The Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF) (formerly the Low Income Housing Fund) is one of the most productive community development financial institutions in the nation. In 2003, LIIF brought approximately $145 million to the community development agenda - $85 million of its own assets and an additional $60 million in capital administered for other institutions. LIIF's operations were 91% self-sufficient in FY ‘03 through earnings on loans and technical assistance contracts.

LIIF's focus is four-pronged: affordable housing, child care, workforce development, and education. LIIF focuses on communities with the greatest need, using tools and programs that offer a real chance at economic independence. Since 1984, LIIF has supported over 43,000 units of affordable housing, 11,700 spaces of child care, nearly 900 students in educational facilities, and over one million square feet of commercial space. Ninety-five percent of this activity benefits low income families, while 75 percent assists the very poor.

Since 1998, the San Francisco Child Care Facilities Fund (CCFF) at LIIF has been offering flexible financing to child care providers, as well as technical assistance around facilities development and fiscal management. Since its inception, the CCFF has provided $14.5 million in grants and loans to support over 8,000 quality child care spaces (2,800 of which were new) and trained almost 2,000 child care providers.

Based on the success of the CCFF, and the need for child care facilities in New York City, LIIF launched the New York Child Care Seed Fund in early 2003. The Child Care seed Fund offers training, technical assistance, and early stage financing to child care providers in New York City. In early 2003, LIIF also launched the ABCD Fund to enable child care centers throughout California to meet the costs of facilities development and to assist them with their long-term financing needs. The ABCD Fund is a component of the ABCD Initiative to create a comprehensive child care facilities financing system.