Thanks to the Bank Enterprise Award Fund, United is able to issue responsible credit and financial services to underserved customers… BEA is critical for offsetting the cost of running a small‑dollar loan program.
Thank you to our partners at Inclusive and CDBA for sharing data on CDFI Bank and CDFI Credit Union branch locations. In addition, about 100 of our CDFI Stories come from OFN’s story database.
Thanks to the Bank Enterprise Award Fund, United is able to issue responsible credit and financial services to underserved customers… BEA is critical for offsetting the cost of running a small‑dollar loan program.
CDFIs in Missouri provide essential capital to help small businesses grow and contribute to the economy and their families. We must not delay in ensuring these critical organizations have the resources necessary to continue supporting the resilience of businesses, families, and communities across our state and our country.
Bridge and other CDFIs support business creation and expansion as well as the construction and redevelopment of housing in low to moderate income neighborhoods. These are activities not offered or delivered by other financial institutions to extent provided by CDFI’s.
Small businesses are the backbone of Main Streets across America, creating jobs, driving economic growth, and keeping communities strong. Yet, many small business owners-especially in rural areas and underserved markets- struggle to access the financing they need to start and grow. Traditional banks often overlook smaller-dollar loans, but CDFIs step in to fill that gap, providing the sub-$100K loans that small businesses rely on for working capital, equipment, and expansion. At LoanWell, we work with CDFIs to help them originate and deploy more small business loans efficiently, ensuring that capital reaches the local entrepreneurs who keep storefronts open, job opportunities growing, and communities thriving. More than 90% of CDFI small business loans are under $100K, making them one of the few reliable sources of funding for businesses that are too small for traditional banks but too big to rely on personal savings alone. The CDFI Fund is critical to making this lending possible, ensuring that CDFIs have the resources to meet the demand for responsible, small-dollar financing.