New Brunswick-based nonprofit New Jersey Community Capital said Monday it is the only organization based in the state – and just one of 107 nationally – to receive a Financial Assistance (FA) community loan from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.
NJCC was awarded $565,000, which it said will be used to increase lending for the Partnership to Invest in Transformative Community Health (PITCH) program.
PITCH provides capital to borrowers for projects with an integrated health approach, aiming to invest in affordable homes and community health facilities in low-income communities throughout the state.
As a Community Development Financial Institution, NJCC uses federal funding to leverage private capital for projects where mainstream capital is scarce, but needed.
To date, NJCC said it has been awarded $14.8 million in federal grants. Along with other funding (including $50 million in CDFI Fund-administered Bond Guarantees and $250 million in New Market Tax Credits), NJCC said it has leveraged $1.78 billion to create more than 10,000 housing units, more than 19,000 education seats and over 6,000 child care seats, 5.6 million commercial and community square feet, and more than 12,000 jobs in the Garden State.
“NJCC believes that health equity can only be achieved once disparity and barriers to opportunity are removed and low-income individuals are afforded improved access to housing, food, transportation, education, and the associated resources available in their community,” NJCC President Wayne Meyer said in a prepared statement. “Support from the CDFI Fund has been vital to the success and expansion of NJCC’s community-driven initiatives. This funding will help us expand our programs and accelerate equitable access to quality housing and health in targeted communities across New Jersey.”