At IFF, our public policy initiatives and research are grounded in the belief that the nonprofit sector is one of the most powerful instruments of change in our society. Strengthen nonprofits, we believe, and you strengthen the communities they serve.

As a leading CDFI, we advocate for community development finance tools, such as the U.S. Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund and New Markets Tax Credits, which help us to meet the financing needs of nonprofits serving low-income communities.

As a stakeholder in the charter school and early care and education sectors, we join other advocates in those fields to support funding and policy initiatives that improve the operating environment for nonprofits in these and other IFF target markets.

IFF also conducts independent research for and about the nonprofit sector, helping leaders make informed decisions about programs and services, resources, and public policy. Recent examples of our research include:

• Choosing Performance: An Analysis of School Location and Performance in Milwaukee which analyzes the performance, location, and enrollment of Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), charter schools and certain private schools participating in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) in 2008-2009.
• Public School in St. Louis: Place, Performance, and Promise, which analyzes the performance, location, and enrollment of both St. Louis Public Schools and charter schools in 2007-08.
• Here and Now 2: Change We Can Measure, which examines the performance and distribution of Chicago neighborhood schools between 2004 and 2008.
• Missouri Nonprofits: Building Capacity for the 21st Century, which establishes a baseline of data on the finances and management of small to midsized nonprofits that provide direct services to the Missouri public, and which was conducted in partnership with the Nonprofit Services Center in St. Louis, MO.
• Opportunities and Challenges: A Community Perspective on Nonprofit Services for Latinos and Community Need, which documents the availability of services to Latinos in the Chicago metropolitan, and which was conducted jointly with the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights.

For more information about IFF’s public policy work and research, call Jose Cerda III, Vice President of Public Policy and Communications at 866 629 0060.