on communities, requires innovation and collaboration between public, private and community partners,” said Joe Evans, portfolio manager at The Kresge Foundation. “Our impact investment in Aura allows us to use the foundation’s non-grant resources – a guarantee, in this case – to support sustainable outcomes that are core to expanding opportunity for low-income people.” The Kresge Foundation has a $350 million commitment to social investing through 2020, including $150 million in guarantees.
“CRF’s goal is to support mission-driven organizations to transform the flow of capital to communities and individuals across the country, said Frank Altman, CRF’s president and chief executive officer. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Aura to access long-term, fixed-rate capital that will increase impact in underserved markets.”
About CDFI Bond Guarantee Program
The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program was established by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which directed Treasury to, among other things, guarantee the full amount of bonds issued to support CDFIs that make investments for eligible community and economic development purposes. Those purposes include financing for small businesses, rural infrastructure, day care centers, rental housing, healthcare facilities, senior living and long-term care facilities, charter schools, and commercial real estate in low-income or underserved rural areas, among others.
Boston Community Capital and Aura Mortgage Advisors:
Boston Community Capital (BCC) is a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) dedicated to building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. Since 1985, BCC has invested close to $1.4 billion in projects that provide affordable housing, good jobs, and new opportunities in low-income communities, connecting these neighborhoods to the mainstream economy; its investments have leveraged over $7 billion in public and private investment in underserved communities nationwide. BCC affiliate Aura Mortgage Advisors, LLC (Aura) is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a licensed Mortgage Lender (NMLS #23467) dedicated to helping people understand the mortgage process and own a home they can afford. For more information about BCC and Aura, visit www.sunhomehelp.org.
About Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is a $3.5 billion private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services, and community development in Detroit. In 2016, the Board of Trustees approved 474 grants totaling $141.5 million, and made 14 social investment commitments totaling $50.8 million. For more information, visit www.kresge.org
About Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF)
Founded in 1988, Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF) is a national non-profit organization with a mission to empower people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities through innovative financial solutions. A leading Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), CRF develops products and services aimed at increasing the flow of capital to historically underinvested communities across the country. CRF has injected more than $2.1 billion to help stimulate job creation and economic development, provide affordable housing, and support community facilities. For more information, visit www.crfusa.com.
About the CDFI Fund
Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $2 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Award Program, the Capital Magnet Fund, the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $40 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, and $525 million has been guaranteed in bonds through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program. Learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs at http://www.cdfifund.gov.
