Inspiration Corporation, Chicago
In 2011, Inspiration Corporation's Garfield Park restaurant celebrated its grand opening.  Inspiration Corporation asked IFF for an acquisition and construction loan for its fourth site, where meals for the homeless and food service training are provided. Already a two-time loan customer, IFF provided them with a $520,000 loan to develop Inspiration Kitchens, a restaurant, catering, and job training facility on Chicago’s west side that will serve meals to an estimated 3,500 low-income families, train 100 people for jobs, and create 12 full-time jobs. IFF’s Real Estate Services division was chosen to plan and manage the $2.4 million project.

LEARN Hunter Perkins Campus, Chicago
With the help of a $1 million loan from IFF's energy efficiency loan fund, LEARN Charter School Network made significant renovations to a vacant parochial school building that include many green, energy efficient features. Improvements to the new campus include high performance lighting fixtures, energy efficient windows, and a building automation system that controls the lighting and mechanical systems to reduce unnecessary energy use. These improvements not only significantly cut down on energy costs, but also create a healthy and positive learning environment for the students.

The Hunter Perkins Campus is located in Chicago's Auburn Gresham neighborhood. It currently houses grades K-3 and will serve grades K-8 by 2017. LEARN serves nearly 2,000 students and plans to expand its reach to 8,000 low-income students over the next decade.

The Maywood Apartments, Maywood
IFF’s Real Estate Services was contracted by the West Cook County Housing Collaborative to coordinate the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) on its behalf. The Collaborative, an effort between Bellwood, Berwyn, Forest Park, Maywood, and Oak Park municipalities, was formed to increase access to quality, affordable housing in West Suburban Cook County. Taking an innovative approach to acquiring NSP funds, IFF filed a single application to support the housing needs of the sub-region rather than applying for each individual municipality

The Collaborative was awarded approximately $3 million through Cook County. A portion of the funds is being used to renovate a 26-unit apartment building in Maywood. IFF Real Estate Services is managing the development of the Maywood Apartments, including selecting and managing the project team.

Hardin County General Hospital, Rosiclare
Hardin County General Hospital is a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) providing inpatient, outpatient and emergency care services to residents of Hardin, Saline, Pope and parts of Gallatin counties in southern Illinois. Of the organization’s 27,000 patients, 52 percent are low-income, and 15 percent are seniors.

IFF provided Hardin with an affordable, flexible equipment loan for $491,000 to purchase hardware, software, support services and the installation of electronic health records (EHRs). Installing EHRs will allow Hardin to maximize incentive payments from Medicare and better manage patient care.