When traditional financing felt out of reach, Access CDFI offered more than a loan. We provided the support, encouragement, and confidence to help bring her vision to life.
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.
When traditional financing felt out of reach, Access CDFI offered more than a loan. We provided the support, encouragement, and confidence to help bring her vision to life.
CDFIs provide responsible and affordable loans to individuals, businesses, and organizations that are unable to obtain financing from conventional banks – not because they aren’t worthy of a loan, but because their risk profile doesn’t fit the more rigid criteria used by conventional banks. This is an essential service for making sure loan capital reaches deserving borrowers with unconventional loan applications. And because CDFIs disburse loans instead of grants, they offer a sustainable solution to financing and teach borrowers how to manage budgets and pay back their loans.
As a former executive of a CDFI I saw firsthand the job creation and the dreams of many clients supported by our organization. We hired amazing financial mission driven talent and we supported hard working entrepreneurs who were seeking opportunities in their community and for their families. The recent EO will not make America great again, it will hurt Americans who are resilient, innovative and a fabric of their communities.
CDFIs support the needs of small businesses and consumers in rural, suburban, and urban areas across the United States. The designation is key to legitimizing and elevating our work with banks and other leveraged investors who align with our industry to bring affordable capital to markets that need catalytic investments to sustain and grow small businesses. These businesses create jobs, provide goods and services, and pay taxes that build strong communities. We need to preserve and grow the CDFI Fund for all Americans.