[The CDFI Fund] provides a vital funding source which enables our organization to sustain and start-up businesses in our rural SD communities. Without that support, our rural communities would die because there would be nothing to keep our young families in the communities. The opportunities they need for their careers would be gone.
CDFIs are mission-driven financial institutions rooted in community. They exist to expand economic participation, particularly in places that have long been excluded from traditional financing systems. In many ways, BII has operated with a CDFI mindset from the start: investing in local entrepreneurs, supporting community-owned enterprises, and helping to close persistent gaps in access to capital.
CDFIs are a lifeline for many small business owners who cannot get traditional financing from large banks.