The Local Return DCIF invests directly into Rhode Island communities, helping to ensure that local residents control local assets.
The Local Return Diversified Community Investment Fund anticipates making loans and equity investments between $15,000 and $500,000 into real estate projects or related ventures that create or preserve local ownership of and neighborhood benefit from a community asset.
Investments might help small-scale, first-time resident real estate developers finance their first project, assist small businesses in controlling their real estate, promote shared ownership models, or support nonprofit-driven community development projects.
Projects in census tracts with poverty rates over 20% and diversity rates over 20% will be prioritized. The projects must maintain or create local ownership and/or governance, demonstrate in some way that they have substantial support of neighbors, and align with at least one of the Cooperative’s Impact Themes below.
To prepare community members for investment, our nonprofit partner Local Return offers two educational programs which help to derisk our investment portfolio:
Jumpstart Rhode Island supports new or early-stage, neighborhood-based real estate developers
Anchor the Block (Coming Soon!) helps small, place-based business owners prepare to own their own real estate
We are not currently accepting applications. The Cooperative expects to begin deploying funds after it raises its first $1 million. Sign up here to stay in touch, and consider participating in our Jumpstart pipeline development program.
