Community caring
A couple responds to the challenge
Cotton Cleveland and John Garvey are loyal supporters of the Community Loan Fund, having made an investment and annual donations since 1993.
āBoth of us really value the idea of giving people an opportunity to find independence, believing in the value of ownership and community, and caring about the bigger picture and not just your own picture,ā says John. āWeāve both been very supportive of the concept and how youāve handled that over the years.ā
So, it was little surprise when, in early April, they were among the first donors to our Borrower Stabilization Fund.
This is absolutely a rock-solid organization. You couldnāt be turning your money over to anybody better and more qualified. Itās not all āOh, weāre gonna go out and help these nice people.ā You have to really be sophisticated, buttoned down, and knowledgeable about the business end.
The Borrower Stabilization Fund was our response to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 crisis. We knew the coming months werenāt going to be business as usual and that many of our borrowers would need higher levels of patience and/or technical assistance to keep their homes or businesses.
Cotton said she was eager to help. āThis is a time when everyone is challenged, but people with lower incomes are heavily challenged. We think itās going to go on for a while because this economy is not going to get better right away.ā
Both connect with the Community Loan Fundās work on personal and professional levels.
John, an attorney, has seen in his pro bono cases people struggling so mightily just to make ends meet that theyād never consider owning a home a possibility. Helping people with low incomes buy homes, and then become cooperative co-owners and members of the communities they live in, is, for John, a very compelling mission.
As a person who has led and consulted with for-profit and nonprofit ventures, what appeals to Cotton is not just what the Community Loan Fund does, but how it does it.
āThis is absolutely a rock-solid organization. You couldnāt be turning your money over to anybody better and more qualified,ā she says. āItās not all āOh, weāre gonna go out and help these nice people.ā You have to really be sophisticated, buttoned down, and knowledgeable about the business end.ā
āAs a businesswoman, Iām incredibly appreciative of that.ā
This article was first published in the New Hampshire Community Loan Fundās 2020 annual report.