BlueHub Loan Fund Receives $3.8 Million in Financial Awards from CDFI Fund

October 2nd, 2024

CategoriesBlueHub Announcements, Community Development Financing

BlueHub will increase lending for healthy food access, affordable and supportive housing and other assets in disinvested areas

BlueHub Capital today announces its affiliate, BlueHub Loan Fund, a leading national nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI), has been awarded over $3.8 million in funding from the Department of the US Treasury’s CDFI Fund. BlueHub is one of two organizations (of 357) to receive funding in each of the four grant categories.

BlueHub Loan Fund helps connect low-income communities with flexible financing to generate equitable and inclusive economic opportunity. It provides financing to affordable housing projects, community health centers, schools, grocery stores and other community assets across the United States.

With this award, BlueHub will expand the scale and reach of its flexible financing to address the challenges faced by the low-income people and communities it has served for nearly 40 years.

“BlueHub Loan Fund uses innovative financial tools to create wealth and opportunity, and fill unmet community needs,” said Elyse Cherry, CEO of BlueHub Capital. “This award acknowledges our commitment to these goals and boosts our ability to deliver capital to transformative real estate projects that benefit low-income communities and individuals.”

BlueHub concentrates its lending in low-income communities where flexible capital is scarce, offering loan products designed to fill financing gaps other lenders cannot address.

“BlueHub is a life-cycle lender, specializing in early-stage investment and bringing high-impact projects from concept to completion, and we’re thrilled to receive this award to further that work,” said Karen Kelleher, President of BlueHub Loan Fund. “A primary focus of this award will be meeting the significant demand for affordable housing financing to build and preserve apartments and homeownership opportunities for low and very-low income individuals.”

BlueHub Loan Fund’s $3,835,000 in CDFI Fund awards include:

A $1,350,000 Healthy Food Financing Initiative-Financial Assistance award to finance the development, enhancement and expansion of grocery stores and other retail providers in food deserts.
A $1,250,000 Financial Assistance award to increase lending volume in longstanding core markets across the country.
A $750,000 Disability Fund-Financial Assistance award to expand affordable and accessible housing options amid rising homelessness, housing costs and the opioid epidemic. Prioritizing permanent supportive housing solutions, BlueHub aims to lend to projects that provide housing stability with supportive services and promote community integration.
A $485,000 Persistent Poverty Counties-Financial Assistance award to support lending in counties with high instances of poverty.

The CDFI Fund awarded 357 organizations $408.2 million in FY 2024.

BlueHub Loan Fund is rated ‘A+’ by S&P Global Ratings.

About BlueHub Capital
BlueHub Capital is a mission-driven, nonprofit community development finance organization focused on building healthy communities where low-income people live and work. BlueHub uses innovative financial tools to support projects that make communities more vibrant places to live through four distinct programs: BlueHub Loan Fund (community development financing), BlueHub SUN (foreclosure relief), BlueHub Energy (clean energy access) and One Percent for America (citizenship financing).