​Renaissance Community Loan Fund, a statewide non-profit community lender, has been awarded $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. The grant is part of the highly competitive 2020 CDFI Program, which was established to serve low-income communities across the country through financial and technical assistance.
 
RCLF, which provides tailored mortgage and business lending options, along with personalized financial counseling for all of its clients, will use the award to expand accessibility to its products and services across Mississippi. RCLF is the only Community Development Financial Institution located in Mississippi with 100% of its activities remaining in Mississippi. RCLF’s primary objective is to expand economic opportunity to all communities in Mississippi.
 
“The CDFI award will allow RCLF to continue our responsible and affordable lending in Mississippi,” said Kimberly LaRosa, president and CEO of Renaissance Community Loan Fund. “We are committed to the communities in which we live and serve, especially those areas in the state that are often underserved or not served.”
 
For information on Renaissance Community Loan Fund and its lending programs that are available throughout Mississippi, visit www.rclfms.com.

The Renaissance Community Loan Fund (RCLF) Family has spent the past week watching the painful events taking place throughout our country, and we are heartbroken. At RCLF, we believe that Martin Luther King, Jr. was right when he said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
 
This country has been through so much this year with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit black communities harder due in part to the social inequities that exist in this country. We continue to witness racism, oppression, injustice and hate towards People of Color, which has led to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others before them. We share in the outrage of these deaths and mourn the destruction of communities and the division in our country.  
 
The RCLF Family is going to listen, learn and advocate for the inclusion of People of Color in our communities. As a mission driven organization, we will continue to serve the underserved communities, building equity and relationships and providing needed financial education and resources. We will work together with those in the community to ensure the fair treatment and justice for all people, so that together we can benefit from the gifts of diversity. Our strength is our diversity and we must continue to build on this foundation, which is fundamental to our future as a society and as a business.
 
Renaissance Community Loan Fund stands with you.

​Renaissance currently partners with Housing Authorities within the State of Mississippi, so that participants in the voucher programs can pursue the dream of homeownership. Renaissance works with clients on financial and credit stability to achieve their goals. Homeownership builds community and promotes family self-sufficiency, which results in economic development for our State.

Renaissance Community Loan Fund officials proudly celebrated the ribbon cutting of its new 10,000 square foot corporate office at 8917 Lorraine Road in Gulfport. The newly constructed facility nearly doubles the amount of space for the company, which was previously housed in the Knight Nonprofit Center since its inception in 2006.
 
Renaissance has grown tremendously from what began as a small nonprofit created to help residents get back into homes after Katrina. Now a nationally recognized Community Development Financial Institution, Renaissance specializes in assisting low-to-moderate income and credit-challenged borrowers achieve homeownership or become business owners throughout the entire state of Mississippi. The new office complements and supports this continued growth.
 
“We are very excited about the opportunities this new space provides Renaissance,” said Kimberly LaRosa, president and CEO of Renaissance Community Loan Fund. “In addition to investing in ourselves through equity in the building, we now have more work space for our team members, more meeting flexibility with multiple conference rooms and larger, more frequent homeownership and business classes in our beautiful new classroom. This is a huge milestone for us and will be a large factor in Renaissance’s continued success.”


​Contact Information
Denise Carver, Director or Administration & Marketing
Renaissance Community Loan Fund
(228) 896-3386, ext. 107
dcarver@rclfms.com