CDFI Membership
Dear CDFIs:
We urge you to join the CDFI Coalition, a national membership organization that is the unified voice for community development and financial institutions. The Coalition represents CDFIs working in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This national network of CDFIs includes community development loan funds, community development banks, community development credit unions, microenterprise lenders, community development corporations, and community development venture capital funds.
The CDFI Coalition coordinates industry-wide lobbying and advocacy initiatives to increase federal support for CDFIs. We advocate for direct appropriations through the CDFI Fund and in support of programs and initiatives that increase the availability of capital, credit, and financial services to low-income communities nationwide.
For example, during the economic downturn prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, the CDFI Coalition led the way in securing a set-aside of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds for CDFIs and other mission lenders (Community Financial Institutions (CFIs)). According to the Small Business Administration, CFIs made some 1.6 million PPP loans totaling more than $34 billion. Loans made through CFI lenders averaged $21,254, compared to $41,560 across all lender classes, demonstrating the focus of CFI lending on small and micro businesses.
Another example of the Coalition’s advocacy was our work in support of the CDFI Fund Rapid Response Program (RRP). RRP was included in the Fiscal Year 2021 appropriations bill, which included a total of $12 billion for the Treasury Department and the CDFI Fund. Of this amount, $9 billion was allocated to the Treasury for investments in CDFI and Minority Depository Institutions, and $3 billion was allocated to CDFI Fund, including $1.75 billion for Equitable Recovery Program, which was recently released, and $1.25 billion for RRP.
RRP was a Coalition initiative, first included in the House emergency COVID response legislation. It was designed by the Coalition to get capital to CDFIs to assist businesses and communities in coping with the economic consequences of the pandemic. The Coalition worked with Congress to include RRP in the final Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2021. The RRP was intended to quickly deploy capital to Certified CDFIs through a streamlined application and review process. RRP was the first CDFI Fund program to provide grant capital to every certified CDFI in America.
The CDFI Fund released the NOFA for RRP in February of 2021 and made awards to 863 CDFIs on June 15, 2021. This was a historic investment in resources for the CDFI Fund and CDFIs. The Coalition issued a press release highlighting this effort.
Today, the Coalition is working to increase resources available to the CDFI Fund and CDFIs. The Coalition’s advocacy with Congress has increased appropriations for the CDFI Fund. And, as with PPP, we are seeking other opportunities to increase resources for CDFIs, including climate change provisions recently enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act.
We recently worked with Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) to launch the Senate Community Development Finance Caucus. The bipartisan caucus, launched on August 1, 2022, includes 14 senators split evenly between the two parties. Its mission is to support the work of CDFIs and Minority Depository Institutions.
The CDFI Coalition helps shape new legislative initiatives in support of CDFIs. For example, we worked with Senate offices to refine two bills introduced in 2022 that would increase access to capital for CDFIs: The CDFI Tax Credit, a new tax credit designed to provide long-term debt for CDFIs, and the Scaling Community Lenders Act of 2022, bipartisan legislation to unlock more sources of liquidity and support for CDFIs.
We also advocate for CDFI Fund appropriations. In FY 22, Congress provided a record $295 million appropriation for the CDFI Fund, and we expect another substantial increase in FY 23.
The Coalition regularly interacts with CDFI Fund and Treasury leadership and comments on proposed rules and guidance. The Coalition is also working to support changes and modernization of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). We submitted a detailed response to the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC’s joint agency proposal to overhaul CRA. Our comments, which can be found on the Coalition website, sought a greater role for community development in CRA examinations.
Our work extends to regular and frequent communications with our members through our E-News bulletin, our website https://cdfi.org/, which includes a new section with CDFI stories organized by topic (cdfi.org/stories), and our annual CDFI Coalition Institute, which is held in the first quarter of the calendar year and is designed to bring CDFIs together with federal policymakers and industry leaders to discuss current policy and program initiatives and chart a course for future action.
For the Coalition to continue its work, we need your membership support. Please take a look at our membership page https://cdfi.org/join/. We hope you will consider joining.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Sarah Jewell at Rapoza Associates (Sarah@Rapoza.org).
Sincerely,
Ceyl Prinster
Chair
CEO, Colorado Enterprise Fund
Hank Helton
Chair, Membership Committee
Executive Vice President
Pathway Lending