Legacy Fund surpasses $1 million in lending capital

Tarrytown, NY A month after wrapping up a year-long 40^th anniversary celebration, the Leviticus Fund said that its Legacy Fund has surpassed $1 million in lending capital.

Launched in 2021, the Legacy Fund received its first donation on Easter Monday of that year from the Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt. Their community was among the founders who in 1983 invested $360,000 to form the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund.

The Legacy Fund now includes 21 members, with donations totaling $1,025,150.

“After four decades, many of our early supporters have elected to convert their investment to a donation and multiply its mission impact,” said Greg Maher, executive director of the Leviticus Fund. “Legacy Fund donations serve as a dollar-for-dollar match when we apply to the federal CDFI Fund for lending capital.”

In addition, by converting a loan to a donation, we can leverage additional borrowing on at least a 3:1 basis.”

Since the inception of the Leviticus Fund, loans from religious communities have been part of the lending capital that has delivered affordable, decent homes; schools and early learning spaces; jobs and opportunities; and health and social service centers to low-income families across five states.

According to sister Peggy Scarano, OP, who serves on the Leviticus Fund’s board of directors, “The Legacy Fund is a permanently restricted fund to be used exclusively for lending capital. Unlike traditional grants, a gift to the Legacy Fund will never be ‘spent down’ – but will keep revolving into communities in need in perpetuity.”

In January, the Legacy Fund received its first gift from an individual Associate Investor in the Leviticus Fund, with the conversion of a $5,000 loan to a donation. Investors will receive notice of the new option to convert their investment to a gift with their annual mailings.

“We are so grateful that our supporters have made the decision to permanently entrust us with their financial resources,” said Sr. Rosemary Jeffries, RSM, president of the Leviticus Fund’s board of directors. “With their support, the Leviticus Fund continues to plant the seeds of justice and assist those who are vulnerable and often forgotten.”

“By pooling their resources, our founders knew they could do more for those with less,” Maher said. “Since then, Leviticus has invested more than $215 million to create, rehabilitate, or preserve homes and childcare centers, charter public schools and job-creating economic development projects in marginalized communities. We have touched thousands of lives in cities, towns, and rural areas across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Vermont.”