Succession Planning yields new CEO for SCCLF

We are pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Community Loan Fund (SCCLF) has named Cynthia “Cindi” Watts Rourk as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective October 27^th.  SCCLF is the largest nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) Loan Fund in the State. Rourk succeeded former CEO Nate Barber and President Deborah McKetty, who announced their transition after four years of joint leadership.

Rourk brings more than 30 years of experience in community and financial development, including over 18 years with the CLIMB Fund, a micro-lending focused Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), where she most recently served as CEO.

“Cindi brings a demonstrated history of executive leadership, strategic financial management, and a deep-rooted commitment to equitable access to economic opportunity,” said Martin Livingston, Chair of SCCLF’s Board of Directors. “Under her leadership, CLIMB Fund rebranded, expanded from five Lowcountry counties to the entire state, doubled lending to the BIPOC community and built a statewide team of 22 employees. Through her tenure, CLIMB Fund grew from $24 million to $40 million in assets.”

Rourk also launched the organization’s first affordable housing lending program, deploying $13 million through the City of Charleston’s $9.2 million affordable housing fund.

“I am deeply honored to lead the South Carolina Community Loan Fund as its next CEO,” Rourk said. “For more than two decades, SCCLF has proven that strategic investment and mission-driven capital can be powerful catalysts for change in our communities. I am committed to building upon this strong legacy, expanding our reach, and ensuring that access to capital is never a barrier to opportunity for small businesses, housing developers, and community leaders across South Carolina. Together, we’ll continue our work of investing in communities and creating opportunities for all.”

The CEO search was led by Ann Boland, CEO of the Boland Group and cofounder of Mission Driven Search, in partnership with SCCLF’s board of directors. The search committee was co-chaired by Torrey Rush, past board chair, and Quinetha Frasier, board member, with participation from Martin Livingston, Ginny Stroud, Nate Harrison, Adolphus Johnson, and Charles Dew.

SCCLF’s successful recruitment of Rourk as CEO was a direct result of Barber and McKetty’s work with the Board to develop and execute a four year stabilization and succession planning effort. SCCLF is fortunate to have such an engaged and committed group of all volunteer board directors.

Ann Boland

The Boland Group conducted interviews with dozens of key stakeholders — staff, funders and strategic partners — informing the search process and accelerating on-boarding of the new CEO. After identifying, engaging and vetting multiple local, regional and national prospective candidates, the Boland Group presented nine semi-finalists to the Selection Committee. The committee opted to video interview all nine candidates presented, before narrowing the field to three finalists for in person meetings.

The Boland Group focuses on nonprofit scenario planning, CEO succession planning and conducting CEO and Executive Director searches / transitions for all volunteer board of directors of mission driven community nonprofits. Using a proprietary methodology, searches are completed in under 90 days, and followed up with in-depth onboarding.