New Jersey Community Capital Announces $1.15 Million in Grants From the CDFI Fund

U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund awards New Jersey Community Capital $1.15 million to increase lending in underserved communities

New Brunswick, NJ (October 13, 2020) – New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded $1.15 million in grants from the 2020 round of the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) CDFI Program. The award enables NJCC to increase equitable access to capital to improve the quality and supply of affordable housing in low-income, underserved communities across New Jersey while also expanding financing for healthy food initiatives. 

“We believe that economic empowerment begins with the creation of equitable and inclusive opportunities,” said Wayne Meyer, President of NJCC. “NJCC is honored to receive continued support from the CDFI Fund to advance access to affordable capital for mission-aligned developers, small businesses and organizations in the communities we serve. We will use these funds to catalyze investments that foster access to quality affordable housing and health in communities in need.”

The award is derived from two separate CDFI Fund grant programs. A $650,000 Financial Assistance will enable NJCC to support greater housing stability. The grant funding enables NJCC to sustain and grow its strategic focus on housing stability and capacity to comprehensively address the housing crisis from all angles - through the preservation of affordable rental stock and development of new affordable home ownership and rental opportunities.

A stable, decent and affordable home remains a fundamental need. Housing provides shelter, security and stability and has a proven influence on social, mental and physical health. The current public health crisis has further exposed the critical role shelter plays in safety and resiliency - highlighting the disadvantages that cost-burdened, low income families face, now compounded by job loss and reduced access to essential supportive services.

A $500,000 Healthy Food Financing Initiative – Financial Assistance (HFFI) award is the first HFFI award in NJCC’s history and one of only 13 awards handed out by the CDFI Fund. The HFFI award will help to expand financing for eligible healthy food projects across New Jersey food deserts, with a focus on South Jersey. Projects will include local supermarkets, produce stores and food production facilities that address food insecurity and provide residents with access to healthy and affordable food options.

“The need to address food insecurity in underserved New Jersey communities is even greater in the face of the current public health pandemic,” said Leah Apgar, Managing Director of Lending at NJCC. “The CDFI Fund award will help increase equitable access to healthy and fresh food options in communities that disproportionately struggle with food insecurity.”

The CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), NJCC uses federal funding through the CDFI Fund’s competitive grant programs to leverage private capital and finance meaningful projects in areas where mainstream capital is scarce but the need is greatest. The CDFI Fund awarded 357 organizations across 45 states, $187.3 million in awards.

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For more information or media inquiries, please contact Caroline White, Communications Manager by email at cwhite@njclf.com.

About New Jersey Community Capital

New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC) is a nonprofit community development financial institution that provides an innovative toolkit of financial products, programs and services to advance equity and opportunity in underserved communities. NJCC supports the preservation and development of affordable housing and sustainable community development ventures that increase jobs, improve education and strengthen neighborhoods to ensure that communities can thrive.  To learn more, visit www.newjerseycommunitycapital.org and Twitter: @NJCLF