ABOUT US
Philadelphia Accelerator Fund is a nonprofit loan fund created in 2019 to invest in affordable housing and equitable neighborhoods for Philadelphia. PAF provides flexible financing for affordable housing and works to increase access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers. PAF’s products and services are designed to be flexible and impactful. They can be used for a variety of project types, including mixed-use and mixed income. PAF strives to do things differently: reviewing projects based on their social impact, focusing on reversing traditional capital access barriers, and providing support services to help developers and projects get the capital they need.
GOALS OF PHILADELPHIA ACCELERATOR FUND
- Provide access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers.
- Provide new sources of flexible capital for the production and preservation of affordable housing in Philadelphia.
- Provide financing to fill project gaps and to leverage financing from conventional sources.
- Contribute toward overcoming Philadelphia’s affordability challenges and systemic constraints that have led to unequal distribution of resources.
- Provide business support services for borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.
GOALS OF PHILADELPHIA ACCELERATOR FUND
- Provide access to capital for historically disadvantaged groups, with a focus on Black and Brown developers.
- Provide new sources of flexible capital for the production and preservation of affordable housing in Philadelphia.
- Provide financing to fill project gaps and to leverage financing from conventional sources.
- Contribute toward overcoming Philadelphia’s affordability challenges and systemic constraints that have led to unequal distribution of resources.
- Provide business support services for borrowers to ensure they have the resources they need to succeed.
SOCIAL IMPACT
PAF’s mission is to support the production and preservation of affordable housing and community development projects in the City of Philadelphia to benefit low-income people and low-income communities.
PAF seeks to carry out its mission by offering financial products to increase opportunities for:
- Historically disadvantaged groups with a focus on Black and Brown developers
- Smaller-scale developers
- Nonprofit developers
- Projects with deep housing affordability and/or permanent affordability
- Projects that provide affordability with minimal public subsidy
MARKET ALIGNMENT
PAF partners with borrowers who share a strong social-impact focus, and who are committed to the equitable development of Philadelphia’s communities.
The primary project types that will be served by PAF’s products are:
- Naturally occurring affordable and workforce production and preservation
- Mixed-income and mixed-use projects in under-served communities
- Subsidized affordable housing production and preservation
PAF seeks to incorporate flexible terms and underwriting standards, to provide opportunities for projects in neighborhoods with lower property values, and for developers with smaller balance sheets. PAF intends to serve several market segments that each play an important role in Philadelphia’s affordable housing ecosystem.
KEY STAFF
JOJY VARGHESE
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jojy Varghese has dedicated himself towards the betterment of his hometown and strives to implement innovative and effective policies and initiatives here in the city. A graduate of Central High School, Penn State University and the University of Pennsylvania, Jojy started his career in management consulting, focusing on program support for large scale transformational projects, serving both public sector and commercial clients locally here at Accenture and in DC with Booz Allen Hamilton.
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After earning his MPA from the Fels Institute of Government, Jojy was selected to be Chief of Staff for PA State Rep. Tony Payton Jr, bringing a widely diverse range of experiences and strategies to the 179th Legislative District, serving the lower Northeast and parts of North Philadelphia.
Jojy has worked in numerous departments within the City of Philadelphia, starting in the late 90s as an intern for then Mayor Rendell. In 2012, he completed the Political Leaders Fellowship with the Center for Progressive Leadership. He has worked for the Mayor of Reading, PA as the City’s first ever Deputy Director of Housing and Real Estate, and in 2017, was selected as a 40 Under 40 by City and State. For the past 6 years, Jojy has led the Community and Economic Development department and CED Committee at the Urban Affairs Coalition, convening several subcommittees of community development experts tasked to revitalize and advocate for Philadelphia’s low and moderate income communities.
Jojy has recently accepted a position as the Chief of Staff to the President and CEO at Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), along with being appointed Executive Director of the Philadelphia Acceleration Fund.
KEY STAFF
GREGORY HELLER
Gregory Heller is Executive Director of Philadelphia Accelerator Fund and Senior Vice President of Community Investment at Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), where he manages the agency’s affordable housing products and programs. In FY2020 PHDC had over $92M of funds invested in projects in pre-development or construction, representing over 2,300 new or preserved housing units.
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PHDC has sought to innovate new approaches to affordable housing investment, including in 2019 when PHDC’s workforce housing program was recognized with the Urban Land Institute’s national Robert H. Larson Housing Policy Leadership Award. Previously Greg served as CEO of American Communities Trust, working with clients in over 25 U.S. cities on social-impact real estate development and investment; as a Senior Advisor at Econsult Solutions, an economics consulting group; and as Director of the Enterprise Center Community Development Corporation. Greg serves on the Urban Land Institute’s national Public-Private Partnership Product Council. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mohamed “Mo” Rushdy (Chair)
Managing Partner,
The Riverwards Group
Kafi Lindsay (Vice Chair)
Regional Community Development Manager,
TD Bank
Charles Lomax (Treasurer)
Chairman & CEO, Lomax Real Estate Partners
Dr. Jennifer Bellot (Secretary)
Associate Dean of Academic-Practice Integration,
Jefferson College of Nursing
Paul Badger
President & CEO,
The Badger Group
Dana Brown
President of Consumer Services,
Univest Bank and Trust Co.
Vidhi Anderson
Director of Housing,
HumanGood
Suzanne S. Mayes, Esq.
Co-Chair, Public & Project Finance, Cozen O’Connor
Matthew Stitt
Director, PFM Group Consulting LLC
EX OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS
Anne Fadullon
Director, Philadelphia Department of Planning & Development
Karen Fegely
Deputy Director,
Philadelphia Department of Commerce
David Thomas
President,
Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation
Jennifer Lucas Crowther
Vice President of Product and Resource Development, PIDC
Robert McDermott
CFO, Philadelphia City Council
1234 Market Street, 16th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
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