The Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) today announced that its leader, Calvin L. Holmes, is leaving the organization at the end of 2024, after nearly 30 years with the organization, including over 26 as President.
The CCLF board has appointed Bob Tucker as its President, effective January 1, 2025. Tucker has been serving as CCLF’s Interim President since November 2022, when Holmes suffered an unanticipated and unfortunate health challenge. Holmes will continue working at CCLF through the end of 2024 and will stay engaged as an advisor in 2025.
“Calvin Holmes is a visionary in the community development finance industry,” said Erik Hall, chair of CCLF’s Board of Directors. “He’s been an extraordinary President for CCLF, growing the loan fund from a tiny $3.7 million non-profit Community Development Financial Institution to an organization nearing $200 million in net assets. He’s been an inspiring leader across the community development landscape, both locally and nationally. Most importantly, he has helped make a tremendous, lasting impact in the many historically disinvested communities that CCLF serves across the Chicago metropolitan area.”
Holmes joined CCLF as Loan Officer in April 1995 and was named Executive Director in June 1998, its second in the organization’s 33-year history. His leadership experience was enhanced early in his career at CCLF as he was a 2003 Leadership Greater Chicago fellow. Holmes also led CCLF to be one of eight organizations worldwide to receive a 2009 MacArthur Foundation Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.
CCLF was bestowed the 2014 Alford-Axelson Award for Non-profit Managerial Excellence and awarded $25 million in unrestricted funds from MacKenzie Scott in 2021 and 2024. During his tenure, CCLF has become one of the nation’s largest CDFIs serving a single metropolitan area. Holmes has led CCLF to originate more than $368 million in affordable loans, leveraging an additional $1.9 billion in public and private capital, supporting over 12,480 units of affordable housing, 13.2 million square feet of commercial retail and community facility space, and creating 7,735 jobs.
An industry leader, Holmes was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Chairman of the CDFI Fund Advisory Board (2013-2017); Vice Chairman of Opportunity Finance Network (2000–2009); and he is currently the Vice Chair of the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs, which aims to leverage its members’ resources to reduce the racial wealth gap. He has served on numerous boards, task forces and committees over three decades which have garnered him many individual leadership awards. He also continues to serve on the boards of several additional national and local nonprofits focused on creating racial, social, and economic equity for under-resourced communities.
“For the past two years, I have been working jointly on my medical recovery and the important work of CCLF, but it’s time now to give my health 100% of my focus,” said Holmes. “Being CCLF’s President has truly been my life’s work, bringing me immense fulfillment, and I know that CCLF has an incredible team in place to carry-on our mission. As I transition into semi-retirement, I am thrilled that CCLF’s Board of Directors has chosen Bob Tucker as the next President. The board and I saw the ‘fire in his belly’ for CCLF’s mission when we hired him over nine years ago.”
Tucker joined CCLF in 2015 as its Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Programs and has more than 15 years of experience working directly for CDFIs. Prior to that, Tucker was a partner at the law firm Chapman and Cutler LLP, where he represented numerous lending institutions, corporations, CDFIs and non-profit organizations while also serving as the law firm’s pro bono chair. In addition to his duties at CCLF, he serves on a variety of local non-profit boards advancing social justice, with a focus on affordable housing and community development.
“We are fortunate to have Bob Tucker taking the helm at CCLF,” said board chair Hall. “As Interim President for nearly two years, Bob worked closely with CCLF’s exceptionally talented staff and a variety of community partners to leverage resources to benefit traditionally overlooked communities. Under his leadership, CCLF had its best lending year ever in 2023, closing over $42 million in loans, and just this fall, JPMorgan Chase made a $10 million low-cost investment in CCLF to relaunch its Communities of Color Fund.”
“The board feels strongly that given Bob’s industry expertise and organizational leadership, coupled with a long-tenured and seasoned management team that includes Chief Financial Officer Angela Dowell, Chief Risk Officer Lycrecia Parks, EVP of External Relations Juan Calixto, and VP of Lending Operations Wendell Harris, CCLF is well-equipped for the future,” added Chuck Walls, long-time CCLF board treasurer. “We know that Bob is committed to deepening CCLF’s impact in the communities it serves and has a clear vision for CCLF in the years ahead. He and the leadership team are well positioned to move CCLF forward for many years to come.”
Tucker’s vision for CCLF involves leveraging CCLF’s strong infrastructure to become a better partner to the people it serves. “At our core, CCLF is a lender and technical assistance provider,” said Tucker. “We’re growing and will enhance our internal capacity to be more responsive to all our customers’ needs, while continuing to deliver outstanding service and products to community developers and grassroots partners serving Chicagoland’s neighborhoods. I look forward to leading CCLF’s fiercely dedicated and talented staff to do just that.”
“Having worked closely with Calvin for so many years and seeing his passion every single day for the work, I am inspired by and committed to our communities and to advancing our mission of helping create communities where people can thrive,” Tucker continued. “Calvin’s impact is lasting, and he will always be with us in our work.”
About CCLF
CCLF is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution with nearly $200 million in assets that provides flexible, affordable financing and technical assistance for community stabilization and development efforts that benefit low- to moderate-income neighborhoods, families and individuals throughout metropolitan Chicago. CCLF was founded in 1991 by a group of visionary social investment advocates, whose aim was to create a nimble, flexible nonprofit lender who would fill the community development credit gaps as they emerged across the city and region. CCLF is designated as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the US Department of the Treasury and is a Member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago as well as many other associations.
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Contacts
Juan Calixto
(312) 252-0424
jcalixto@cclfchicago.org
