Funding helps support novice and minority developers of affordable housing
FORT PIERCE, Fla., Feb. 24, 2023 – The Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF), America’s first local green bank and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has received a $175,000 Program-related investment alongside a $35,000 grant from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. The investment supports SELF’s SAGE Homes Fund, which helps minority and novice developers, providing flexible capital and technical assistance to fill financial gaps and catalyze new development of climate-resilient affordable housing.
“The Leon Lowenstein Foundation’s investment in the SAGE Homes Fund created by SELF to bridge a historic gap across the Southeast of access to capital for minority and female novice developers, will help enhance projects with clean energy and resiliency building features that will advance climate and social equity, ” said Duanne Andrade, SELF’s Executive Director.
Alongside training and mentorship, the fund provides low-cost predevelopment and mezzanine funding as well as credit enhancements for property owners developing small to midsize climate-resilient affordable housing. The nonprofit also provides unsecured rehab loans for single family homeowners and landlords of multifamily affordable & workforce housing.
“With SELF’s proven track record of deploying capital in low-to-moderate-income communities, we’re pleased to support SELF’s diversification into a one-stop shop for climate-resilient housing,” said Stewart Hudson, Executive Director of the Leon Lowenstein Foundation. “This investment and grant empower aspiring entrepreneurs to create more energy-efficient affordable housing that retains the character of their communities.”
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About SELF
SELF is a non-profit, certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), also known as Florida’s Green Bank. SELF’s mission is to rebuild and empower communities by providing access to affordable and equitable capital to homeowners, landlords, developers, contractors and small BIPOC businesses to help transition communities towards an inclusive clean energy economy.
About The Leon Lowenstein Foundation
The Leon Lowenstein Foundation is a family foundation which supports innovative, scalable, and transformational solutions to some of our most challenging issues in order to leave the world a better place for future generations. Currently, the foundation’s grantmaking is focused on improvements in public education, support for the growth of mobile health delivery, and the implementation of enduring solutions to climate protection. The foundation takes an active interest in all three of these areas, but does not accept unsolicited requests for support.