RSF Makes a New Loan to Foundation For the Challenged
Refinancing 44 homes providing affordable, community-based housing to 180 people with developmental disabilities
SAN FRANCISCO, July 16, 2013/3BL Media/ - RSF Social Finance (RSF) is pleased to announce a new loan to Foundation For the Challenged (FFC). The RSF loan will refinance 44 residential homes which provide affordable, community-based housing for approximately 180 people with developmental disabilities. This will be the third loan RSF has provided to the organization.
Based in Dublin, Ohio, Foundation For the Challenged is a non-profit social enterprise engaged in direct service programs and social change philanthropy. Currently, FFC provides affordable housing and charitable programs that improve the everyday life experiences of people with developmental disabilities.
Foundation For the Challenged began serving people with developmental disabilities 35 years ago as a program service provider. In 2002, FFC shifted its focus to affordable housing and today owns over 90 homes in 11 states, housing approximately 280 people.
“Over seven million people in the U.S. have developmental disabilities,” said Scott Hackenberg, RSF Lending Manager. “Enormous economic disparities exist therein: 72% of adults with developmental disabilities live in poverty and only 32% have access to employment. FFC helps to mitigate these economic barriers and improve lives.”
In order to expand choice of living options, FFC executes a housing strategy by which it leverages its financial resources and those received through state and federal affordable-housing grants to make more community-based homes available to people with developmental disabilities. Living in residences rather than institutions, developmental centers, or nursing facilities provides people with developmental disabilities the opportunity to live independently and integrate into a community.
“Foundation For the Challenged is a unique organization with a mission to create social change, so partnering with a change agent like RSF just made sense,” said Fran Wesseling, Executive Director of Foundation for the Challenged. “This refinancing will enable our organization to continue expanding our legacy of providing community-based housing options.”
About RSF Social Finance
Located in San Francisco, CA, RSF Social Finance (RSF) is a non-profit financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Since 1984, the organization has made over $275 million in loans and $100 million in grants to non-profit and for-profit social enterprises working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship.
RSF's lending capital comes primarily from 1,400 individuals who have invested $1,000 or more in the organization's Social Investment Fund. Investors earn a competitive return on their money comparable to a certificate of deposit while their funds are deployed to leading social enterprises. To learn more, visit www.rsfsocialfinance.org.
About Foundation For the Challenged
Foundation For the Challenged, (FFC) is a social enterprise non-profit engaged in direct service programs and social change philanthropy. Its mission is to improve the everyday experience of people with developmental disabilities by working to change public perceptions and expand personal choice options. FFC fulfills its mission by providing quality affordable community based housing for people with developmental disabilities and providing charitable support that improves quality of life, increases personal choice, and decreases barriers to full participation in society. More information can be found at www.ffcohio.org.
