Community Affairs:
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Cornering the Market on Innovative Rental Opportunities
Cornerstone Community Loan Fund was founded in 1986 to provide a means for people to support economic justice and opportunity in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. The fund has expanded its scope to create conditions for low-wage families to develop ownership skills and economic assets. Through the Cornerstone Renter Equity program, the working poor can move from renting to investing in housing and financial assets. Cornerstone organizes and trains groups of households to cooperatively take on the care and management of their housing in exchange for "equity credits." Households earn equity credits each month that rent is paid on time, when they participate in the resident organization and when they perform routine maintenance responsibilities. The credits can be converted to a cash payment through Cornerstone after five years.

Through this program, residents benefit from gaining both ownership skills and financial equity. Participating property owners benefit from reduced operating costs and turnover, plus higher long-term property value. The community becomes more stable as residents take greater interest in their housing and neighborhood. Cornerstone is currently seeking additional financial institutions to invest in the fund by lending to it at below-market interest rates.

For further information, please visit the Cornerstone Community Loan Fund or e-mail Margery Spinney or call her at (513) 369-0114.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Spring 2008]

Louisville Community Development Bank (LCDB)
When is a bank more than a bank? When it's formed to "stimulate economic growth within.the neighborhoods of Louisville, Kentucky, by providing an array of financial and development resources." LCDB's goal of "rebuilding a financially vibrant and fiscally healthy community" is to be achieved through loans to small businesses and homeowners that may not otherwise have had access to capital. LCDB funds its loans solely through certificates of deposits purchased by investors. LCDB offers four types of CDs, including a "Community CD" for the socially conscious investor, and offers a rate from 0 percent to 1 percent for terms up to five years, and a "Market Rate CD" which earns a competitive market rate and also offers a term of up to five years.

For more information, contact Lisa Thompson at (502) 778-7000 or lisat@morethanabank.com.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Summer 2005]

Kentucky Tax Credits for Small Business Investments
The Kentucky Investment Fund Act (KIFA) offers a 40 percent state tax credit to investors in funds that invest in small businesses in Kentucky. The purpose of KIFA is to encourage capital investment and small business development in Kentucky, to provide jobs to state residents, and to encourage the development of new products and technologies in Kentucky. After credits are allocated to a fund, the credits are proportionately granted to the fund's investors upon its completion of qualified investments. The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority and the Office of the New Economy allocate the credits to investment funds and administer the program. Nearly $3 million in credits were awarded to three investment funds last year, and a new round of applications ended on March 15, 2004. Investment funds receiving tax credit allocations now are seeking investors. Banks can participate as investors in funds, can help to form new funds in subsequent rounds of the program, can finance businesses receiving investments from the funds and can refer businesses needing capital investments.

For more information, contact Donna Dutton at 502-564-0531 or via e-mail: Donna.Dutton@ky.gov A complete description of KIFA is available at www.one-ky.com/KIFA_TaxCredits.html.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments Investments, Summer 2004]

Great Lakes Rural Capital Assistance Program
Great Lakes Rural Capital Assistance Program (GLRCAP) is a non-profit firm helping small communities in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin install and improve drinking water, wastewater and solid waste infrastructure and management systems serving lower-income populations. Banks can provide construction financing and long-term loans for these projects. GLRCAP, which works through local community action agencies, recently won a $700,000 grant to assist local communities with planning for affordable housing and economic development. Banks can provide loans for projects that GLRCAP helps plan.

For more information, contact Debra Martin at (800) 775-9767 or dcmartin@wsos.org.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Spring 2003]

Venture Capital in the Midwest
Venture Capital Fund Hopewell Ventures, L.P. in July 2003 received its "Go Forth" letter from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a key step toward becoming a Small Business Investment Company. Hopewell, raising up to $150 million of capital, will invest $1 to $5 million in early- to later-stage companies in a dozen Midwestern states -- between Nebraska and Ohio, the Canadian border and Kentucky -- that Hopewell says are underserved by venture capital sources. Banks can invest in Hopewell Ventures as limited partners, can refer companies needing an equity infusion, and can provide banking services to companies in which Hopewell has invested. Hopewell's sister fund, $34 million Adena Ventures, serving Appalachian Ohio and West Virginia, was the first New Markets Venture Capital Company designated by SBA.

Contact: Tom Parkinson at (312) 357-9600; info@hopewellventures.com; www.hopewellventures.com.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Winter 2003]

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