You Gotta Have Faith: Development Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations

You Gotta Have Faith:Development Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations June 1, 2017 New York Marriott Marquis New York, NY Presentation by Greg Maher Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, Inc.

Leviticus Alternative Fund • Founded in 1983 by 27 Religious communities • A charitable community development loan fund • A faith-based and member-based loan fund • Any 501 (c)(3) organization can invest

Goals of Leviticus Fund • Poverty relief • Economic and social justice • Our members’ values animate our work and comprise the “stream below the stream” of what we do

Leviticus Does Not Discriminate • Loans available to organizations irrespective of faith affiliation or no faith affiliation • TA and six loan products offered for a variety of project types, including supportive housing • Loans made for supportive housing projects in last two years to: • The Community Builders (4 loans) • The Bridge • Housing Visions (3 loans) • Comunilife • CC Progress of Peoples Development Corp

Surfacing Goals Early and Clearly • Differing goals will exist naturally • What are the parties hoping to achieve? • Where is the common ground? • The faith community may have significant internal pressures running at cross-purposes • The faith community’s future could be on the line

Understanding theDiscernment Process • Internal discernment about future of land can take many forms and paths • Consensus-building process often takes considerable time • Usually not the fast, focused approach of a for-profit developer • Acknowledging the “soft” components is important

Joint Venture Considerations • Do principals and lead staff of partners communicate well? • Is there a solid level of trust? • Do both parties agree what the other is bringing to the table? • Are the roles of the organizations clear? • Are rights of consent spelled out clearly?

A Lender’s Approach • A church or religious community rarely can develop on its own • Generally won’t meet lending criteria, and has not built internal capacity around something they don’t do • A lender will look to the joint venture partner for capital strength and expertise • Is the faith-based organization adequately protected?

Example: Shiloh Senior Apartments • Leviticus lent $575,000 in predevelopment and acquisition funds to project HDFC • HDFC jointly controlled by Shiloh CDC and Westhab • Shiloh CDC had minimal capital • Was Leviticus’ sixth loan to Westhab • Westhab guaranty and project strength allowed us to move forward • Strong alignment of goals of two mission-based partners

Example: Catholic Charities of Cortland • Acquisition loan to purchase a 4-unit apartment building to provide supportive housing to low-income tenants

Example: Catholic Charities of Cortland • Acquisition loan to purchase three story, mixed-use building providing housing for individuals with special needs

Faith-based Property Research • Leviticus completed research in 2016 on how some churches and religious communities in our region have addressed land issues • No central data repository exists • Examples broke into four categories: • Land conservation • Adaptive reuse • Mixed-use projects • Market sale

Faith-based Property Research • Introductory Resource: “Questions to Consider Before You Begin” • www.leviticusfund.org • Questions?

You Gotta Have Faith: Development Partnerships with Faith-Based Organizations