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Impact Lending

Flexible capital fuels growth

What We Do > Impact Lending

As the employment social enterprise field matures, so does the need for flexible capital to grow, seize new opportunities, and better serve employees.

In response to demand from our employment social enterprise partners, REDF launched its Impact Lending Practice in 2017 to provide an important tool to accelerate the growth of the field. REDF is demonstrating a model for how flexible loan terms combined with technical assistance can improve borrower performance and attract new sources of capital to employment social enterprises.

The REDF Impact Investing Fund (RIIF) is a 501(c)(3) debt fund that provides loan capital and technical assistance to nonprofit and for-profit employment social enterprises. RIIF supports borrowers to improve their financial sustainability and strengthen their businesses so they can employ and empower more individuals striving to chart a new course in life.

RIIF is aligned with our existing venture philanthropy portfolio, and targets the following industries:

  • Alternative Staffing
  • Recycling, Cleaning and Maintenance
  • Consumer Goods/Retail
  • Food Services
  • Manufacturing
Impact Lending Overview

Eligibility

Employment social enterprises that meet the following eligibility criteria are encouraged to contact Emilie Linick, Director of Impact Lending at ELinick@redf.org:

  • Three years of operation
  • Current or demonstrated path to profitability with growing profit margins
  • Positive sales growth
  • Strong management track record

FAQ

Please download our Impact Lending FAQ.

Loans Closed-to-Date

To date, eight loans totaling over $1.3M have been put to work to accelerate social enterprise growth.

View Impact Loans

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