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The Portfolio Advisory Board held its Fall meeting in late September at Weber Retreat and Conference Center, where Board members attended to business items, shared the year’s accomplishments regarding shareholder advocacy and community impact investing, and engaged in strategic planning. PAB member Mary Priniski, OP, opened each day with inspiring reflection and prayer.
Sister Marilín Llanes, Director of PAB, provided an update on plans for PAB’s 50th anniversary, to be celebrated on September 26, 2025. A synopsis of the plan is pending approval of the Board in November.
New voluntary staff and Board members were introduced:
• Associate Dee Joyner will serve in the volunteer role of Senior Advisor to PAB for Special Projects. She will help facilitate the adoption and implementation of the 2023-2026 strategic plan and support the planning of the 50th anniversary.
• Kayoko Lyons, CFA, and Petra Vujakovic from the Cabrini Missionary Sisters Impact Investment Fund will assist with community impact investing.
• Sister Judy Byron, OP, and Rev. Dr. Sidney Williams Jr. were unanimously recommended as new members of the Board and were confirmed by the General Council. They filled two vacant seats on the Board due to the passing of Pat Daly, OP, last year and the resignation of Corinne Florek, OP, as portfolio manager.
Pat Zerega and Mary Minette, PAB consultants with Mercy Investment Services, presented a report on their activities for the 2023 proxy year. They had 66 engagements – such as meetings and negotiations – with companies in the PAB’s focus areas of protection of human rights, healthy persons and communities, and environmental sustainability. In addition, 18 shareholder resolutions were filed: nine in human rights, three in healthy persons, and six in environmental sustainability.
One constructive engagement (with Dollar General) garnered a high vote from shareholders of 67.7% regarding practices on the safety and well-being of workers. In addition, the Adrian Dominican Sisters supported signing on to 39 letters, joining other faith-based investors in expressing viewpoints on actions of various companies at odds with our social impact criteria.
Mary reported on the anti-ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) movement and its impact on different sectors. For example, there are growing attacks against Climate Action 100+/Net Zero Asset Managers who are falsely accused of violating anti-trust /consumer protection laws. Another area highlighted the economic impact in states that have anti-ESG policies. These policies have forced divestment and decreased returns for pensioners in five states with a negative financial impact estimated at $20 billion.
This was Pat’s last meeting due to her upcoming retirement. Mary Minette will be the permanent Mercy Investments Consultant to PAB.
Sister Marilín presented an update on the PAB community impact loan portfolio, presented two loans for renewal, and presented three new loans for approval.
The PAB approved the following loans for renewal:
• Community Vision Capital and Consulting has been a borrowing partner with ADS since 1988. This CDFI invests in strengthening low-income neighborhoods and enabling underserved communities to build more racial and economic equity in more than 46 counties in Northern California.
• The Cooperative Fund of the Northeast (CFNE) and PAB have been in partnership since 1987. This CDFI facilitates socially responsible investing in cooperatives, community-oriented nonprofits, and worker-owned businesses in New England and adjacent communities in New York.
New loans were approved for the following borrowing partners:
• Capital for Change Fund (C4C) was formed in 2016 by the merger of the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund (GNHCLF), Connecticut Housing Investment Fund, and Community Capital Fund. Capital for Change (C4C) is the largest full-service CDFI in Connecticut, serving a wider bandwidth of people, nonprofits, businesses, and public institutions in need.
• Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC) was established in 1987 by the Lawndale Christian Community Church to fulfill the call to justice in Micah 6:8. LCDC organizes with the community to eliminate health and wealth disparities in North Lawndale, Illinois. LCDC develops and manages affordable mixed-use housing, creates homeownership for working families, and builds cooperative businesses.
• The African American Alliance’s Black Renaissance Fund (BFR) was formally established in 2020 by the African American Alliance of CDFIs CEOs of Black-led CDFIs. It is committed to closing the wealth gap in Black communities in the United States and identifying opportunities that will result in greater investments in the organizations they lead. The BRF secures grant and debt capital at very low interest rates, allowing members to strengthen their balance sheets, build more loan capacity, and generate more revenue through interest income.
PAB was joined by members of the General Council and invited guests to express gratitude to Pat Zerega and Associate Dee Joyner for their many contributions to PAB upon their retirement. Dee retired on July 1, 2023, as Director of the Portfolio Advisory Board, and Pat will be retiring as a Shareholder Advocacy Consultant on October 1, 2023. Cynthia Crim, PAB Chair, and Carmen Mora, Co-Chair, thanked Pat on behalf of the PAB. Corinne Sanders, OP, PAB General Council Liaison, expressed gratitude to Dee for her many service years with the Congregation in both PAB and the Resilient Communities endeavor. A toast and blessing were offered, followed by a celebratory dinner in honor of Dee.
Associate Dee Joyner engaged Board members in discussing the proposed Theory of Change Framework recommended by the Strategic Planning Committee.
Members reviewed the Theory of Change Framework and definitions of component parts during a daylong process of engagement, working in small and large groups. The four overarching themes for the strategic plan are shareholder advocacy, community impact investing, alignment of the work of PAB for greater impact, and collaboration with internal and external partners. Recommendations were sent to the Strategic Planning Committee to refine and bring back to the Board for a vote by December 2023.
Please see the PAB website for articles on our borrowing partners and shareholder advocacy activities, which are updated monthly.
Feature photo at top: Members of the Portfolio Advisory Board are, from left, Kristine Cooper, Office Manager; Judy Byron, OP, Consultant; Joseph Baker II; Corinne Sanders, OP, General Council Liaison; Carla Mannings; Marilín Llanes, OP, Portfolio Manager; Mary Priniski, OP; Pat Zerega, Consultant; Cynthia Crim, Chair; Dee Ann Joyner, Director; and Carmen Mora, Vice Chair.
By Sister Marilín Llanes, OP - Director and Portfolio Manager, Portfolio Advisory Board
The two featured organizations below are making dreams come true for thousands of people on the move who have fled their countries for an array of exceedingly difficult situations. These individuals land in this country with the pressing need to rebuild their lives. Immigrants, refugees, or climate-displaced people arrive without credit and often with a limited understanding of the complex U.S. financial system. The Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) and Enterprising Latinas, Inc., programs of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), are crafting the needed financial products and equipping clients with marketable skills that promote economic mobility and equity.
The Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) members approved loan requests in June 2023 to Enterprising Latinas and the CEO as new partner borrowers.
The CEO, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, non-consolidated subsidiary of the IRC, is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). It has been giving loans nationally since 2011 to low-income refugee and immigrant families and offering small-dollar consumer and business financing to assist with their financial challenges. One of the CEO’s programs is the Supporting Access to Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Fund. A client who accessed an auto loan through this program shares his story:
“Before this, it used to take a lot of time and money to go to work and to go to doctor’s appointments with my family. I used to go to work in one hour and a half by bus or spend money on Uber/Lyft. Now, I can go to work in 20 minutes, and I can take my four-month-old baby and my wife to the doctor and other appointments on time. This loan gives me two to three hours back every day – time I can spend with family or working extra to support my family. I plan to use my new car to work at Uber as a driver in the future, so it helps me earn more money for my family. I am happier and less stressed.”
SAFE participant. Photo courtesy of the CEO.
Recently resettled individuals like this SAFE participant typically come to the CEO to refinance high-interest loans from an auto dealership. That was not the case with this SAFE client, as he accessed an affordable rate, a prime rate for a borrower considered “subprime” in the eyes of traditional financial institutions. Clients find it challenging to be resilient when much of their income is extracted for monthly auto loan payments, leaving no breathing room for emergencies. Compared to more extractive options, the savings on a CEO auto loan allow a family to build emergency savings or pay for other necessities.
CEO’s mission is well aligned with the Congregation’s 2022 Enactment on Diversity to “ …act to dismantle unjust systems and build the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, Hunger, and hate."
Enterprising Latinas, Inc. (ELI), a nonprofit organization led by women of color, was founded in 2009 and has operated since 2014. Its focus is to create pathways to prosperity for women and low- to moderate-income families in the Wimauma, Florida, community and throughout Tampa Bay. Its purpose is to create a place for personal and professional development, workforce skills certification, and training for starting or growing micro-enterprises and networking.
Below is the story of Amarilis and her resiliency and entrepreneurship in action.
“Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico hard, and like many Puerto Ricans, I migrated to Florida to rebuild my life. I was lucky. I found work and started a successful career in retail but found myself wondering if there was more. I was sure that I wasn’t realizing my potential. A neighbor shared with me a brochure promoting Enterprising Latinas and told me about their business class. My natural curiosity led me to them, and before I knew it, I was completing their eight-week business class and working with my business coach to start a new business venture, Be You 360 Photobooth, Inc., which I incorporated in 2022. Today, I am the founding owner. In my first year, my business is projected to make $30,000 in sales. I know now that for me, the sky is the limit.”
Enterprising Latinas’ commitment to empowering women by equipping them with new skills is well aligned with the 2022 Enactment on Women, to “strive to attain gender equality and women’s full and equal participation and decision making in Church and society.”
Both the Center for Economic Opportunity and Enterprising Latinas serve as catalytic containers, investing in financial resilience for transformative impact in the lives of persons and communities underserved by traditional sources of capital.
By Mary Minette, Consultant, Mercy Investment Services
The pillars of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) form a basis for responsible investing that prioritizes the long-term health of our economy, societies, and planet. This has been a key component of the approach of the Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) since its inception as an important expression of alignment between the investments and the mission of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.
As ESG investing has grown as a share of the overall market, an anti-ESG movement has developed among some politicians and state treasurers, who decry such investments as “woke” capitalism.
New legislation in some states prohibits state contracts and investments with investment firms that use environmental or social indicators to inform investment decisions. Sometimes, government entities may not enter contracts for goods or services without written verification that the vendor will not boycott fossil fuels. Legislation of this nature has been introduced in 37 states, targeting investors who have made climate commitments.
In July, the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee held a series of hearings called “ESG Month” that targeted ESG investors. They introduced bills designed to curtail social and environmental investment and the regulatory powers of the Securities and Exchange Commission to allow for greater disclosure of ESG information. None of these bills is expected to move to the Senate during this session of Congress, but they represent a disturbing trend that would curtail the ability of investors to choose how and where they invest.
In early June, the PAB joined 77 fellow Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility members in a letter asking members of Congress to publicly speak out against these anti-ESG campaigns and efforts to derail environmental and social progress resulting from shareholders’ efforts. The letter encourages members of Congress to advocate for prudent, non-partisan investment practices and to consider the financial damage to state and municipal pension funds due to the anti-ESG legislation.
The PAB will continue to advocate for the importance of addressing these factors in investing and engagement.
By Sister Marilín Llanes, OP Director and Portfolio Manager Office of Portfolio Advisory Board
Redbud Financial Alternatives, Inc. is a community development financial institution (CDFI), which, since 2014, has shepherded and strengthened a handful of rural communities located in underserved and underbanked eastern Kentucky. Redbud is committed to answering the needs of the communities it serves with equitable financial action, often transforming the lives of many.
In March 2023, the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) members unanimously approved a loan request to first-time recipient Redbud. Redbud’s mission aligns well with the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ 2022 Enactment that beckons us to build “the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, and hate.”
James Caudill, Director, shares how Redbud answered the call for help from this single mom in deep financial stress.
Lindsey, a single mother of two young children, recently approached Redbud for help when she noticed that the balance on her auto loan wasn’t going down. For over two years, Lindsey had led a successful life in substance use recovery, working as a carpenter and assistant trainer in the Housing Development Alliance’s Hope Building Program.
Upon reviewing her credit file, we discovered that she was paying a whopping 23.89% interest rate on her loan! We discussed the situation with Lindsey, and afterward, we paid off both her current loan and the finance company loan, using a Redbud loan with a 6.00% interest rate. This financing helped Lindsey save $188.33 a month and lowered her debt-to-income ratio by 7.85%!
One of Lindsey’s greatest dreams is to be a homeowner, and now, with Redbud’s help in refinancing her car loan, she is one big step closer to realizing that dream.
Predatory lending practices are widespread in eastern Kentucky, impacting the lives of thousands of people burdened with high debt due to unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers. This results in stripping the borrower of any chance of equity.
Redbud promotes individual financial stability and greater community development by focusing on financial literacy, financial rehabilitation, and equitable alternatives to high-cost lenders. One of four CDFIs in this area, Redbud has made more than $2 million in fair and affordable consumer loans, collectively saving clients more than $400,000 in interest and fees.
A client of Redbud shares this note of gratitude:
Redbud has been so easy to work with and extremely eager to help during times that we really needed them. The flood of July 2022 left us with the loss of multiple vehicles and our home was left unlivable. Redbud gave us the ability to purchase a vehicle that we could use for transportation for all of our family members. … Thank you, Redbud!!
We in the PAB stand in solidarity with Redbud as it continues its work for the common good against high-cost lenders and serves as a beacon of hope in answering the financial needs of people with catalyzing action.
By Sister Marilín Llanes, OP Portfolio Manager of Community Impact Investments, Portfolio Advisory Board
Imagine this situation: Mariela, 41, a Latina with limited resources living with an adult child scrambling to pay legal expenses for a divorce. Where will she go for help to get a small consumer loan in the big metro city of Miami, Florida? During this difficult time for Mariela, she turned to Capital Good Fund for a $3,500 Impact PLUS Fund instead of going with payday lenders that take advantage of people in such dire situations.
“Capital Good Fund made me feel supported, empowered, and confident,” she said. “Capital Good Fund offered options and solutions instead of creating problems. The tools are there. There are people willing to help you.”
The Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) welcomed in March 2023 Capital Good Fund as new partner borrower. Andy Posner, Founder and CEO launched the nonprofit certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2009 with a mission to create pathways out of poverty and advance a green economy through inclusive financial services. It grants loans nationally – in Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts, Delaware, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, and Connecticut – and is incorporated in Providence, Rhode Island.
The PAB is especially pleased to partner with Capital Good for its commitment to address racial equity and its recognition that racism, discrimination, poverty, and financial exclusion are all linked.
Capital Good Fund’s mission is well aligned with the Congregation’s 2022 Enactment on Diversity, which calls the Adrian Dominican Sisters to “build the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger and hate.”
Capital Good engages daily with underserved families and provides tools for savings, building credit, investing in themselves, and avoiding high-interest debt to be able to reach their goals.
All loans are offered through a financial technology (fintech) platform. Fintech transactions are efficient, reliable, and easily accessible to the client who is often living with time and energy constraints, and limited resources. The array of products Capital Good offers range from car loans, immigration loans to cover cost like green card acquisition and citizenship; consumer loans, weatherization loans to make homes more efficient and emergency loans for unexpected expenses like in Mariela’s story.
Ana came to the United States with a dream: to start her own business, buy a house, and create a better life for her children. But she had a problem: she needed $5,000 to get her work permit. That's where Good Fund came in. By providing the loan, Capital Good enabled Ana to get a work permit and launch her business. This opportunity for Ana boosted her credit score, allowing her eventually to buy her own home for her husband and two children. Watch Ana tell her story here.
Mariela and Ana are two of the thousands of individuals and families serviced by the Capital Good Fund team.
Learn more about Capital Good Fund at https://capitalgoodfund.org/en/.
Reprinted with the permission of the Latino Community Credit Union
Vicky Garcia, Senior Vice President of Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) – a community investment of the Adrian Dominican Sisters – participated in a late January 2023, moderated conversation with Vice President Kamala Harris and Isabella Guzman, U.S. Small Business Administrator. The conversation was introduced by Marla Bilonick, President and CEO of the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and moderated by Jorge Buzos of Univision.
Marla framed the conversation perfectly, explaining the important relationship between small, Latino-owned businesses and the community lenders that are “entrenched in the communities they serve … and fill an important gap by providing loans and financial services that traditional banks are sometimes not able or willing to provide.” She concluded by celebrating LCCU as a “superstar in the community lending field.”
Vice President Harris said community lenders like LCCU “understand the capacity of the community. They understand the culture of the community, the mores of the community, what the community wants for itself.” These words beautifully describe LCCU, which has established a national model for financial inclusion and has provided $1.6 billion in loans to Latinos traditionally marginalized from economic opportunity.
“Vice President Harris is a proven champion of community lenders, including credit unions like LCCU,” Vicky said. “By taking the time to come here and meet our members face to face, the Vice President is recognizing their important contribution to the U.S. economy and LCCU’s role as a driver of economic opportunity and growth.”
Vice President Harris met several LCCU members who have used LCCU loans to start and grow their businesses, buy homes, and build generational wealth. Additionally, she and Administrator Guzman visited a local bakery owned by LCCU members.
Vice President Kamala Harris visits a bakery owned by members of the Latino Community Credit Union. (Photo courtesy of the Latino Community Credit Union)
The vice president was also on hand to celebrate the federal government’s investment in community lenders like LCCU. As part of the U.S. Treasury Department $9 billion Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP), LCCU received a $99 million, 30-year, low-interest loan from the U.S. Treasury Department.
The federal investment provides LCCU the equity to build its capital base dramatically and quickly expand its impactful, public-private partnership model. LCCU is now positioned to raise significantly more deposits from mission-aligned private sector partners – corporations, foundations, and health systems – and immediately deploy those deposits as life-changing loans to those who need them the most.
Over the 30-year term, LCCU expects to raise $700 million in private sector deposits, which in combination with member deposits, will allow for the union to make one million fair and affordable loans, for a total of $30 billion in financing, to its growing membership of Latinos in the Southeast.
Vice President Harris concluded by underscoring that LCCU’s “one million loans will have a profound exponential impact on the economic health and wellbeing of the community.”
Watch a video of the event below or on YouTube.
By Sister Marilín Llanes, OP Portfolio Manager of PAB Community Impact Investments
The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) International is a Swiss non-profit microfinance institution with a mission-driven compass, serving low-income micro entrepreneurs and farmers in 12 developing countries. Since 2018, ECLOF International has been a loan recipient of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) community impact Investment initiative.
The ECLOF International Hub is committed to empowering low-income people to create, manage, and own their own businesses, especially with a focus on gender inclusion and equality. Two stories featured in this article are prime examples of ECLOF’s engagement.
- Article courtesy of the ECLOF Dominica website
In the Dominican Republic near the Santo Domingo area, ECLOF Dominica serves mainly women engaging in urban and rural businesses. Besides loans, ECLOF Dominica provides business education and financial literacy training to its clients.
In the community of El Toro de Guerra, at the periphery of Santo Domingo, 28-year-old Lidia de la Cruz runs “Escuelita Arco Iris” (Rainbow School) for children in the community who need help with homework and their lessons. The children would not be able to do so at home due to their family’s lack of time or knowledge to assist them. Lidia welcomes 25 to 30 children ages 4 to 11 every day.
With consecutive loans from ECLOF Dominica over the last four years, Lidia has set up a small classroom with basic equipment: a few desks and chairs. Beyond school knowledge, Lidia teaches children social values and how to interact with each other. She motivates them and accompanies them in their self-development.
Characterized by perseverance and a desire to serve her community, Lidia has been supporting children since the age of 12. Although she never attended college, she took her knowledge from school and continued learning on her own without the benefit of formal education. Lidia wishes eventually to go to university to improve the quality of her teaching to her young pupils and her own children in the future.
Lidia won second place as Educational Microenterprise of the Year in the CITI Micro Business Award 2013 sponsored by Citibank. More importantly, the people of El Toro de Guerra describe Lidia as playing the role of the sun that hits the rain to brighten the lives of her small neighbors with a beautiful rainbow every day.
- Article courtesy of the ECLOF Philippines website
Victor, 38, is a proud farmer and role model for the next generation of farmers on the Filipino island of Palawan. It wasn’t always easy for him. As a teenager, he steered clear of farming and instead trained as a mechanical engineer. But when his father passed away in 2014, Victor decided to give farming a try on the family’s 1.7 hectares (4.2 acres) of land.
Victor started attending specialized agricultural training sessions and events organized by ECLOF Philippines. He was also invited to showcase his work and represent his hometown in Manila. Next, he took a big leap to apply for first loan of $220 to develop his farm, despite initial reservation against borrowing money.
In the following seven years, he diversified his father’s monoculture rice field into a mixed field for livestock, fruit, and vegetables. This model proved so successful that Victor turned it into a training center for other farmers that is accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). In April 2022, it was awarded as a learning site for capacity building of the farmers in their communities.
The entrepreneurial stories of Lidia and Victor offer hope and opportunity for the present and future generations of business seekers in the Dominican Republic and Philippines.
Feature photo at top: A woman from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic seated at a table writing
By Marilín Llanes, OP, Portfolio Manager Community Impact Investments
In 2020, the idea of the Emergency Relief Loan Fund emerged during a Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) meeting rising from a deep sense of “what more can we do” during the two colossal pandemics. The looming effects and complexities of COVID-19 and the rise of racially based deaths weighed heavy in our hearts. It was an urgent call to respond to the great economic challenges facing our country and world. The moment to invest for change and restore hope was realized in the selection of four financially struggling communities in or near areas of Chicago, Seattle, Detroit, and Oakland impacted by these extraordinary events.
This engagement was well aligned with Congregation’s 2016 Enactment on Race, Violence, and Diversity, beckoning us to “pledge our lives, money and other resources to facilitate and create” opportunities with people “relegated to the margins.” A proposal was drafted and presented to the Adrian Dominican Sisters General Council. Swiftly it was approved to create a $1 million Emergency Relief Loan Fund with zero interest to be disbursed into four equal parts among the four selected Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) for three- to five-year terms.
The criteria for disbursal of funds by CDFIs was determined by PAB members was two-fold: relief to people of color who were unable to make mortgage payments and support for rebuilding small business owners in impacted communities of color.
Two years later, the four CDFIs are sharing stories of resilient people who have benefitted from the loans.
Ventures is a Seattle-based nonprofit that empowers aspiring entrepreneurs with “limited resources and unlimited potential” with 100% focus on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color), women, immigrants, LGBTQ, and individuals with low income.
The featured story is about Once Upon a Time Early Childhood Family Daycare, a bilingual school located in Burien, Washington, that provides activities to reinforce children’s learning. It is unique in that there are not a lot of bilingual programs in the area that offer both full-time and part-time care. Owner Diana Llanes (no relation to Sister Marilín), is a certified teacher in early childhood education and for more than 11 years has taught social, emotional, and behavioral skills and promoting an environment of learning and curiosity.
Allies for Community Business (A4CB), located in East Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, is a nonprofit that helps neighborhood entrepreneurs. With the Emergency Relief Funds, A4CB provided small business loans to assist minority and women business owners who experienced financial hardship due to unprecedented times.
Since the inception of the loan, A4CB team has dispersed 19 loans in the neighborhoods of Bridgeport, Brighton Park, McKinley Park, and New City. According to Mary Tristis, Director of Community Lending, business owners who benefited from loan funds have been women-owners (nine), African American owners (six), Latinx owners (six), and Asian American owners (two).
A loan recipient of A4CB, Jeff Yumul and spouse Deanna Spear-Yumul followed their dreams and founded Bjjxyoga Studio in the McKinley Park neighborhood. The studio specializes in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed level yoga for all ages.
Bijjxyoga Studio, McKinley Park, Illinois. Photo courtesy of business.
Like many businesses, the studio was forced to close temporarily due to the pandemic. After reopening, Jeff found that customers were apprehensive to attend in-person group classes, further delaying the studio’s return to pre-pandemic operating levels.
In early 2022, Jeff received an A4CB small business loan to help his business grow. “We used the funds to expand our location by double the square footage,” Jeff said. “More space means more customers we can inspire!” (Article courtesy of the A4CB website in celebration of Asian American /Pacific Islander heritage month, May 23, 2022).
Working Solutions CDFI was founded in Oakland, California. Since October 2020 it has made 10 loans totaling $250,000 with Adrian Dominican Sisters’ community investment capital to entrepreneurs in Almeda County (specifically in Oakland, Emeryville, San Leandro, Hayward, and Fremont), with 100% deployed to low-income individuals, 89% to women, 96% entrepreneurs of color.
A. Romo’s Café, a Latinx-owned, woman-owned coffee shop, received the first loan from Working Solutions in 2020, to support the transition to take-out orders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, Romo’s Café is thriving and has a five-star rating on both Yelp and Facebook. As Working Solutions’ client, Laura Hernandez Romo, owner, has received free, personalized business consulting support on cash flow management from Business Consulting team.
The fourth CDFI recipient, Opportunity Resource Fund (OppFund) is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Adrian Dominican Sisters was its first investor more than 30 years ago and continues to partner in this mission-driven work.
Over the course of those two years, OppFund deployed 28 loans made in amounts ranging from $9,500 to $15,485. These affordable mortgage loans were made for a term of 60 months, and the majority, 22, were made to single female heads of household. Twenty-seven borrowers were African American, and one was a member of the Latinx community. All loan borrowers resided in Detroit. This project has been a great success and OppFund looks forward to these clients completely paying off their mortgages in the coming few years.
The Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board continues to boldly keep alive the living legacy set by our women to bravely respond in times of crisis: to show our solidarity and support in the ways we have done for more than 45 years, and to do it by investing in people’s lives, hopes, and dreams in the Spirit of the mission of Jesus.
By Kimberly Pelkofsky, Director of Design and Planning, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation
In 2018, Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation (TVCDC) began construction on 14 single-family homes – part of a larger goal of providing 21 homes for ownership at affordable prices to community members on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The three- and four-bedroom homes are all energy and water efficient, highly insulated to weather temperature extremes, built to withstand 120 mile per hour sustained winds, and finished with low-to-no volatile organic compound (VOC) paints, carpets, and materials. Each home also comes with a TVCDC owned and maintained solar array to help keep energy costs low, and a structurally robust carport that can withstand the frequent and severe summer hailstorms. With all of these features, these homes are a unique housing product in the Reservation.
Initially, six investment partners, including the Adrian Dominican Sisters, were identified to fund the construction of 11 homes. Each investment partner contributed capital by way of a construction loan to a specific lot or lots.
The Adrian Dominican Sisters were introduced to TVCDC through Nick Tilsen, a featured speaker at the Congregation’s 2018 Resilient Communities Symposium at Weber Retreat and Conference Center in Adrian in March. Nick, a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Nation, was then Executive Director of the TVCDC.
Although construction began with a great deal of momentum, it was not too long before challenges surfaced. Costs were rising far beyond original estimates and at a rate faster than TVCDC could find additional funding to cover the difference. Workforce challenges with consistency and workmanship meant that progress was slow. Construction was put on pause. A dramatic shift in approach was needed.
The idea of an Intercreditor Agreement was proposed during one of our investor calls. To put it simply, rather than having six investors operating independently of each other to complete a specific home, all investors would collectively work together to complete the 11 homes. This consolidated the financial structure of the project; set a cap on loan interest rates; and extended the repayment term, which had previously varied by investor.
Sales proceeds are now first returned to TVCDC to cover ongoing construction costs and are repaid in a rolling fashion by proportion of principal investment as homes are completed and sold. This streamlined process gives TVCDC additional time to complete the project, source additional funding, and reduce reporting burdens.
Although the break in construction could have been seen as a detriment to the project, the additional time gave the organization the opportunity to continue to work with potential homeowners to ensure they were on solid footing before a purchase.
Since executing the Intercreditor Agreement, TVCDC has restarted construction and completed four homes. To date, two of these homes were sold in 2022. The first, a three-bedroom, closed in April and the second, a four-bedroom, was closed in mid-August.
The four-bedroom home – the lot that the Adrian Dominican Sisters originally contributed to – was sold at $200,000. It is now owned by a woman and is the residence of the community member, Lakȟóta spiritual leader, and TVCDC founding member who led the Inípi Ceremony that brought forth the idea to create TVCDC all those years ago.
The following article was written by Iroquois Regenerative Farms, Inc., an organic farmland real estate investment trust that provides organic and regenerative farmers with land security through long-term leases and mortgages. In turn, Iroquois Regenerative Farms receives a low-interest loan from the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board. The article was submitted by Donna Holmes, Investment Relations, Iroquois Valley Farms.
We are excited to introduce one of the newest farms in our portfolio: Vollmar Family Farms, located in Tuscola County, Michigan. Mark and Dawn Vollmar farm 500 acres of diversified row crops in an “organic hotspot” of Michigan, surrounded by more than 10,000 acres of certified organic farmland within just a few miles of their properties. Their son, Jordan, farms with Mark, and he has expanded his own organic operation to an additional 500+ acres in the same area.
Mark is a fifth-generation farmer whose family has farmed in Tuscola County since the 19th century. This legacy includes challenges, along with a deep respect for the land and community. Mark is grateful to be farming with his son and to know that the legacy will continue. Mark's father was forced to sell much of their land and exit farming during the 1980s farming crisis.
Certifying organic in 1997, Mark rebuilt the operation to what it is today. The Vollmars are strongly committed to organic and regenerative farming practices. They are certified organic and are moving to regenerative organic certification (ROC). Their diversified crop rotation includes dry beans (pinto, navy, and black), grains (spelt, einkorn, rye, blue and yellow corn), and hemp.
Mark started farming as a teenager and decided to pursue organic farming 24 years ago to provide a better living for his family. He quickly realized that organic farming's positive effects on human health and the well-being of the environment are equally important.
Mark now seeks out regenerative, no-till farming techniques to further improve soil health and has learned from Rodale Institute and Rick Clark, a prominent no-till organic farmer from Indiana. The family uses no-till practices as much as possible, and they also embrace planting cover crops.
Feature photo at top: Mark and Dawn Vollmar at their 500-acre family farm in Tuscola County, Michigan.
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