Contact:

Sandra Gaddy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE V.P. of Advancement

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Inner City Christian Federation President/CEO Announces Retirement

GRAND RAPIDS, MI January 5, 2015 – After 34 years of leading Inner City Christian Federation, President/CEO Jonathan Bradford announced today he will retire September 2015.

In March, 1981, Jonathan Bradford assumed ICCF’s Executive Director’s position for what he thought would be a short six-month time of transition. When Bradford started, there were nine ICCF employees, mostly carpenters and tradesmen focused on the reconstruction of a total of 12 single family houses in the four years from 1978 to 1982.

Today the organization employs 40 professionals in housing development, construction, property management, housing education and counseling and finance. Together they serve over 2200 households across Western Michigan with emergency shelter, rental and home ownership opportunities and broad array of housing and life skill learning opportunities.

“I am profoundly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve the families and neighborhoods of Grand Rapids for these years. The dedication and hard work of the thousands of families with which ICCF has had the privilege of working has been compounded with the caring and generosity of our community. From this unparalleled partnershipmany neighborhoods are once again attractive and safe places to live and the hopes and dreams of our residents, young and old alike, are being realized. In uncountable ways Grand Rapids is a much better place because of our work together,” said Jonathan Bradford

Over Jonathan’s tenure, ICCF has flourished to become a community resource that annually makes a difference for thousands of low-income families in need. Mobilizing philanthropic, governmental and faith community support, ICCF has provided this community with critical resources over the past 34 years.

  • Construction and/or reconstruction of 460 single family homes for low and moderate income homeowners;
  • The Family Haven, established 25 years ago, providing emergency shelter to more than 1,850 homeless families, along with support to equip them to move forward into permanent housing;
  • ICCF owns and manages a total of 168 units of affordable rental housing;

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  • Classroom education for financial literacy, along with individual counselingand advocacy to help people save, build and own assets, developed by ICCF and made available to clients and participants from a number of other non-profit;
  • Tapestry Square, a mixed-use, mixed-income urban neighborhood bringing together commercial, residential and educational opportunities for people across the income spectrum, with 32 rental apartment homes currently occupied and construction just now beginning on 15 townhomes for purchase;
  • Rescuing the D.A. Blodgett Home for Children building from the wrecking ball and restoring it to its original grand appearanceof a hundred years ago.Completed in 2007, the ICCF headquarters has become an anchor in East Hills neighborhood revitalization and a beautiful place of housing opportunity for thousands of families.

ICCF Board President Ted Cox observed recently, “As the oldest non-profit housing development organization in Michigan ICCF has been entrusted with invaluable experience, skills and connections. The ICCF board and staff are both deeply committed to preserving and building on that record toward the goal that someday no one will have to choose between decent housing and other life necessities.”

He went on to say, "Jonathan Bradford has put his faith into action for over 34 years providing leadership to ICCF. This has manifested itself through building homes, transforming neighborhoods and empowering countless lives through housing and life skill education. The Board of Directors thanks him for his years of vision and dedicationto our city and the cause of housing opportunity for all. A search committee has been working and has plans underway to have a new President/CEO in place and provide a smooth transition by late summer 2015

Jonathan Bradford, President/CEO and Ted Cox, President of the Board of Directors, are available for interviews.Learn more about the search process

ICCF is the oldest non-profit affordable housing provider in the state of Michigan. Active in the Grand Rapids area since 1974, the agency serves more than 2200 families a year through its programs and services. Program offerings include Family Haven emergency housing located at 701 Prospect SE (Grand Rapids), 168 units of affordable rental housing, newly constructed homes for purchase, home ownership education and financial counseling. All services are provided in Spanish and English. Visit for more information.

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