Our Solutions
Lo·cus: noun;
a particular position, point,
or place
We’re defined by our commitment to place.
Our Approach
What Place-Based Means to Us
We believe we must understand the unique challenges of every community we work with to find a solution that meets their unique needs. Too often, community development organizations attempt to “fix” a place without the partnerships or time spent to fully grasp the opportunities and assets that exist.
The fact is that communities know best what they need but often lack the necessary resources to drive impactful change.
We believe working as a unified community development organization puts us in a unique position to go deep in partnership with communities to help them achieve the long-term, equitable prosperity they envision.
Our process starts with finding like-minded partners in a place. We want to talk to the organizations who already understand community strengths, needs, and visions. Once we know who the changemakers are, we listen. As our potential role in realizing those visions takes shape, we offer our unique expertise, products, and services as tools to make real impact possible.
We want...
- To work in communities where our guidance is welcomed. As we engage in new places, we’ll nurture existing partnerships and build new ones across multiple sectors to gain the trust of communities.
- To work in communities where the capital system is not working for all. To support our prioritization of equitable access to capital and resources, we’ll use metrics like the CDFI Investment Area Criteria to focus our activity in our service areas.
- To address the most pressing community-identified opportunities. We partner with communities with shared visions for the future or a desire to partner with us to clearly define those visions.
- To work through community-embedded organizations. We’re looking for partner organizations that can help build a pipeline of community-informed opportunities.
- To be catalytic We strive to rally like-minded institutions or businesses that have demonstrated their commitment to or interest in unlocking their capital for their communities.
- To support community partners that are committed to equity and inclusion. Our partners will be values-aligned and actively employ the practices of DEI in a way that is readily observable in their engagement with communities.
Community Development Financing
Financing
Equitable Prosperity
Locus is a community development financial institution (CDFI), which means we focus our lending activity in places where the capital system is not working for everyone. Whether it’s a small business, housing development, solar array, or neighborhood market, the projects we finance are making a real impact in communities where people live, work, and raise their families.
Locus is also focused on the future of community development finance, including the use of emerging tools like guarantees. We serve as the program manager for the Community Investment Guarantee Pool, a novel financing tool with a national reach focused on small business, affordable housing, and climate solutions.
Learn about our approachConsulting & Innovation
It Takes More than Capital
Prioritizing relationships with community partners and stakeholders is key to gaining a full understanding of their needs and delivering impactful results. That means our Community Solutions team starts with a discovery process; we lead with a conversation and let community visions guide our next steps.
In addition to our consultative work on the ground, our Impact Investment Services team partners with embedded, mission-driven community organizations to design and manage place-based funds that increase access to capital and resources.
Learn more