African Development Center Expands

In just four years, the African Development Center (ADC), a local not-for-profit has grown from an annual operating budget in 2005 of $10,000 to $850,000 in 2008. ADC’s offices could no longer comfortably accommodate its staff of eight community development professionals and four consultants, and its training programs had to be offered at various sites due to the large demand and space constraints. ADC has learned that the community has great interest in its services, and that ADC can consistently succeed in mobilizing necessary resources. ADC enjoys strong and critical support from Minnesota philanthropy, including The Minneapolis Foundation, as well as the McKnight, Bush, Blandin, Bremer, and St. Paul Travelers Foundations. At the same time, ADC has begun to build more diverse sources of revenue, including governmental grants and fees for services.





ADC purchased a building to develop a service center for a growing, highly entrepreneurial population serving African immigrants and refugees in Minnesota. The building now completely renovated will be a comfortable venue to welcome ADC’s client market. The building and location should support ADC’s mandate as a statewide community developer and its capacity as an innovator.





Park Midway Bank provided financing using a New Markets Tax Credit program that is available with the Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation (MMSDC). The program is offered to borrowers in distressed census tracks for improvements to blighted properties. For more information on the program, call Mike Derus of Park Midway Bank at 651-523-7850.