By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor

*Editor’s note: For the sake of transparency, the Neighborhood Community Development Fund is a partner organization with The Northside Chronicle.

The Neighborhood Community Development Fund (NCDF), a Northside non-profit specializing in loans to small businesses and real estate projects in Allegheny County, closed out another successful year with their annual Community & Business Luncheon on Nov. 22 at Rivers Casino.

The event was headlined by a speech from Rep. Summer Lee, the Democratic representative for Pennsylvania’s 12 congressional district which includes Pittsburgh, as well as speeches from NCDF officials and business owners who have worked with them.

The NCDF provides loans to small businesses, affordable housing and commercial real estate projects in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods in Allegheny County. According to the impact report given by NCDF Resource Development Officer Andrew Cheeseboro, 40% of the NCDF’s loans in 2023 went to low-income-owned small businesses, equating to a little more than $1.5 million.

The non-profit also has a particular focus on supporting historically disadvantaged businesses. In 2023, 80% of loans went to Black, Indigenous or person of color (BIPOC)-owned small businesses, and 39% went to women-owned small businesses. This equated to $4.7 million and $2 million in support, respectively.

On the real estate front, 11% of NCDF’s loans in 2023 went to affordable housing, coming out to $2.2 million in support.

Check out the January 2025 issue of The Northside Chronicle for the full story.