Spring 1986 RAIN Page 25 very fundamental social change and those who are calling for the private sector to mend the holes in the social safety net. These are groups that don't normally pass one another's doorways. They don't meet at the office. But they are meeting through the operations of our loan funds, and we've got to forge that relationship into an effective alliance, and recognize, over time, its political potential. Many of us in this room are community organizers turned bankers. But we are also, interestingly, bankers become community organizers. There are a surprising number of people chafing at the bit, straining against the bounds of conventional financial institutions—^people with skills who want to put those skills to work. So we've come from different places and different backgrounds, but we are also people with a common heritage. We areforging a kind ofnew partnership across some very broad divides. We've come in a sense from the major progressive social movements of the last 20 or 30 years. We've come from the civil rights movement that learned that civil rights are not adequate or complete without economic opportunity. We've come from a peace movement that came to understand that there never can be a stable peace as long as there are extraordinary disparities of wealth and economic opportunity—as long as we look on the earth and its resources as commodities belonging to the highest bidder in any quantity that he wants to buy. Likewise we've come from an environmental movement that learned that our efforts to preserve the natural environment will not succeed on a broad scale unless we address legitimate concerns regarding development—unless we distinguish inappropriate from appropriate development, for housing, for jobs, and muster the resources necessary to support that development We are people, then, with a political heritage. Much of this conference will of necessity address the nuts and bolts issues, but we must not only be a competent movement; we must be a conscientious movement. What We’ve Learned What have we learned? First, some of us have learned a lot of things that we never expected to know or thought we wanted to know. We've learned some new skills, and more importantly we've learned that there are real opportunities to put those skills to work. We've learned that community development is possible—^that it's financially as well as socially responsible, that there are viable de^s out there waiting to be financed. Happily we've also learned that there are investors of conscience who are willing to confront some of the difficult questions and contradictions that come to anyone who possesses investment capital. We've learned that there are investors willing to take below the rate of return that the market might give them elsewhere, in order to achieve a social return. We have found that there are a lot of people out there who are looking for the kinds of opportunities that we Ten Steps in Organizing This outline of what's involved in organizing a community loanfund was graciouslyprovided us by Kirby Whitefrom ICE. For a more detailed description ofwhat’s involved, you'll have to waitfor ICE's Community Loan Fund Manual, which is duefor publication later this year. 1. Recruit a broadly representative steering committee, including representives of potential borrowers, potential lenders, and technical assistance providers. Recruitment involves contacting potentially interested individuals and, scheduling one or more informational meetings. 2. Organize the steering committee, with chair person and secretary, and establish three sub-committees: one concerned with assessing needs and planning a lending program {Needs Committee); one concerned with planning the structure of the organization and researching legal issues (Structure Committee); and one concerned with assessing available capital and planning capitalization and fundraising efforts (Capitalization-Fundraising Committee). Sub-committees should report regularly to the entire steering committee and raise basic questions for its consideration. 3. (Needs Committee) Assess social needs; identify potential borrowers, and assess their capital needs; identify a Community Loan Fund technical assistance for borrowers and for the CLF. 4. (Capitalization-Fundraising Committee) Assess available capital; identify potential lenders; identify contacts with potential lenders. 5. (Needs Committee) Draft statement of purpose, geographical scope, and basic lending criteria. 6. (Structure Committee) Evaluate basic structural options. (Will the fund be a membership organization? How will the board of directors be composed? What will be the basic roles of members, board, officers, committees, and staff?) Draft bylaws and articles of incorporation. 7. (Structure Committee) Research state and local regulations. (Will the fund be required to register with any state agency? Will its activities be regulated in any way?) 8. (Needs Committee) Develop staffing plan and prepare tentative operating budget. 9. (Capitalization-Fundraising Committee) Develop capitalization plan. (Set goals, develop timetable, plan approaches to potential lenders, plan “community investment forums.’’) Identify sources of operating funds, and prepare requests for grants or donations. 10. (Structure Committee) File for incorporation. Apply for federal tax-exemption. .Ah...
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