b'MEDA acts with AUDACITY, unflinchingly being risk-takers whoing loan recipients to defer payments, assisted with COVID-19 lead with courage. loans and grants, and offered scores of Mission corridor ven-tures technical assistance so they could best weather the storm. In an audacious and immediate pivot when the pandemic hit, MEDA got staff buy-in and created three Action Teams aroundTo determine how this work was moving along, Evaluation con-income, housing and business. Family Success Coaches of theducted a 2020 year-end assessment to improve the efficiency MissionPromiseNeighborhoodjoinedthesenewlyformedof these teams. teams. These coaches, still serving as connectors to free resources, hadforyearsbeenplacedatcommunityhubscomprisingStriving to close gaps in public information and community eight schools and three early learning and care centers acrossoutreach, MEDA harnessed the power of its social media chan-the neighborhood. To streamline this shift, the Evaluation teamnels. A partnership was created with the Latinx Center of Excel-determinedprospectivebarriersviafocusgroupswithourlenceattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanFranciscotooffer weeklybilingual,culturallyrelevantFacebookLivesessions A anceived obstacles could be addressed.theC itsT Ycoaches so that any per ActionTeammeantcommunitytograndopeningI withtheCity,partnersand TheUDA for ourcelebration,building at Casa Adelante - covering a variety of topics. There were even a pair of virtual creationofIncomeaffordable-housing events to still offer hope in a crisis: a live-members would still have access to financial products and evenstreamed groundbreaking for Casa Adelante - 681 Florida; and be able to get their taxes done. This included Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)community,seniors-only applications, as a way for the undocumented to1296 Shotwell.create a pathway to citizenship.Moving forward, Evaluation is ensuring community is front and The Housing Action Team was scaled, with morecenter when it comes tonumbers, by decolonizing data community outreach done via a successful pro- points. This means not just keeping data in the hands of pro-motoras model. Applications for below-market- fessional evaluators, but making it accessible and meaningful rate (BMR) housing continued in force, the goalour community members. The team is even sharing this of reversing the trend of displacement of Mission Latinos stillinnovative model. being key.Acting with audacity will always remain at the heart of MEDAs The Business Action Teama blending of MEDAs Fondowork. Its a major part of our trajectory since 1973, as we have Adelante Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)scaled from an agency that bundled small business loans to 10 and its Business Development teamworked with our exist- A DACITYnow being the multi-faceted nonprofit we are today. U'