RSF Social Finance Makes a Loan to Imagine Supported Living Services
SAN FRANCISCO, February 10, 2015 /3BL Media/ - RSF Social Finance (RSF) is pleased to announce a loan to Imagine Supported Living Services, a non-profit organization providing services to adults within Santa Cruz County living with developmental disabilities. RSF financing allowed Imagine to acquire two buildings which will house their administrative headquarters and a community center.
Imagine was founded in 2002 with a mission to empower people with developmental disabilities through service and advocacy. Imagine works cooperatively with individuals and other service agencies to increase access and reduce the barriers which prevent people with disabilities from full inclusion in our society.
Imagine offers services which acknowledge an individual’s strengths and abilities, and supports that individual in planning a life that they find personally rewarding. At Imagine, each person designs and directs their own services to accomplish the goals they set for themselves.
“Imagine focuses on the abilities of their clients, not their disabilities,” says Ted Levinson, Senior Director of Lending at RSF. “Similar to our long-history of work with Camphill Communities, it’s this approach that makes Imagine a true leader in the supported living services industry.”
Imagine finds and secures housing while providing on-going and long-term direct staff support for personal care and tasks, money management, facilitation of social and recreational activities, and medical management. Each month, Imagine provides 11,000 service hours to clients throughout Santa Cruz County.
In addition to direct services, Imagine is also engaged in community-building, advocacy, and collaboration. Their Resource Library offers free check out of communication devices, training materials, therapeutic devices, and other specialized resources to anyone living in Santa Cruz County. Imagine organizes an annual community event which celebrates the diversity and abilities of its community members and is attended by over 300 people. Imagine has mentored several other agencies and has led a collaborative initiative which brings together all the providers in the region in order to increase the quality of services and have the opportunity to share resources and best practices.
RSF financing enabled Imagine to acquire real estate which will house its administrative offices and a community center. The new location provides more space and is more accessible to clients, some of whom visit the offices by public transportation.
“As an agency that seeks to serve individuals with developmental disabilities throughout their lives, we have community integration as a core value and sustainability as an imperative,” says Doug Pascover, Executive Director of Imagine. “The loan we received from RSF helps us plan our finances toward the same far horizon to which we plan our services. It helps us to be the kind of neighbors in our community that we ask our neighbors to be for the people we serve. Working with a lender as mission-driven as we are makes our new financing relationship a real partnership according to our values.”
About RSF Social Finance
Located in San Francisco, CA, RSF Social Finance (RSF) is a financial services organization dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money. Since 1984, the organization has made over $275 million in loans and $100 million in grants to non-profit and for-profit social enterprises working in the areas of Food & Agriculture, Education & the Arts, and Ecological Stewardship. RSF's lending capital comes primarily from 1,500 individuals who have invested $1,000 or more in the organization's Social Investment Fund. Investors earn a competitive return on their money comparable to a certificate of deposit while their funds are deployed to leading social enterprises. To learn more, visit www.rsfsocialfinance.org
About Imagine Supported Living Services
Founded in 2002, Imagine is a non-profit organization providing supported living services to adults with developmental disabilities in Santa Cruz County. Imagine’s mission is to empower people with developmental disabilities through service and advocacy. Imagine works cooperatively with individuals and other service agencies to increase access and reduce the barriers which exclude people with disabilities from full inclusion in our society. To learn more, visit http://imaginesls.org/
Contact
Ted Levinson, Senior Director of Lending
ted.levinson@rsfsocialfinance.org
415.561.6179
Megan Mendenhall, Communications Assistant
megan.mendenhall@rsfsocialfinance.org
415.561.6161
