Rural Community Assistance Corporation 2015 Annual Report

RURAL VALUES

Leadership • Collaboration • Commitment • Quality • Integrity

M E M B E R S

Elizabeth Moore, NVVickie Oldman-John, NMJohn Sheehan, CAGary Severson, COMartin Miller, WAFrank Bravo, CARichard Elías, AZJon D. Warner, UT

P R E S I D E N T

Joe Herring, ID

V I C E P R E S I D E N T

David É. Provost, NY

S E C R E TA RY

Nalani Fujimori Kaina, HI

T R E A S U R E R

Rachel Morse, AK

FY 15 Board of Directors

Creating vibrant, healthy and enduring rural communities

Dear RCAC friends,

During the first year of our Strategic Plan, we continued to build programs to implement new, strategic directions. Looking back on 2015, there is much to celebrate as we worked to make rural communities vibrant, healthy and enduring.

Housing: Last year, 18 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Mutual Self-Help Housing Program organizations renewed grants totaling more than $19 million. In addition, seven new self-help grantees were awarded grants totaling more than $2 million. RCAC staff worked on two housing developments that secured $23.5 million in financing. We passed through funds or managed more than $2.5 million in resources for 85 housing counseling agencies. As a loan packaging intermediary we helped 44 low income families secure financing through the USDA Rural Development 502 direct loan program.

Environmental: In our environmental program, 30 plus small communities secured more than $20 million in financing to upgrade their water and wastewater systems. RCAC staff helped more than 100 water systems to come into compliance with Safe Drinking Water Act standards. Nine communities adopted rate studies that resulted in a $1.8 million increase in revenue, and 18 income surveys were completed to lower financing costs for new systems. We installed nearly 150 water bottle filling stations in schools to give students better access to safe drinking water. Staff also began work on five new regionalization projects to build relationships among 15 small communities that want to make their infrastructure more sustainable.

Loan Fund: Our loan fund closed 40 loans totaling almost $30 million, supporting housing development, environmental infrastructure, community facilities and small businesses. In addition, staff closed 22 small loans so families could replace wells that had gone dry as a result of the drought.

Training: Training is a big piece of our work, and staff trained more than 7,500 people last year who received almost 40,000 hours of training. We held a Tribal water conference and par-ticipated in the National Self-Help Housing Conference. We initiated a new program we call the Tribal Housing Excellence Academy, and the first cohort of students representing seven reservations graduated.

Community and economic development: Another new initiative, Building Rural Economies, is working with six communities to create an entrepreneurial culture and support new local business development. We are working with two Tribes in this program. One of the Tribes launched a construc-tion company that now employs six Tribal members.

The balance of this report will look at five projects that demonstrate our impact and reflect our core values. Our staff members reflect these values in their work, and we are particularly proud of their commitment to the organization and the communities we serve. Of course none of this would be possible without our generous funders’ support.

It is a pleasure to work with the staff and our dedicated board of directors as we improve the quality of life in the rural West.

Sincerely,

FinancialsSupportersA letter from our CEO

Stanley Keasling Chief Executive Officer

http://www.rcac.org/about-rcac/strategic-plan/http://www.rcac.org/about-rcac/strategic-plan/

LEADERSHIP identifies innovative strategies to further rural community and economic development and inspires partners to achieve great outcomes

COLLABORATION achieves superior results by respectfully and inclusively identifying partners

COMMITMENT works with passion and dedication to improve rural communities and the lives of their low-income residents

QUALITY produces exceptional work products to help our partners meet their goals

INTEGRITY practices the highest professional standards and cultural competency in our work

The following stories from 2015 demonstrate our core values and the impact they have on rural communities throughout the West.

RCAC’s Core Values

Top: Tulare water operators gather to discuss water issues. Bottom: A small Tulare County water system.

Leadership

“Let’s not lose sight of why we are here: water, water, water.”

—Alex Marroquin, Board President, Orosi PUD

Tulare County Regionalization

Rural communities, like those in northern Tulare County, rely on small water systems that often struggle to supply residents with safe, affordable water, particularly when water becomes contami-nated, wells go dry or aging infrastructure needs to be replaced. As California regulates more contaminants and enforces more ground water regulations, regional collaboration gives rural communities options to share managerial, infrastructure and/or treatment costs. In 2015, RCAC staff helped the Cutler, East Orosi, Monson, Orosi, Seville, Sultana and Yettem communities form the Northern Tulare County Water Alliance, opening the door for shared resources and solutions. With RCAC’s assistance, these com-munities are drafting an agreement to form a Joint Powers Agency. Next, the group will seek funding for a new surface water treat-ment plant, which will provide them with a long-term, safe, reliable and affordable water source.

Native Capital Access

In 2012, RCAC entered into a promising partnership with Native Capital Access, a Native Community Development Financial Institution. RCAC already has a long history of providing technical expertise to Tribal communities. This unique collaboration was a chance to expand its efforts to bring affordable housing to Tribes. Similarly, Native Capital Access has strong leadership, expertise, staff and consultants, but it still faced size and capital constraints. Both organizations hoped to increase the capital they provide for critical infrastructure, housing and community facilities on Tribal lands. Together, RCAC and Native Capital Access also developed The Tribal Housing Excellence (THE) Academy, an effective training and technical assistance program that helps build Tribal housing organizations’ housing development capacity.

Collaboration

“Our collaboration with RCAC is deep and wide! It’s so meaningful to be able to talk and strategize with leaders.“ —Dave Castillo, CEO, Native Capital Access

Tribal Housing Excellence Academy participants enjoy the graduation celebration.

Commitment

“THE Academy has greatly benefited [us] … with direct examples of the do’s and don’ts of tribal housing development.” —Joseph Kunkel, Project Manager, SDTHA

Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Authority (SDTHA)

The Tribal Housing Excellence (THE) Academy offered four weeks of intensive training and coaching to nine Tribal housing organizations last year. One participant, the Santo Domingo Tribal Housing Author-ity in New Mexico, is fully committed to applying its new skills—it secured low income housing tax credits, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development HOME funds and other additional financing, including a loan commitment from Native Capital Access, to build a 41-unit rental housing project. SDTHA faces obstacles to build sustainable and affordable housing on its lands. The staff came to recognize—through THE Academy’s instruction—the many resourc-es they already had and how to set priorities. The staff also used THE Academy coaches for technical assistance, such as developing a re-quest for proposals and scope of work for a tax credit development consultant. Housing construction began in spring, 2016.

Top: A rendering of SDTHA’s rental housing project. Bottom: SDTHA staff.

Quality

“We’ve been doing R&D for years, perfecting our process, and we are excited to be breaking ground on the Puff Factory.” —Jacqueline Alexander, principal, Puff Factory

Puff Factory loan in Oregon

RCAC’s $5.3 million loan to Oregon orchard owner Jacqueline Alexander will bring 41 full-time jobs to the area around Hood River. The loan supports the Puff Factory’s construction, a facility that will process, package and ship freeze-dried fruit products. This will allow the company to enter the $36 billion snack food produc-tion industry, which has expanded 3.6 percent during the last five years when many industries were in decline. Starbucks, among other companies, has already inquired whether the Puff Factory would produce snack products, smoothie and tea flavorings. The Puff Factory also gives orchardists in the region the opportunity to command a higher return on their quality fruit products, which are currently sold to juice producers at a fraction of the value of freeze dried fruit.

Jacqueline Alexander, Puff Factory owner, in her orchard.

Integrity

“IACET Accredited Providers are an elite group of educators dedicated to quality in continuing education and training.” —John P. Spitler, IACET commissioner

IACET Accredited Trainings

RCAC is a leader in training water and wastewater operators and managers in best practices—from water chlorination to board member ethics. RCAC has been conducting workshops and training since 1979. In 2015 alone, RCAC conducted 220 plus workshops, conferences and online courses. After a rigorous and lengthy appli-cation process, RCAC received IACET (International Association for Continuing Education & Training) certification, which allows it to award CEUs, course credits similar in weight to college credits, for IACET-certified trainings. Moreover, unlike most IACET applicants, RCAC earned the certification upon its first attempt, a testament to years of experience conducting training and the hard work and attention to detail that went into developing the pilot course, poli-cies and procedures manual and application.

Neil Worthen, RCAC rural development specialist, teaches a water operator workshop.

The following is a summary of information contained in RCAC’s annual financial statements for fiscal years 2015 and 2014. Complete financial statements with the associated independent auditor’s report are available at www.rcac.org.

Condensed Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2015 2014

A S S E T S

cash and investments $ 20,750,176 $ 21,049,085

loans receivable, net 59,248,686 56,907,886

grants, contracts and other receivables 3,154,963 2,436,210

fixed assets 2,847,654 2,713,666

other assets 4,226,760 2,880,877

total assets $ 90,228,239 $ 85,987,724

L I A B I L I T I E S A N D N E T A S S E T S

accounts payable & accrued liabilities $ 2,205,056 $ 2,693,572

grants payable 1,124,741 1,122,131

notes and bonds payable 54,044,339 51,998,446

net assets 32,854,103 30,173,575

total liabilities and net assets $ 90,228,239 $ 85,987,724

Condensed Statements of Activity

for the 12 Months Ending September 30, 2015 2014

R E V E N U E

grants and contracts $ 13,262,779 $ 12,059,855

loan fees and interest 3,494,374 2,972,477

investment income 110,167 153,861

other 44,899 257,697

total revenue $ 16,912,219 $ 15,443,890

E X P E N S E S

loan fund $ 2,031,986 $ 2,226,148

housing 3,240,044 3,242,238

community & environmental 5,556,047 4,294,412

other programs 594,742 774,359

fundraising 268,006 247,675

rental operations 149,375 132,053

management and general 2,391,491 2,431,485

total expenses $ 14,231,691 $ 13,348,370

increase in net assets $ 2,680,528 $ 2,095,520

consisting of:

change in unrestricted net assets $ 2,717,391 $ 1,612,429

change in temporarily restricted net assets (36,863) 483,091

$ 2,680,528 $ 2,095,520

FinancialsFinancial Information

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Five-Year History of Total Assets Millions of Dollars

Five-Year History of Net Assets Millions of Dollars

http://www.rcac.org/

FinancialsSupporters

P R I VAT E

• Ally Bank• American Express• Anonymous donors• Association of California Water Agencies• Bank of America• Bank of the West• Bellagio Resort• Beyond Shelter, Inc.• Blue Planet Network• Burbank Housing Development Corp.• Burney Water System• California Bank & Trust• California Coalition for Rural Housing• California Human Development• California Municipal Finance Authority• California Nevada Community Action

Partnership• California United Bank• Canterbury, LLC• Catholic Health Initiatives• CIT Bank• Citi Business Services• Comerica Bank• Community & Shelter Assistance Corp.

of Oregon• Community Economics, Inc.• Conejos County Clean Water, Inc.• Dignity Health• Dominican Sisters of Hope• Enterprise• Erich & Hannah Sachs Foundation• First Foundation Bank• Ford Foundation• Golden State Acquisition Fund, LLC• Hana Water Systems, LLC• Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods, LLC• Housing Assistance Council• Housing California

• Insight Center for Community Economic Development

• Jacumba Community Services District• Jennifer Speers• JP Morgan Chase Bank• Kawela Plantation Homeowners

Association• Klean Kantene• Mary Ahlstrom Environmental• McCune Charitable Foundation• Meetings & Concierges Source, LLC• Mercy Investment Services, Inc.• Merrick Bank Corporation• Minnesota Housing Partnership• Morgan Stanley Bank• Na Kupa’a O Kuhio• Nalco• Nalgene• National Development Council• National Water Research Institute• NeighborWorks America• Nevada Rural Housing Authority• Opportunity Finance Network• Pace Engineering• Pacific Western Bank• PG Environmental, LLC• PNC Bank• Rabobank• Rasmuson Foundation• Religious Communities Investment Fund• Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Inc.• Rural Community Innovations• Rural Development Initiatives• Rural LISC• San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council• Sandy Acres Mobile Home Park• Santa Rosa Rancheria• Self-Help Enterprises• Sierra County Waterworks • Sierra Health Foundation

• Sisters of the Holy Cross• Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus & Mary• S.L. Gimbel Foundation• St. Joseph Health System• Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation• The California Endowment• The Community Foundation• The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity

of the Incarnate Word• The Environmental Justice Coalition

for Water• The FB Heron Foundation• The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia• Trinity Health Corporation• Union Bank• US Bank• Washington Mutual• Weingart Foundation• Wells Fargo Bank• West Dakota Water Development District• WSOS Community Action Commision, Inc.• Zions Bank

U. S . G O V E R N M E N T

• U.S. Dept. of State• U.S. Dept. of Agriculture• U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services• U.S. Dept. of Housing & Urban Development• U.S. Dept. of Labor• U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, SBLF• U.S. Dept.of the Treasury, CDFI Fund• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

S TAT E , LO C A L A N D T R I B A L

• Arizona Dept. of Environmental Quality• Bear River Rancheria• Cahil Dehe Rancheria• California Dept. of Community Services

and Development

• California Dept. of Public Health• California Dept. of Water Resources• California Housing Finance Agency• California State Water Resources

Control Board• City of Blanding• City of Calistoga• City of Williams• County of San Mateo• County of Santa Cruz• Dept. of Hawaiian Home Lands• Hawaii Dept. of Health• Honolulu Board of Water Supply• Idaho Dept. of Environmental Quality• Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel• Indian Health Services—California• La Posta Band of Mission Indians• Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians• New Mexico Environment Dept.• New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority• Nooksack Indian Tribe• Olene Walker Housing Trust Fund• Pala Giving Program• Pauma Band of Mission Indians• Pueblo de Cochiti Housing Authority• Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians• San Diego County Water Authority• San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians• Santa Rosa Rancheria• Smith River Rancheria• Southern Indian Health Council• Spokane Indian Housing Authority• Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation• Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino• Town of Waterville• Tulare County• Washington State Dept. of Ecology • Washington State Dept. of Health• Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

Supporters

Rural Community Assistance Corporation 3120 Freeboard Drive, Suite 201, West Sacramento, CA 95691 Office: (916) 447-2854 • Fax: (916) 447-2878

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