Our local CDFI has been essential to supporting our organization, our members and so many people in our community who have struggled to access capital and financial services. They understand how to work with our communities and have assisted so many first time home-buyers and new businesses in getting on track and being financially stable. For many of our members this is where they’ve opened their first bank account and learned how to manage their finances.
I’m a contract CFO for multiple smaller CDFIs around the US who are supporting those in our communities that are starting small businesses, trying to get financing to buy a vehicle to get to a job or earn a living in the gig economy, and small developers bringing affordable housing onto the market. No one else is making this financing available. I work to see thriving communities here in the US that make our local economies vibrant and healthy. The CDFI Fund makes that possible.
CDFIs are an important part of our finance ecosystem. In 2024 alone, the Western Reserve Community Fund (WRCF) distributed over $5M in funding to over 100 small businesses/non-profits in Summit County. CDFI’s, like WRCF, make such a difference in our community.