Love Impact, Inc. was founded and established in November 2009 by Bishop Lester Love and Chery Harrison. They currently serve as President and Vice President respectively. The Mission of Love Impact, Inc. is to positively impact the New Orleans community through love and positive social action. We will consistently develop projects that foster caring for “community capital” through social advocacy, youth education and mentoring, financial empowerment, and home ownership/retention initiatives. The ultimate goal of Love Impact, Inc. is to create wealth and expand economic opportunities which will promote neighborhood improvement, enhancing quality affordable housing. By strengthening the business community, Love Impact will: • Extend credit to low and moderate income people, consumer, small business, and community development projects. • Foster holistic, broad-based community economic development as well as the development of capital within low wealth areas/communities. • Provide technical assistance to the borrower before and after the loan to ensure the success of the loan and expand the business capacity of the borrower. • Facilitate community economic and social development through a myriad of educational enhancement programs and projects. • Empower individuals and communities to gain access to credit and capital. • Provide assessment of community-based lending patterns and develop target strategies for neighborhood revitalization. • Coordinate development activities in target area (New Orleans) Love Impact has identified New Orleans as its target city. The Greater New Orleans Community Data Center’s repopulation study has identified several communities where repopulation is well below 75% of pre-Katrina population. In other areas, where repopulation has been significant, the sudden change in the economic make-up of the community causes the economy to be unstable. “Housing costs skyrocketed in the New Orleans area after Katrina. The multiple levee failures and hurricane force winds destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes causing an immediate escalation in home prices and rental rates for the remaining habitable housing (New Orleans Metro Area Housing Affordability, Allison Plyer, Elaine Ortiz, and Kathy Pettit; October 13, 2009).” This same study goes on to state how high housing costs can limit a region’s ability to attract and retain essential components of the workforce necessary to sustain a healthy economy. When combined, these factors adversely influence traditional types of development scenarios but they could provide opportunities for non-traditional approaches to neighborhood revitalization. Impact is in the perfect position to service this unique set of circumstances.