What's Happening

June 15, 2016, Adrian, Michigan – The Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) of the Adrian Dominican Sisters is sending out low-interest loans to four community service organizations. The loans – sent to organizations from Oklahoma and California to Maryland and South Carolina – were recommended by the PAB and approved by the Congregation’s General Council. The funds are scheduled to be sent out on June 15 to:

• Staff members of the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation, located in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

  Citizens Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (CPCDC). This certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) provides several kinds of loans – from microloans and business loans to asset-building Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) to Citizen Potawatomi Tribal members and other Native Americans throughout the United States. The loan from the Congregation will be pooled with those from other capital investors to make small business and micro-loans to at-risk Native American households in Oklahoma. CPCDC, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Shawnee, Oklahoma, also offers financial education workshops and small business development services. The organization’s mission is to “promote, educate, and inspire entrepreneurial growth and financial well-being of the Citizen Potawatomi National tribal community.”



• Morro Del Mar, a 21-unit tax credit rental project for seniors, is located in Morro Bay, California.

  San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund (SLOCHTF). Founded in 2003, this non-profit organization makes loan funds available to very low through moderate-income residents of San Obispo County, California, filling a niche between financing offered by banks and government housing programs. The Housing Trust Fund offers more flexible and favorable terms than banks and is generally more responsive and flexible than government housing programs. The Congregation has already made a loan to SLOCHTF; the recently-approved loan will be used as loan capital to finance affordable housing projects for lower-income households. Since 2005, when the organization first offered loans, it has provided more than $17 million to finance 641 units of affordable housing.



• Families take part in National Night Out in August 2015.

  St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center. St. Ambrose aims to “create, preserve, and maintain equal housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income people primarily in Baltimore City and encourage and support strong and diverse neighborhoods.” The loan from the Adrian Dominican Congregation – with loans from other sources – will support a multi-year, multi-phase project to preserve, stabilize, and expand St. Ambrose’s rental portfolio to provide quality affordable housing to low-income Baltimore households headed by single women with dependent children. The 310 affordable rental units owned and managed by St. Ambrose are a significant source of stability for hundreds of households in Baltimore City and County.



• Midlands Housing Trust Fund Executive Director Brian Huskey at the groundbreaking of Phase II of Village at River's Edge, a 124-unit, multi-family tax credit development in Columbia, South Carolina.

  Midlands Housing Trust Fund (MHTF). This non-profit organization provides financing, technical assistance, and advocacy for the construction, rehabilitation, and preservation of affordable housing in the Midlands of South Carolina. While the Congregation has already invested in a low-interest loan in MHTF, the additional loan will be used to expand the organization’s service area to include 15 counties, most of which are rural with high rates of poverty. The Congregation’s loan will be used in areas which have no other funding. When formerly rent-burdened households receive access to affordable housing, they have more money to spend on other necessities, such as transportation, health care, food and clothing. Midlands places high priority on lending for the creation of permanent service-enriched housing for individuals and families who are homeless.

Founded more than 40 years ago, the PAB was a response to the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ vision for social change. Firmly rooted in the tradition of Catholic social teachings, the PAB helps the Congregation to advocate for social justice in two ways. Through Community Investments work, the PAB offers low-interest loans to non-profit community organizations that benefit low-income people and underserved communities. The PAB Corporate Responsibility arm monitors the Congregation’s investments and engages in shareholder activities on matters of justice involving corporations in which the Congregation invests.  

Feature photo: Members of the St. Ambrose community get ready to volunteer for YouthWorks.

December 10, 2015. Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) is pleased to announce three new loan investments this quarter, recommended by the Community Investment Committee and approved by the Congregation’s General Council.

The DOF provides a permanent home to six residents with developmental disabilities at The Cottage in Darien, Connecticut. Pictured are residents Ashley and Annie with members of the support staff.

The PAB has granted a loan to the Disability Opportunity Fund (DOF) to help capitalize the fund, which is invested in projects that provide housing and other opportunities for people with disabilities throughout the United States. Based in Albertson, New York, the DOF loans money to real estate developers, communities, and organizations serving the disabilities market, and to any group that helps to create access to housing, schools, or other projects for people with disabilities. Founded by veteran finance professionals, the DOF provides capital and advisory services to its clients.

The PAB’s latest loan to First Nations Oweesta Corporation will enable the Longmont, Colorado-based organization to invest in Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Oweesta is the only Native CDFI intermediary, offering financial products and development services exclusively to Native CDFIs and Native communities.  Oweesta works with indigenous peoples living in some of the most rural locations in the United States, including American Indian Reservations, traditional Native lands, Hawaiian homelands and Alaska Native villages.  

Members of a Native organization participate in a training session.

“Specifically, Oweesta provides training, technical assistance, investments, research, and policy advocacy, helping Native communities to develop an integrated range of asset-building products and services, including financial education and financial products,” according to the organization’s website.

PeopleFund, based in Austin, Texas, creates economic opportunity and financial stability for underserved people by providing access to capital, education and resources to build healthy small businesses. The Adrian Dominican Sisters’ loan, along with investments from other funders, will be used as lending capital across Texas to support underserved small business startups and nonprofits, specifically those run by women, veterans, minorities, and low-income populations.

Gary Lindner, President and CEO of PeopleFund, with one of the organization's outstanding clients, Carlette Satterwhite of Calculator Girls.

“Our goal is to give people the opportunity to turn their talents into a sustainable livelihood and achieve financial stability for themselves and their families,” according to PeopleFund’s website. “We inspire, educate, fund, and elevate clients on the path to prosperity and the American Dream.” PeopleFund offers financial products, business education, and tailored, one-on-one mentoring to entrepreneurs normally left out of the financial mainstream.

Community investments is one aspect of the work of the PAB. The Board, now in its 40th year, also engages in corporate responsibility work. The PAB monitors the Congregation’s investments and, through such means as shareholder resolutions, holds the corporations accountable in such areas as social justice, environmental sustainability, and fair labor practices.