Florida Community Loan Fund, a nonprofit lending institution, announced today that it has been awarded $60 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocation from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
The award will increase FCLF’s reach and impact in low-income communities, with a focus on funding nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Centers that serve uninsured and under-insured patients, and social service organizations that reach Florida’s most vulnerable low-income residents. To date, FCLF has received a total of 12 awards aggregating to $511 million.
“FCLF is pleased to receive this NMTC allocation,” said its CEO, Ignacio Esteban. “The impact of natural disasters and increased cost of living over the last few years has been significant throughout our state and felt most critically in our disadvantaged and minority communities. This allocation will enable FCLF to focus on financing that supports accessible job creation, affordable healthcare access, and the significant growth in demand for opportunities for disadvantaged youth.”
Florida has the fourth highest uninsured rate in the U.S., with nearly 4 million residents who have minimal options to access healthcare and often avoid medical services due to cost. FQHCs are critical to expanding access to healthcare regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. Barriers to vital healthcare access are eliminated by FQHCs when they have access to financing through programs like NMTC.
Nonprofit multi-service organizations provide critical services in high-poverty areas including youth achievement, daycare/afterschool programs, homelessness support, behavioral health, and workforce training. Florida’s needs are great; with 18% of youth living below the poverty line with lower reading scores than national averages, and the 3rd highest rate of homelessness in the nation in 2022.
Many high-functioning nonprofits lack the capacity to serve the ever-increasing need, and financing through NMTC brings projects to fruition much more quickly than fundraising campaigns.
Florida Community Loan Fund was founded in 1994 with a mission to deliver flexible financing to low-income communities throughout the State of Florida. Through the NMTC program, FCLF is able to finance large scale projects that provide essential services and create jobs, multiplying and maximizing the organization’s impact. Examples include FQHC Evara Health in Pinellas County, and OYC Miami a multi-service organization in Miami’s Overtown.
About Florida Community Loan Fund.
Florida Community Loan Fund exists to maximize opportunities for people and places that exist primarily outside of the economic mainstream. FCLF is a nonprofit, minority-controlled, multifaceted financing entity with a 29-year history of providing flexible capital and expertise to nonprofit and mission-aligned for-profit entities to make projects successful and improve lives and communities. FCLF is nationally recognized for its work as a certified CDFI and CDE through the U.S. Dept. of Treasury and as a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.
