Mission

Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) is a 501(c)(3) private, non-profit community development corporation (CDC) and community development finance institution (CDFI).  CEI’s mission is “to help create economically and environmentally healthy communities in which all people, especially those with low incomes, can reach their full potential.” CEI is one of the nation’s leading rural community development corporations CDCs/CDFIs. Headquartered in Wiscasset, Maine, and with offices throughout the state, CEI serves communities throughout rural New England, upstate New York, and is active throughout Rural America with its New Markets Tax Credit program (NMTC).

History

CEI’s roots are in the civil rights movement and Equal Opportunity Act of the 1960s. In that period the federal government established a program to fund local CDCs to make investments in rural and urban communities left out of the economic mainstream. The targeting of investment capital to underserved minority and other communities continues to this day, with some 2,000 CDC/CDFIs investing in businesses, facilities like child or health care, schools, and even much larger economic development transactions under the NMTC, a financing tool CEI and several of its peers helped to found in 2000 at the end of the Clinton Administration.

Business/Impact

CEI’s business model has three major components: finance, development services, and policy. CEI finances job-creating small, medium and micro enterprises, natural resource ventures in the farm, fish and forest sectors, community facilities such as child care, and affordable housing.

Development services consists of a range of technical support for individuals, entrepreneurs and families in the form of business and housing counseling (CEI is the largest technical assistance provider in Maine with some 2,000 customers
annually), and development of key economic sectors such as in natural resources of farms, fish and forests, or renewable energy production.

CEI engages in state and federal policy research and development fostering policies that create resources for the industry. In addition to advocating for the federal Small Business Administration Microloan program, NMTC mentioned earlier, and many other programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies, CEI also advocates for an effective Community Reinvestment Act. In 2007 CEI spearheaded in Maine what became one of the nation’s stronger state anti-predatory legislation in the country. CEI also advocates for environmental responsible policy and practices, and was a co-founder of the Triple Bottom Line Collaborative of nine CDFIs. CEI’s development philosophy is based on strategically combining the market interventions of finance, development assistance and policy for social and environmental benefit – the “triple bottom line” of return on investment.

Since its first major investment in 1979 in a fish processing cooperative in Boothbay Harbor, CEI has provided cumulatively over $560 million in financing to 2,050 enterprises greater than 23,000 jobs created and preserved; 1,440 units of affordable housing; provided training/counseling to nearly 32,000 individuals and small businesses; created/preserved 4,600 child care slots; and provided leadership on policy initiatives, including one of the nation’s most stringent laws regarding predatory mortgage lending. CEI has mobilized and leveraged nearly $2 billion in private and public capital.

Investing in CEI

Below-market loans in CEI promissory notes are pooled for targeted lending to small businesses, social services and affordable housing projects. Earnings above costs support the loan fund.

CEI has been rated by CARS™ (the CDFI Assessment and Rating System), a comprehensive, third-party analysis of CDFIs developed by Opportunity Finance Network. CEI achieved an AAA rating for “impact performance,” indicating clear alignment of mission, strategies, activities and data that guides programs and planning; a three (satisfactory) for ”financial strength and performance;” and “policy plus” for leadership role in policy.

In March 2010, Trillium completed its initial risk assessment and due diligence on CEI. On behalf of our clients, Trillium will make client investments in CEI of at least $50,000 for a term of not less than three years.

Overview
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), formerly the National Community Development Loan Fund, is the leading network of private financial intermediaries identifying and investing in opportunities to benefit low income and low wealth people in the U.S.  OFN members include community loan funds, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), community banks and credit unions.

OFN’s vision is “a world where all people experience social, economic, and political justice and so have the opportunity to act in the best interests of their communities, themselves, and future generations. Our mission is to lead the opportunity finance system to scale through capital formation, policy, and capacity development.”

Programs
To transform community development finance into a high-volume financing system OFN finances CDFIs directly with an eye toward identifying and financing the systems that alter how the CDFI industry works. This enables scale and productivity involving hundreds of CDFIs. Within the OFN Financing Fund, the Manufactured Housing Communities (MHC) Fund is designed to preserve and expand the supply of affordable housing options available to low-income households. The MHC Fund makes financing available to CDFIs for manufactured housing communities that are converting from investor-ownership to resident-controlled ownership. As of September 30, 2009, OFN’s Financing Fund had $53.8 million in loans and investments outstanding and an additional $2.9 million in financing commitments. OFN’s investors, who have provided the resources for the Financing Fund, include banks, foundations, and religious institutions.

As part of its core business model, OFN acts as an information and networking conduit between community investment stakeholders in the U.S.  OFN hosts an annual community investment industry conference, which Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) regularly attends.  The 2009 conference’s core curriculum on stabilization and growth featured more than 30 sessions designed to help CDFIs and investors navigate in these “best of times, worst of times,” and emerge from today’s challenging market prepared to seize opportunities in “the new normal.”  OFN collects industry data and publishes a quarterly “Market Conditions Survey.”  The organization also hosts conference calls and regional meetings.

The CDFI Assessment and Ratings System (CARS™), the only rating system of its kind for CDFI investors, is a program started by OFN. CARS™ is a comprehensive, third party analysis of community development financial institutions that aids investors and donors in their investment decision making. Trillium was one of an inaugural group of sixteen CDFI investors, including banks, socially responsible investors, and foundations, to use CARS™ in our due diligence process. As of September 30, 2009, CARS™ had completed 65 ratings on 50 CDFIs (15 of those were re-ratings) with 11 additional reviews in-process. Twenty-one CDFIs are scheduled for review in 2010, with nine more pending and 44 more in the pipeline for 2010 or 2011.

OFN’s policy division is actively engaged in the core issues and programs that advance economic development resources for CDFIs at the federal level. Overall, OFN members received almost two-thirds of the total funds available to CDFIs in both the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and its supplemental funding rounds. OFN recently worked on appropriations legislation for FY2010 in which President Obama proposed to double last year’s appropriation for the CDFI Fund.

Impact
OFN has 173 members at work in low wealth urban, rural, and Native communities in all 50 states.  With more about $20 billion invested through FY 2008, these funds have financed approximately 43,000 businesses, 578,000 housing units, and 9,600 community facility projects — generating or maintaining over 191,000 jobs.

Trillium’s History with OFN
Trillium is proud of our long association with OFN, which traces back to the organization’s inception as the National Community Development Loan Fund.  Trillium clients were early investors in the Fund.  For more than two decades Trillium has partnered with OFN and many of its member organizations, investing our client’s assets for a high social and environmental impact with a modest financial return.

Since 1995, Calvert Foundation has provided social investors with the Community Investment Notes, which help to lift people out of poverty while providing a modest financial return back to the investor.

Calvert Foundation works to maximize the flow of capital through more than 250 community development organizations globally, to benefit underserved communities and individuals, and to achieve a more equitable and sustainable society. Through Calvert Foundation’s different programs, individuals and institutions place capital to finance affordable homes, fund small and micro-businesses, and make available essential community services.

Program

Community Investment Notes offer individuals and institutions the chance to invest in dozens of microlending, low-income housing, and community development loan funds. The Notes offer flexible terms and target geographic and social interest. Targeted sectors include:

Full Portfolio: Place your investment where funds are needed most in Calvert Foundation’s portfolio, helping to create jobs, homes and hope for communities in the U.S. and abroad.
United States: Select from eight domestic regions to direct your investment geographically.
International/Microcredit: Support microfinance projects and other international efforts to help end poverty in more than 100 countries around the world.
Gulf Coast Recovery: Channel funds toward rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast and other regions devastated by hurricanes.
Social Enterprise: Finance business ventures that produce tangible social or environmental benefits for local economies and communities.
Independent Media: Invest directly in public radio stations to promote independent, plural and local public media ownership.

Impact/Client Population

Calvert Community Investments have put capital more than 250 community development organizations. Investments have been made into community development financial institutions, social enterprises, microfinance institutions, community development banks and credit unions serving lower income communities.

Investing in Community Investment Notes

On behalf of our clients, Trillium Asset Management Corporation will purchase Calvert Community Investment Notes of at least $5,000. Term and rate of return will vary. Notes can be bought electronically in some brokerage accounts in a manner similar to buying conventional investment products.

Upon purchasing a Community Investment Note, the full value of your principal is lent out to help underserved communities. As loans are repaid, the capital is lent out again, multiplying the social impact that your investment has created. At maturity, your capital is returned to you with interest.

Calvert Community Investments is administered by the Calvert Social Investment Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Calvert Community Investments should not be confused with any Calvert Group sponsored investment product, is not a mutual fund, nor is it FDIC insured.

Visit www.calvertfoundation.org for more information.

A cooperative (co-op) is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Co-ops are also values-based businesses, rooted in self-help, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity, and solidarity.

The Cooperative Fund of New England Inc. (CFNE), founded in 1975, is a bridge between social investors and cooperatives, providing loans and technical assistance to co-ops, worker-owned or democratically managed companies, and nonprofit organizations that meet a defined community need. The organization gives preference to organizations serving low income communities.

CFNE serves the six New England states and the eastern edge of New York State, with outreach coordinators located in various communities across the region. These representatives are the equivalent of business development or loan officers for the Fund.

History

Despite their social impact and contribution to the economy, co-ops often face challenges in obtaining the resources they need to grow and serve their communities better. It was for this reason that a group of co-op activists and social investors founded the CFNE. While the Fund started by lending primarily to food co-ops, its lending market has since expanded to other sectors including worker, farmer, artisan, education and housing co-ops, as well as land trusts and community-based nonprofits serving basic human needs. CFNE gives priority in its lending to cooperatives and other borrowers that serve low income communities and may have difficulty accessing financial resources.

Loan and Investment Products

CFNE provides term loans and lines of credit to finance the purchase of real estate, business assets, inventory and materials, leasehold improvements and working capital. Borrowers must be incorporated entities that match the mission of the Fund and are located within its service area.

CFNE is in the final stages of launching the Cooperative Capital Fund of New England (CCF), a separate but affiliated organization. CCF is an investment fund that invests in cooperative businesses in the form of “patient capital” or equity-like financing. CCF helps cooperative enterprise to grow and flourish by providing capital that acts like equity without requiring co-ops to give up control over their own management and destiny, as traditional venture capital might.

Impact

From inception in 1975 through December 31, 2008, CFNE had made 443 loans totaling $16.7 million. Eighty-five percent (by dollar volume) of the Fund’s loan portfolio has been devoted to cooperatively owned and managed enterprises. Over the last five years, CFNE’s financing has assisted in the creation or preservation of 1,258 cooperative housing units and 1,424 jobs in cooperatives and nonprofits. CFNE has had a positive change in unrestricted net assets in each of the last five fiscal years.

Investing in CFNE

On behalf of our clients, Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) made its first investment with CFNE in 1999. Trillium will facilitate client investments in CFNE of at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years. CFNE is a member of the Opportunity Finance Network and participates in the CARS Rating System.

Loans Made as of 12/31/08

Public Radio Capital (PRC) is a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to strengthen and expand noncommercial media so that local communities nationwide have access to more in-depth information, unbiased news, diverse music and cultural programming.

History/Structure

Since its founding in 2001, PRC has worked with more than 200 public radio organizations ranging from first-time station owners to the largest, multi-channel public radio operators in the country. PRC has helped these organizations buy and finance new channels, preserve existing public radio outlets, and strengthen their organizations and services.

Public Radio Fund (PRF) was established in 2007 to help public broadcasters and local groups gain access to short-term capital on an affordable basis so that they may quickly and aggressively compete for valuable radio channels when they come on the market. The Fund’s near-term goal of raising $15M in loans is thought to be the largest capital-raising effort to be attempted for the expansion of noncommercial radio channels.

PRC derives income from fee-based work with clients and from contributions and grants from individual and foundations. In addition to core consulting and brokerage services, PRC owns three radio licenses.

PRC’s Board of Directors oversees both entities. PRF has an Advisory Council with rich experience in business, finance, social investing and leadership of public broadcasting. The manager of Trillium Asset Management Corporation’s Durham, NC branch, Farnum Brown, is a member of PRF’s Advisory Council.

Impact

As of December 2008, PRC reports that it has helped public radio operators extend their reach to 33 million people through transactions valued at nearly $170 million.

PRC believes the need for strong public media has never been greater. In recent years, there has been an alarming downsizing in the newsrooms of print and broadcast journalism, along with an explosion of infotainment that passes as news. Corporate media consolidation in the commercial sector during the last decade has deprived many communities of locally owned media. The result has been the loss of independent voices and coverage in depth of substantive issues that matter to people.

There are currently more than 1,700 noncommercial radio stations characterized as public or community, they have an estimated combined $3.5 billion market value of broadcast

licenses. Many of these stations have the potential to reach significantly more people given more effective broadcast schedules, stronger financial management and greater support from their communities. These stations are a critical resource for public radio.

Vision

PRC has adopted an ambitious set of short and long term goals:

• Protect. Develop new ownership or operating structures for existing public radio channels so no community loses current public radio services.
• Expand. Help public media organizations acquire additional radio assets that allow them to increase program choices and services for new and existing audiences in their communities.
• Improve. Increase the capacity of public radio organizations to expand services for new listeners.
• Innovate. Develop at least one new public media company to leverage expertise in revenue generation, radio format development, and multimedia solutions to attract new audiences nationwide.
• Finance. Raise capital for investments in significant public radio expansion to increase public radio’s core assets, audiences and impact.

Investing with PRF

Clients can purchase unsecured promissory notes in PRF beginning at $15,000, which earn a financial return of 0-3 percent for 3-year notes. Investors may choose the interest rate based on their ability to support the mission. The notes pay simple interest annually on August 31 of each year.

Boston Community Loan Fund (BCLF) was established in 1985 by socially responsible investors with a focus on lending to nonprofits for affordable housing in Boston.

In 1994, BCLF established Boston Community Capital (BCC), a nonprofit holding company, to respond to new credit and capital needs in low-income communities.  BCLF became an affiliate of BCC. They also established two new nonprofit affiliates: Boston Community Venture Fund and Boston Community Managed Assets.  Together, these organizations comprise the BCC organization. Their mission is to build healthy communities where low-income people live and work.

BCLF serves as a financial intermediary that connects low-income people and communities to the mainstream economy.  They provide a range of existing financial vehicles, products and services and strive to create new ones; they also act as an investment banker for low-income communities.

Client Population

While the majority of BCLF’s lending is in MA, the Loan Fund is not geographically limited, and has recently made loans in Connecticut, New Jersey and Washington, DC. All BCLF borrowers serve low-income communities or individuals, with 82% of its borrowers’ clients having household incomes below 80% of the area median income; 60% of its borrowers’ clients are minorities; and a significant portion are female-headed households.

Impact

BCLF currently has more than $100 million in assets under management.  It provides a wide range of debt products to nonprofit and community organizations and for-profit developers who share the mission of serving low-income people and communities.  The affordable housing financing BCLF provides has created more than $116 million in equity for first-time homeowners, and has helped save low-income families nearly $600 million in cumulative rent. BCLF has expanded beyond their initial focus on affordable housing to include commercial real estate, organizational working capital, and social and community services, such as day care facilities and community arts programs.   Since 1985, the Loan Fund has lent more than $240 million – more than three quarters of that lending has occurred in the last five years.

Since 1985, BCC has made more than 400 loans and investments totaling more than $370 million to support organizations and businesses that benefit under-served communities.  These loans and investments have helped:

• Build or preserve affordable homes for 8,500 families and individuals
• Strengthen more than 300 community organizations
• Support child care facilities and youth programs serving 7,000 children
• Renovate 530,000 square feet of commercial real estate in distressed communities, and
• Create more than 1,400 jobs in low-income communities.

Programs

In 2007, BCC launched Aura Mortgage Advisors, a mortgage brokerage business dedicated to helping people understand the mortgage process and own a home they can afford. Aura works to educate future hopeful homeowners on the perils of predatory lending practices, teaching them how to pick the right mortgage options, and helping them make well-informed decisions throughout the process.

BCC Solar Energy Advantage (BCC SEA) works to stabilize and reduce energy and utility costs of existing affordable housing by improving their energy efficiency, conservation and renewable energy use.  BCC SEA also administers the Green Building Production Network, a private sector consortium of financing, technical assistance and advocacy organizations dedicated to providing Community Development Corporations with financing and tools to design and build “greener” and healthier homes for low-income residents.

Investing with BCLF

On behalf of our clients, Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) made its first investment with BCLF in 1986. Trillium’s Director of Finance and Administration, Linnie McLean, has been a member of BCLF’s Loan Committee since 1997. On our client’s behalf, Trillium will make investments in BCLF of at least $5,000 for a minimum term of two years.

In 1973, ShoreBank (then South Shore Bank) opened its doors on the south side of Chicago. While other banks were leaving the inner cities, ShoreBank was incorporated specifically to focus on investing in the neighborhoods it served, becoming the first community development bank. In the early days of the social responsible investing (SRI) movement, local credit unions and ShoreBank were just about the only option for people who wanted to do community investing.

When we were founded, our clients were looking for investment opportunities that would provide a high social impact with a modest return. From the inception of Trillium Asset Management Corporation (Trillium), direct community investment has been a core part of our SRI mission.

In 1984 Joan Bavaria invited Chuck Matthai of the Institute for Community Economics (ICE), an organization that helps communities create and sustain land trusts, to a meeting of the Social Investment Forum. It is likely that this was the first time a nonprofit organization with a loan fund would meet directly with SRI managers. Trillium clients began investing in ICE later that year. Many of the clients who made early investments with ICE are still invested in their loan fund.

Our clients were among the first investors in many early community loan funds. Lakota Funds, a Native American CDFI^[1] based on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Boston Community Capital and Opportunity Finance Network, among others, received early investments from our clients.

At Trillium, final investment decisions regarding community investments are ordinarily made only after consulting with the client. Clients may authorize TAMC to invest in a range of community investments without further consultation. In total, we have a portfolio of about three dozen international and domestic loan funds, and community banks and credit unions where our clients can invest. We have the ability to invest in organizations that fit the social and geographical concerns of our clients. If a client has a social and/or geographical interest that Trillium can’t fill, we will work with them to find an organization that meets their need.

Trillium made an early commitment to join the Social Investment Forum’s “1% or More in Community Campaign,” pledging that at least 1% of our assets under management would be in community investments. We are also part of an inaugural group of CDFI investors, including banks, socially responsible investors, and foundations, to use CARS^{TM [2]}ratings in our due diligence process.

The money that our clients have placed in community investments instruments has provided capital to non-profit organizations that have created and saved tens of thousands of jobs and homes in the communities they serve. The patient capital these investments provide has been used in the U.S. and in countries on five continents.

The community investing industry still faces many challenges. Currently, most community investments are made manually, with pen, paper and the U.S. mail. Broker/Dealers are reluctant (or refuse) to hold these assets in their client’s account. Over the next decades, much work will need be done to standardize community investments and broaden the market and impact. At Trillium, we see a future where community investments are analyzed and rated by traditional investment analysts and are held and traded on the open market, much like stocks and bonds.

It is a daunting task, but we believe that the SRI community is up for the challenge.

Mercy Loan Fund (MLF), along with its parent organi­zation Mercy Housing, Inc. (MHI), works to create a more humane world where poverty is alleviated, communities are healthy and all people can develop their full potential.

MLF provides capital to community-based affordable hous­ing developers with financing needs that are unmet through traditional financial institutions. MLF’s loans are used to develop, finance and operate affordable, program-enriched housing for families, seniors and people with special needs who lack the economic resources to access quality, safe, hous­ing opportunities.

History

In 1981, the Sisters of Mercy of Omaha found that a lack of adequate housing was the root cause of many of the health and education problems they saw in their community. With an ini­tial investment of $500,000, they founded MHI in Nebraska.

The Sisters began by acquiring properties that were at risk of being sold at market rate. They renovated the properties and leased them to low-income people. The Sisters realized that they wanted to provide services and programs that would help residents stabilize their lives and thrive in the community.

MLF was founded in 1985 to provide financing for non-prof­it organizations, enabling them to develop affordable housing in their communities. MLF finances the development of single- and multi-family homes for rental and homeownership.

Programs / Impact

MHI, with support from MLF, has developed more than 19,100 affordable homes, both rental and single family, serving more than 58,000 people in 31 states, on any given day. An ad­ditional 8,153 homes are in the pre-development, construction or concept phase.

MHI employs over 1,160 people nationwide providing property management and on-site resident programs including computer centers, arts programs, health classes, financial edu­cation programs, employment initiatives and homeownership seminars that are funded through grants and donations.

MLF loans have ranged from $25,000 to $2.1 million, with an average term of 3.5 years. Some examples include:

• Lines of credit to affordable homeownership programs, used to purchase and rehabilitate single-family homes for sale;
• A predevelopment loan to assist with acquisition and rehabilitation of a single-room occupancy apartment building for people who are single, disabled or living with HIV/AIDS;
• A gap loan to a residents’ cooperative to purchase a 150-space mobile home park for seniors; and,
• A loan to help a tenants’ association purchase and convert a 15-unit rental property into a cooperative.

Client Population

The median annual income of families at MHI is $18,892. The median annual income of seniors is $12,106; and the median income of special needs residents is $9,167. All residents have household incomes below 80 percent area median income.

Seventy-eight percent of residents are families, 14 percent are seniors, 8 percent are people with special needs, includ­ing people with HIV/AIDS, formerly homeless, and people with physical and mental impairments. Currently, 58 percent of those served by MLF’s loans are ethnic minorities and 61 percent are female

Investing with MLF

On behalf of our clients, Trillium Asset Management Cor­poration (“Trillium”) made its first investment with MLF in 1990. Trillium, at a client’s request, will make investments in MLF of at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years.

MLF is a registered with the Treasury Department as a Com­munity Development Financial Institution and is a member of Opportunity Finance Network.

Vision / Mission

The Vermont Community Loan Fund (VCLF) is a Community Development Financial Institution that provides loans, technical assistance and support for the development of affordable housing, community facilities, local businesses, childcare programs and other projects that benefit low- and moderate-income Vermonters. Their mission is to strengthen Vermont by providing equitable access to capital for affordable housing, community facilities and small businesses.

History

VCLF was formed in 1987 to address the lack of affordable housing in central Vermont. VCLF’s first loan, just over $5,000, was made to the Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust in 1988. In 1991, VCLF began lending to nonprofits and in 1995, it began to lend to small businesses.

In 2000, VCLF launched its childcare lending program, an agritourism loan fund and a down payment program for mobile home ownership. In 2003, VCLF began providing direct technical assistance services to childcare providers.

Impact

Since its founding in 1987, VCLF has provided over $45 million through 539 loans, creating or retaining 1,059 jobs, 2,294 affordable housing units, and 1,379 childcare slots in Vermont. Currently VCLF has over $21 million under management. It expects to lend $7.9 million in 2008.

VCLF’s lending programs include:

Child Care Lending

The need for childcare in Vermont currently outpaces its availability by nearly 50 percent. Now in its seventh year of childcare lending, VCLF recognizes the unique challenges in financing the startup or improvement of childcare programs. VCLF provides financing and technical assistance to both home- and center-based childcare providers. Loans are used by providers to achieve professional standards, meet state regulatory and ADA-accessibility requirements, increase staffing or capacity for service, and purchase necessary equipment.

Nonprofit Lending

VCLF has a long history of working with community nonprofits to help them finance essential facilities. Borrowers include health, community and educational centers, eldercare facilities, and libraries. VCLF has made loans for real estate acquisition, construction, rehabilitation, bridge financing, lines of credit and equipment purchase.

Small Business Lending

VCLF strives to create (and save) livable-wage jobs through business development. They finance local businesses, ranging from production agriculture and agritourism to manufacturing facilities, retail stores and restaurants. This lending provides a benefit to lower-income Vermonters through improved employment opportunities and healthier working communities.

Affordable Housing

VCLF offers financing for single- and multi-family housing and mobile home parks. VCLF can also provide financing for the purchase of mobile homes in nonprofit-owned parks and to private landlords for the safe rehabilitation of affordable rental properties.

Investing with VCLF

On behalf of our clients, Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) made its first investment with VCLF in 1997. Currently, our clients have $300,000 invested in VCLF promissory notes. On our client’s behalf, Trillium will make investments in VCLF of at least $5,000 for a minimum term of two years.

Self-Help Credit Union (SHCU) is a federally insured, state-chartered credit union located in Durham, North Carolina. Since its founding in 1984, SHCU’s mission has been to help build assets, creating opportunities for families and their communities. As a federally recognized community development financial institution, SHCU uses interest-bearing deposits, such as Certificates of Deposit (CDs), to make home and commercial loans to help those that cannot obtain financing from conventional lenders. SHCU programs have assisted minorities, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families to buy homes, to build businesses, and to strengthen communities.

For loans closed in 2006, 29% of SHCU’s borrowers were women and 80% of borrowers were people of color. Seventy-four percent of borrowers had a household income at or below 80% of the area median income.

Programs

SHCU’s deposit products include savings, money market, CD, and IRA accounts. ATM cards connected to money market accounts provide nationwide ATM access, and can be used without fee at select ATM machines in NC. SHCU recently merged with three full-service retail credit unions in Wilson, Laurinburg, and Wilmington NC.

SHCU has multiple loan programs that include real estate development, secondary market mortgage financing, home mortgage lending, small business lending and community facilities lending.

Through its secondary market program, Self-Help (The umbrella organization that includes SHCU, Center for Responsible Lending, Self-Help Ventures Fund, and the recently merged credit unions) works to increase the flow of money available for fair mortgages in the sub-prime mortgage market by partnering with Fannie Mae, the Ford Foundation, and mainstream lenders.

Policy & Advocacy Work

Self-Help uses its experience in lending and community development to inform its positions on public policy issues, and is a strong advocate in the national community development and credit union fields. Self-Help continues to fight predatory lending practices that strip wealth from low-income families. The affiliated Center for Responsible Lending uses Self-Help’s lending experience to recommend practical solutions to predatory lending abuses in legislative and regulatory arenas.

Self-Help has lead the effort to expose the dangers of sub prime “exploding” adjustable rate mortgages to Congress and regulators and authored widely cited reports on sub-prime mortgage foreclosures, overdraft loans, and payday lending.

Impact

Since its founding, Self-Help has financed $5 billion in loans to 55,000 homeowners, small business owners, and nonprofits in North Carolina and around the country. In 2006, Self-Help provided $500 million in financing to 4,262 individuals and organizations nationwide. Self-Help helped 4,000 families finance the purchase of their homes. Self-Help’s small business and nonprofit borrowers created or maintained more than 2,430 jobs and 2,685 childcare and public charter school spaces in North Carolina and the U.S.

Investing with SHCU

Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) purchased its first CD, on our client’s behalf, with SHCU in 1991. Over forty Trillium clients are currently invested in SHCU CDs. Many of our clients invest in specialized CDs to support targeted lending in childcare services and environmentally responsible organizations and projects. Child care and environmental CDs pay the same, market competitive, interest rates as SHCU’s standard CDs.

On behalf of our clients, Trillium will purchase SHCU CDs of at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years. There is a $25.00 fee to join SHCU.

Lakota Funds is a community development organization actively promoting the socioeconomic sustainability of Oglala Lakota Oyate on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Pine Ridge encompasses most of Shannon County, South Dakota (which is roughly the size of Connecticut).

Lakota Funds was established in 1986 by a group of local community leaders as a project of First Nations Development Institute with assistance from Oglala Lakota College.

To break the cycle of poverty on Pine Ridge, the group focused on the key roadblocks to economic development: access to capital, technical assistance, business networks, and infrastructure. To meet those goals they created the first Native American Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Initially, 85 percent of Lakota Funds’ borrowers never had a checking or saving account, 75 percent never had a loan, and 95 percent had no business experience.

Programs

Lakota Funds developed the Wawókiye Business Institute (WBI) in association with Oglala Lakota College and the Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce. WBI is a program of small business facilitation and success coaching, focused on the needs of Pine Ridge’s population. The majority of the WBI clients are first generation entrepreneurs, working to overcome enormous socioeconomic obstacles. WBI creates a nurturing environment for community businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs by providing trained business success coaches.

With its network of resources, WBI can also assist private businesses that are struggling and existing businesses that are contemplating expansion. All WBI services are provided at no charge.

In collaboration with WBI, the Core Four Business class is offered by Oglala Lakota College. The class is a tool for developing or expanding a small business by helping entrepreneurs test their business concepts. It also teaches basic management, marketing, operations and cash flow.

Lakota Funds started the first Native Individual Development Account (IDA) program in the state of South Dakota in 2001. Each client sets a goal to save enough money for a down payment on a home, to start a business or go to school. Each dollar that is deposited into an IDA account is matched 2:1, up to $1,800. IDA clients are required to attend workshops on financial literacy, credit counseling, homeownership and small business training.

Impact

When Lakota Funds began, Shannon County was the poorest county in the U.S. according to the Census. It is now less poor than fifty-five other U.S. counties. Lakota Funds has begun to create an entrepreneurial culture within their community. There were only two Native American-owned businesses on Pine Ridge in 1986; today there are 328 licensed businesses.

Lakota Funds has lent over $3.5 million to more than 600 borrowers; provided business training to more than one thousand entrepreneurs; helped create over 750 permanent jobs; and provided marketing services to more than 1,600 artists and craftsmen. It has also developed the Lakota Trade Center, a small business incubator, and co-founded the Pine Ridge Area Chamber of Commerce.

TAMC’s History with Lakota Funds

On behalf of our clients, Trillium made its first investment with the Lakota Fund in 1994. Linnie McLean and I visited Pine Ridge in May 2007. We met with key members of Lakota Funds’ staff and board and some of their borrowers. On behalf of our clients, TAMC will make investments of at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years. Currently, 14 TAMC clients have an investment with Lakota Funds.

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Shared Interest was established in 1994 by the Fund for a Free South Africa (FREESA), an organization established by black South Africans living in exile in the U.S. The goal was to supply credit to the communities marginalized by apartheid by forging productive new relationships between South African banks, CDFIs and low-income borrowers.

In 1996, Shared Interest co-founded the Thembani International Guarantee Fund (Thembani) in South Africa. Today, Shared Interest raises funds that are used to partially guarantee loans issued by South African financial institutions to low-income South Africans.

Impact

A guarantee fund is a pool of money that is used to secure a loan. For example, a bank in South Africa might not be willing to lend money to low-income people of color who are HIV-positive, have never had a job, live in a rural area, or do not have collateral, because they pose a big risk from the bank’s perspective. However, the bank will lend money to these people if the risk is reduced by a guarantee.

The guarantee and the loans are facilitated by Thembani, Shared Interest’s sister organization in South Africa. Thembani “guarantees” that South African banks will reduce their risk, by committing to cover part of any losses should borrowers default on their loans. The money raised by Shared Interest to secure these loans is invested in the U.S. and used as security for South African bank loans. These loans are made to South African organizations advancing community development and individual self-sufficiency. The staff of Thembani is comprised of South Africans, who structure the guarantees and provide technical support to both low-income communities and banks.

The Shared Interest guarantees have facilitated loans that have created 50,000 small businesses; 65,000 safe, affordable homes; and 160,000 jobs – benefiting more than 975,000 South Africans of color – 75% of them women.

Loans

One of the most interesting and successful collaborations has been a loan to The Bee Foundation, which is a private business in a northern province of South Africa that is producing honey. Two thousand rural borrowers (75% women) have joined the beekeeping business. Each new beekeeper receives fifty hives stocked with African bees. They also receive training and equipment to harvest honey and an above market price for their honey from the Bee Foundation.

With the participation of the University of Pretoria, the project is also helping to advance the protection of African bees. The bees receive a medicine required to protect them from a threatening mite through the water supply in their specially adapted hive. And the University is expanding and sharing its research on other medicinal and cosmetic byproducts made from honey.

TAMC’s History with Shared Interest

On behalf of our clients, TAMC made its first investment with Shared Interest in 1995. In 2003, Linnie McLean, TAMC’s Director of Finance and Administration joined Shared Interest’s Board. In the past four years she has met with many of Thembani’s borrowers in South Africa. On behalf of our clients, TAMC will make loans of at least $5,000 to Shared Interest for a term of not less than three years. Currently, thirty TAMC clients have investments with Shared Interest.

Native American Bank, N.A. (NABNA) is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) promoting economic development in areas that are underserved by traditional financial institutions. NABNA is committed to being a self-sustaining CDFI and is the only Indian owned community development bank in the United States.

Background and Mission

Native Americans rank last among all demographically identified groups in America in terms of poverty, unemployment and substandard housing.

In 2001, following years of study and deliberation on the part of many Indian leaders, twenty tribal investors pooled their resources and established Native American Bank through the purchase of Blackfeet National Bank in Browning, MT. NABNA is owned by Native American Bancorporation

The mission of NABNA is to pool Indian economic resources to increase Indian economic independence. NABNA’s broader vision is to be a powerful engine for Indian economic development, establish a significant Indian presence in the financial marketplace, and project the growing economic power of tribes and Indian businesses onto the national scene.

Services

The core banking functions of NABNA provide Indian Country with a commercial bank that is expert in the unique aspects of doing business in Indian Country, i.e., one that understands tribal sovereign immunity, tribal courts, trust lands and other special aspects of lending in Indian Country

The most significant component of NABNA’s banking functions is making loans. NABNA makes commercial, mortgage and agricultural loans in Native communities. More than 85% of NABNA’s loan portfolio involves loans to Native Americans.

The executive offices of Native American Bancorporation and NABNA are located in Denver, CO. The principal banking office of NABNA is in Browning, MT, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, located in northwest MT. The 1.5 million acre reservation is home to about 7,500 members of the Blackfeet Nation. Over time, NABNA expects to open offices (including branches) that will serve local reservation communities

In addition to loans, the services that NABNA provides to its commercial and tribal include:

* Checking accounts

* Cash management services

* Money market accounts and certificates of deposit

* Electronic banking

* Funds transfer

* Letters of credit

Impact

During 2005 NABNA:

* Loaned more than $26 million. 50% of its loans were made to borrowers making less than 80%of the area median income.

* Loaned $852,000 to affordable housing loan providers.

* Loaned $3.1 million to entities creating or preserving jobs for low-income persons.

* Established its first loan/deposit production offices on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in Montana and in Anchorage, Alaska.

Investing with NABNA

NABNA certificates of deposit are market-rate, FDIC-insured investments. On behalf of our clients, TAMC will make investments with NABNA of at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years.

Opportunity Finance Network has more than ten years experience evaluating and underwriting CDFIs, providing consulting services to CDFIs and investors, and gathering and analyzing data about the CDFI industry.

CARStm looks at impact performance as well as financial strength and performance of CDFIs, and issues a combined rating between AAA+1 (the highest) and B 5 (the lowest). The letter designation is for impact performance (on a scale of AAA, AA, A, B) and the “+” signifies whether the CDFI plays a leadership role in policy. The number is the financial strength and performance rating and is an assessment based on creditworthiness.

The Impact Performance rating is an assessment of how well the CDFI does what it says it is trying to do. This rating is based on an assessment of the CDFI’s effective use of its financial resources to achieve its stated mission and the CDFI’s own evidence of how its activities contribute to its mission. The impact performance assessment is based on four key criteria:

• Alignment of strategy and operations: how well the CDFI’s mission, strategies
products and services, output data and impact data are tied together.

• Effective use of financing resources: how well the CDFI uses its financing
resources in support of its mission and target population.

• Tracking of outputs that show effectiveness: how well the CDFI tracks and
uses its own relevant output indicators.

• Tracking of outcomes or impacts that show effectiveness: how well the CDFI
tracks and uses data and information about the actual outcomes of its work
(such as jobs actually created, housing units occupied by low-income
families, improved community conditions).

The financial strength and performance analysis is in a CAMEL (capital, assets, management, earnings, liquidity) format, and assesses each of these areas in detail. The financial analysis includes key ratios and indicators for the past three years, financial statements for the past five years, tables and charts showing trends, and a peer comparison that investors can use to provide context for the investment opportunity they are considering.

Each CARSTM report includes the ratings and a thorough written analysis. A site visit, including management interviews and a review of documents and files, is part of the ratings process, as are conversations with board members.

As investors incorporate the CARSTM ratings and analyses into due diligence reviews, OFN believes CARSTM will become a recognized benchmark in the community investment field. To date, twenty-one CDFIs have been rated, seven are currently in the review process, and an additional twenty are in the pipeline.

One of the most significant, early impacts of CARSTM has been that it is prompting improved transparency and performance on the part of CDFIs. Because of the rigor of the process and analysis, CARSTM helps CDFIs understand their own strengths and challenges.

TAMC is part of the inaugural group of sixteen CDFI investors, including banks, socially responsible investors, and foundations, to use CARSTM in our due diligence process.

New Hampshire Community Loan Fund (NHCLF) is a nonprofit community development loan fund and micro finance institution serving low- and moderate-income people in New Hampshire.

NHCLF is most widely known for its work helping residents of manufactured home parks (MHP) form cooperatives and assisting the cooperatives in the purchase of their MHP. NHCLF provides loans and supportive training in affordable housing, services such as childcare, and employment opportunities including job creation and self-employment.

Mission

The mission ofNHCLFis to serve as a catalyst, leveraging financial, human, and civic resources to enable traditionally underserved people to participate more fully in New Hampshire’s economy.

Programs

NHCLF provides a variety of financing options and opportunities:

• NHCLF’sHousing Program assists residents in MHPs to purchase them in cooperative ownership.

• The Meredith Instituteadvances homeowner-centered strategies in manufactured housing nationally through advocacy, training and system-building.

• Economic Opportunity, including micro-business lending, workforce development, and enterprise development.

Impact

Since its first loan of $43,000 in 1984, NHCLF has loaned more than $68 million, with a borrower repayment rate of 99.3% and a lender/investor repayment rate of 100%.

In FY2005, NHCLF made 25 micro-enterprise loans and financed three nonprofit facilities and 346 housing units. Seven small businesses were also financed, leading to job creation for 117 individuals.

Impact Story

Families living in the Rambling Woods MHP declared their independence when they bought the Bethlehem property with a $377,000 loan from NHCLF.

“On that day, we got control of our own lives,” said 55-year-old Wayland Phillips, the first treasurer of the Rambling Woods Cooperative.

“Finally, we didn’t have to worry about having our water or sewer shut off because the owner wasn’t paying the bills,” said Phillips, who has lived in the park for nearly 25 years.

The residents were afraid to complain about the problems in the park for fear that the landlord would raise the rent. In addition to the water and sewer being shut off occasionally, the roads were filled with potholes and bumps. And the rents kept climbing.

Today, the tidy rural community with newly paved roads bears no hint of the earlier chaos. “In a co-op park, we make decisions together and make the park a better-looking place for all of us,” said Julie Phillips.

Investing with NHCLF

NHCLF was one of the first organizations to undergo CARS (CDFI Assessment and Rating System) analysis. In both the initial analysis and the January 2006 follow-up, NHCLF received a AAA Impact Performance Rating, the highest rating available. NHCLF also received a Financial Strength and Performance rating of 2, indicating that it is fundamentally sound and exhibits solid financial strength, performance and risk management practices.

On behalf of our clients, Trillium Asset Management Corporation (TAMC) made its first investment with NHCLF in 1994. TAMC will make investments in NHCLF for our clients of at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years.

Based in Jackson, Mississippi, Hope Community Credit Union (HOPE) is a community development credit union that helps low-income people build a solid financial foundation.

Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD) is a non-profit community development financial institution that is the primary sponsor of HOPE. A large percentage of HOPE members are also members of ECD. Further, the two companies also share common management.

Mission

HOPE/ECD’s mission is to strengthen communities, build assets and change lives in economically distressed areas of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Impact/Programs

Since 1994 HOPE and ECD have generated over $150 million in financing and brought economic opportunities to more than 10,000 people in economically distressed areas.

National and local trends have resulted in many economically distressed communities without access to mainstream financial institutions. Local residents have been forced to “bank” with non-standard financial institutions such as pawnshops, cash for title, payday lenders and check cashers.

HOPE/ECD works to counter those trends by providing affordable financial services, such as checking and savings accounts, loans, and financial literacy workshops to low-wealth individuals, families, and communities.

Through commercial lending programs, HOPE/ECD provides business loans and technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses. HOPE/ECD primarily extends loans to and makes investments in business applicants that, due to insufficient collateral or failure to meet other standard lending and investment criteria, are unable to obtain financing from conventional financial institutions.

HOPE/ECD has identified community infrastructure, childcare and health care as focus areas for their commercial lending. They are also focused on meeting the needs of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Investing with HOPE/ECD

HOPE offers market rate and below-market, high impact CDs. HOPE’s below-market CD offerings include:

HOPE Hurricane Relief CDs. By purchasing an insured CD at a rate of 0-2%, you enable HOPE to provide flexible financing terms that help low-income individuals and families rebuild their homes, businesses and lives in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

HOPE Home Builder CDs help low-wealth families purchase their first home. HOPE uses homebuyer education workshops, down payment assistance and other tools to help its borrowers acquire assets and build a solid financial foundation.

HOPE Job Builder CDs support entrepreneurs and small businesses in economically distressed communities. HOPE offers business owners technical assistance in areas such as entrepreneurial training, financial management and marketing.

HOPE Community Builder CDs enable HOPE to strengthen community infrastructure such as health care, childcare and affordable housing. HOPE offers programs that help these businesses in areas such as strategic planning, workforce training, and leveraging public programs designed to help low-income communities grow and thrive.

TAMC will purchase HOPE Certificates of Deposit on behalf of our clients for at least $5,000 for a term of not less than two years. All HOPE CDs are insured up to $100,000 by the National Credit Union Administration. There is a $10.00 fee to join HOPE.

The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) is a leading innovator in the financing of neighborhood economic revitalization. Central to its mission is a commitment to put capital and private initiative to work for the public good. TRF builds wealth and opportunity for low-wealth communities and low- and moderate-income individuals through the promotion of socially and environmentally responsible development.

Program

TRF manages $287 million in assets from over 850 investors, including individuals, religious and civic groups, financial institutions, the public sector and private foundations. It uses these assets to finance housing, community facilities, businesses, renewable energy projects and public policy research.

Client Population

While TRF began in the greater Philadelphia region, its market area now extends across the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and through New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and into Washington, DC.

Impact

Since its inception in 1985, TRF has created opportunity and choice for low-wealth communities and low- and moderate-income individuals in concrete and measurable ways. TRF has made more than $460 million dollars in loans and investments across its lines of business. These investments have resulted in the development of 11,652 housing units; 4.3 million square feet of retail space and community facilities; 27,771 jobs; 9,362 childcare and 14,631 charter school slots. It has also led to the financing of 233 businesses and the creation of 660,165 megawatt hours of energy – enough to power 70,000 homes for a year.

Impact Story

The Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative is a new TRF program that works to increase the number of supermarkets or other grocery stores in underserved communities across the state. Created in 2004 with support from the State of Pennsylvania, the Initiative is an $80 million multi-faceted pool that is a one-stop-shop for financing fresh food retailers in underserved areas.

The Initiative provides financing for supermarket operators that plan to operate in these underserved communities where infrastructure costs and credit needs cannot be filled solely by conventional financial institutions. In September 2004 the first Initiative-sponsored supermarket, Shop Rite of Island Avenue in Philadelphia, opened its doors.

“Not only have we been able to create jobs in this close knit community, we’ve also been able to offer affordable and nutritious food options. We’re delighted to be part of creating a stronger and healthier community,” commented storeowner Jeff Brown.

One year after opening in the community, the Shop Rite on Island Avenue has quickly become an integral part of the community, visible at community meetings, and participating in neighborhood festivals. The Shop Rite’s busy flow of customers is also stimulating additional development in the area and job opportunities nearby. Thanks to TRF financing, the neighborhood now has a supermarket that is bringing new life to the community.

To date, the Initiative has committed $6.2 million in grants and loans to finance seven supermarket projects with a total of 833 new jobs and approximately 240,000 square feet of new retail space.

Investing with TRF

Trillium Asset Management’s (TAMC) Investment Management Committee added TRF to its list of approved Community Investments in 1992. On behalf of our clients, TAMC will make investments in TRF of at least $5,000 for a minimum term of three years.

Oikocredit: Ecumenical Development Cooperative Society is a worldwide cooperative society dedicated to promoting social and economic justice by challenging people, churches, nonprofit organizations, and others to share their resources through socially responsible investments and by empowering disadvantaged people with credit.

Program

Oikocredit’s loans are channeled through a network of regional offices spread over Latin America, Asia, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and managed by local professionals. Oikocredit loans are directed at cooperatives, microfinance institutions, and trade associations. Loans are made based on specific criteria:

• The enterprise must benefit groups of disadvantaged people and contribute to the social and economic advancement of the community.

• The cooperative structure is favored where applicable.

• Preference is given to enterprises in which women are direct beneficiaries.

• The enterprise must be economically viable, with appropriate management and technical leadership.

• There must be a clear need for foreign investment.

Client Population

Oikocredit serves rural, poor communities in 65 countries on five continents. Oikocredit’s division of projects by region is as follows: South America (38%), Africa (19%), Central America and the Caribbean (17%), Central and Eastern Europe (14%), Asia (10%), Other (2%).

Impact

With 398 active lending projects as of December 31, 2004, Oikocredit is one of the largest financiers of the microfinance sector worldwide. Oikocredit borrowers are small and medium-sized enterprises involved in a wide variety of industries, including many forms of agriculture and animal husbandry, fishing, crafts and artisanry, textiles, mining and transportation. They also finance microfinance institutions that split up their loans into thousands of small loans to very poor people.

Impact Story

Opportunity Microcredit Romania (OMRO) started lending activities in December 2000 in the heart of Transylvania as a pioneer in the field of microlending in Romania. Oikocredit has disbursed two loans totaling 500,000 Euros to OMRO since 2002. Those loans were used to expand OMRO’s loan portfolio and to open two branches.

OMRO now lends to about 960 clients including Juliana Lazco who owns a small business producing sports bags. When her husband left her, he also left numerous debts, almost causing the business to go bankrupt. With a loan for working capital, Juliana knew she could save the business. As no one would lend her the money she feared that she would no longer be able to support herself and her two children.

OMRO believed in Juliana’s capacity to run the business. Juliana received a loan of 2,000 Euros, which enabled her to purchase raw materials and pay the salaries of her two employees. She was soon able to hire eight more employees and repay her loan with the income she generated. “OMRO means more to me than financial help alone,” Juliana says. “The staff listened to my problems and provided me with good advice. Without their support, I would probably have failed.”

Investing with Oikocredit

On behalf of our clients, TAMC has been investing in Oikocredit through Oikocredit USA for over ten years. TAMC makes investments in Oikocredit USA of at least $5,000 for a minimum term of two years.

A condemned century-old home in Saint Paul’s West Seventh Street neighborhood was a shadow of its former self. Renovator Hunter Miley saw the two-story structure and had an idea to bring it back to life.

Miley, a former substance abuser, wanted to rehab the house and create a home for people recovering from addiction. He had the building know-how, but needed financing. Miley contacted University Bank and learned that they could provide him with guaranteed funds from the city of Saint Paul to obtain a loan for the project.

University Bank helped finance two additional houses that became homes for adults in recovery. Hunter Miley is now director of Second Step Supportive Housing.

“University Bank took a risk with me,” Miley explained. “Many banks wouldn’t embrace a project like this one. University Bank had the foresight to see that this project was positive for the neighborhood and would give people like me a second chance”

Overview

As Minnesota’s first federally insured Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), University Bank (UNNB) strives to be the leader in improving communities by providing financial return with social impact. Through the creation of innovative programs, University Bank’s mission is to provide loans in low-income communities and to make urban St. Paul and Minneapolis a better place to live.

Programs

University Bank provides a variety of services and products, including checking and savings accounts and consumer and commercial loans. In addition to these basic services, University Bank has developed a number of programs that focus on community development, mainly in the lending sectors of affordable housing and small business loans.

Houses to Homes: University Bank finances the renovation of homes in distressed communities, which are then targeted to first-time buyers or low- to moderate-income home buyers.

Urban Revitalization Fund (URF): University Bank allows a customer to open any depository account and pools the account balances in the URF to support affordable housing, small businesses, non-profit organizations and community services.

Neighborhood Lending Partnership (NLP): University Bank utilizes “gap financing” for the purchase and rehabilitation of residential or commercial real estate in Saint Paul. Through the NLP, University Bank fills the “gap” between what a customer has in liquid assets versus what a bank needs for a down payment in the form of a loan guarantee.

Client Population

University Bank’s clientele consist of low-to-moderate-income individuals living in urban areas of the Twin Cities. Over 30% of the bank’s customers have a household income at or below the area’s median income.

Impact

Since inception, University Bank has lent $268 million to individuals and institutions, including minority-owned companies and nonprofits in communities throughout the Twin Cities. During the past year affordable housing received the most attention with 341 total housing project loans, 485 total housing units financed, and 341 total housing units developed or rehabbed.

Investing with University Bank

Trillium Asset Management (TAMC) added University Bank to its list of approved Community Investments in February of 2005. On behalf of our clients, TAMC will make investments in MCDC of at least $5,000 for a minimum term of two years.

MTCDC serves entrepreneurs with loans, consulting and technical assistance. It works with businesses and offers financing and business development services that help sustain communities and create income opportunities for low/moderate-income residents. Its clients range from one-person home-based businesses to non-profits and for-profit corporations.

Programs

Business Counseling: Free, practical business planning and problem-solving through the Small Business Development Center. This program strengthens capacity among firms and lays the foundation for long term viability.

Small Business Loans: Targeted to viable enterprises that are unable to obtain bank loans.

Loan Packaging: Assistance in approaching conventional lenders for financing. Sometimes, combining other commercial loans with MTCDC funds or public funds, in order to make packages bankable.

Large Project Planning: As an administrator for government-backed revolving loan funds, MTCDC helps in developing major business projects that require complex financing and the use of public economic development funds.

Native American Fund: Makes micro loans to Native American borrowers.

Montana Child Care Loan Fund: Helps childcare businesses expand facilities and improve programs. Connects applicants with the childcare-specific business instruction needed to become loan ready.

Impact

Mike Harris filled the need for quality, delivered, stone-baked pizza when he opened Big Boy’s Pizza in East Missoula, MT. Mike worked with MTCDC to create a business plan with realistic expectations for the highly competitive restaurant business.

Lee McAllister of Cottonwood Traders began working with MTCDC nearly four years ago to finance the raw materials and inventory he needed to create and sell fine, hand-crafted silver and stone jewelry. In April of last year, using additional finances from MTCDC, Lee acquired equipment to help him update his jewelry making process and widen the distribution of his wares.

Since inception, MTCDC has lent more than $6,808,513 to 248 borrowers in its five county region. Loans have ranged from $1,000 to $368,000. Currently 56% of MCDC clients are women and 9% are Native American.

During FY 2003, MTCDC loaned more than $400,000 to nine borrowers. It also held five training events with a total of 25 attendees and 70 hours of training services.

Investing with MTCDC

Trillium Asset Management’s (TAMC) Investment Management Committee added MTCDC to its list of approved Community Investments in February of 2005. On behalf of our clients, TAMC will make investments in MTCDC of at least $5,000 for a minimum term of two years.