Press Release: Nonprofit Lender Promotes New Systems Change Vision and Leaders in Chicago February 13, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 13, 2018

CONTACT: Katie Coleman
kcoleman@iff.org
312-521-7381

 

Chicago, IL – IFF is pleased to announce the promotion of three veteran staff members to new leadership roles designed to help fulfill IFF’s bold new 2018-2022 Strategic Vision:

  • Matthew Roth, a veteran community banking executive and IFF’s Chief Operating Officer since 2013, is now President of IFF’s Core Business Solutions. In this role, he will lead and grow IFF’s top-rated, U.S. Department of the Treasury-certified community development financial institution (CDFI), overseeing over $500 million managed loan portfolio, structured finance team, and real estate consulting business. Mr. Roth also will lead IFF’s efforts to raise an additional $390 million in debt capital to support its new strategic plan. Read Mr. Roth’s full bio.
  • Kirby Burkholder, a long-time IFF staff member who has worked in both real estate and lending capacities in the Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit regions, is now President of IFF’s Social Impact Accelerator. This new division will lead IFF’s commitment to systems change and community transformation, a key goal of IFF’s new strategic plan. The accelerator integrates IFF’s research and evaluation practice, talent management, and proactive real estate development efforts, as well as special teams focused on transforming sectors such as early childhood education, schools, and services for people with disabilities. Read Mr. Burkholder’s full bio.
  • Victoria Lakes-Battle brings 25 years of executive-level community development finance experience as well as significant nonprofit connections to the role of IFF’s first-ever Executive Director for the Chicago Region. She will provide broad strategic oversight of the organization’s full range of services in IFF’s oldest and largest market. Read Ms. Lakes-Battle’s full bio.

While past IFF strategic plans have focused on growing the organization –more loans, more states, and additional services– the new 2018-2022 vision emphasizes how to fully leverage IFF’s considerable resources and expertise to create social impact and systems change.

Over the last two strategic plans spanning 10 years, IFF has grown from about 45 employees working in Illinois to 100 employees working in seven Midwest offices and serving nine states as well as adjacent metropolitan areas. IFF’s managed assets have grown from $175 million in 2009 to more than $600 million by the end of 2016.

“Going forward, our challenge is to transform this steady growth into an even more efficient, effective engine of social change,” said Joe Neri, IFF CEO. “As a U.S. Department of the Treasury-certified community development financial institution, our core lending tools will always remain a central part of IFF’s DNA; but we’ve known for a long time that IFF is no ordinary CDFI. This new plan ramps up IFF’s social impact engine to be as strong and as powerful as our core lending and real estate tools.”

IFF’s strategic vision also calls for a significant investment in organizational infrastructure – including IFF’s commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion – to ensure that the right foundations are in place to support the organization’s broader, deeper work.

“Bottom line: IFF is strengthening our infrastructure internally so we can achieve more impact externally,” Neri said. “I couldn’t be happier to elevate Kirby, Matt, and Vickie as key leaders in that effort. Working with our talented staff, they are ensuring we bring the right combination of investment, development, partnerships, and actionable knowledge so that nonprofits succeed, communities thrive, and social systems achieve positive change.”

Learn more about IFF’s strategic plan on our website.

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About IFF

IFF is a mission-driven lender, real estate consultant, and developer that helps communities thrive by creating opportunities for low-income populations and individuals with disabilities. Since 1988, IFF has provided $701.6 million in flexible, affordable financing to nonprofits serving a variety of sectors – affordable housing, health care, education, community development, and more. These investments have leveraged $2.3 billion and impacted communities by creating more than 5,000 child care slots, 46,000 charter school seats, 256,000 new patient visits, 7,000 units of affordable housing, 2,000 beds at supportive housing agencies, and 66,000 full- or part-time jobs.