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Who is LIIF, and what is its mission?

The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) is a nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) dedicated to serving low income people and communities. At the core of LIIF’s work is a commitment to alleviating poverty and helping families attain economic self-sufficiency.

LIIF is a steward for capital invested in housing, child care, education and other community-building initiatives. LIIF provides a bridge between private capital markets and low income neighborhoods.

Read LIIF’s Mission & Vision
Read about LIIF’s History

What has LIIF’s impact been?

LIIF’s investments save low income families money on household expenses by increasing the availability of affordable housing and child care. By supporting high-quality educational opportunities from early childhood through high school, LIIF also improves the life outcomes of low income youth, leading to higher lifetime earning potential and lower costs to society on adult social services. In this way, LIIF has created billions of dollars in benefits to low income households and to society.

Read more about LIIF’s impact

What is a CDFI?

A community development financial institution (CDFI) is a private sector, financial intermediary with community development as its primary mission. CDFIs can be nonprofit or for-profit organizations. A CDFI provides capital for low income communities and individuals who cannot access the services offered by traditional financial institutions such as banks and credit unions. LIIF was one of the first CDFIs certified by the US Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund.

For more information about CDFIs, visit the CDFI Fund website or learn about Opportunity Finance Network , a leading national network of CDFIs.

Where does LIIF work?

LIIF has provided support in 26 states, but the majority of LIIF’s work has been on the East and West Coasts and supported by our offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. These regional areas comprise nearly 20% of the nation’s total poverty population and have some of the highest cost of living in the country. LIIF also opened an office in Washington, DC to grow its national impact through federal public policy efforts.

What are LIIF’s programs?

LIIF was founded with a focus on affordable housing because the lack of affordable housing is a powerful contributor to families’ inability to escape from poverty. Since then, LIIF has broadened its vision to include support for other aspects of community development that help people lift themselves out of poverty. LIIF now invests in Affordable Housing, Child Care, Education, Green Financing, Healthy Food and Transit-Oriented Development as its six core program areas. Together, these programs form a comprehensive approach to community development based on a vision for healthy communities – green, economically vibrant places, where people live, learn and grow to their full potential.

To learn more about our work in all of these areas, read about Our Programs.

What are LIIF’s products and services?

LIIF offers a wide range of products, including community capital loans, New Markets Tax Credits, grants and technical assistance. LIIF’s mission-driven approach and market and industry knowledge have distinguished it as a CDFI that creates flexible, affordable financing solutions that work for community organizations and investors.

What are examples of LIIF’s work?

LIIF’s true impact comes through the stories about the places and people we support. Read about Our Projects to review to learn more about our work, our dedicated community partners and investors and the inspiring people we serve.

Does LIIF lend money to individuals?

No, LIIF does not lend money to individuals for private purposes.

Does LIIF provide grant money to individuals?

No, LIIF provides grants to support organizations in its child care, green financing and healthy food programs on a limited basis. In select areas, LIIF does provide grants to family child care providers serving low income children in California.

Who are LIIF’s supporters?

LIIF’s supporters include leading public entities, private financial and philanthropic organizations, and individuals who share LIIF’s commitment to lift families out of poverty and build safe, healthy communities. View a list of LIIF’s supporters

How can I support LIIF’s work?

An investment in LIIF serves the significant unmet demand for flexible, affordable capital in low income communities. LIIF relies on organizations and people who share our vision of ensuring all communities can participate in the economic mainstream. Among the ways to support LIIF’s poverty alleviation work are direct loans, partnerships through loan participations or structured funds or grant contributions. LIIF is a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization under the section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Read more about why and how to support LIIF.