CDFIs exist to help grow local economies, provide housing, and support small businesses.
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.
CDFIs exist to help grow local economies, provide housing, and support small businesses.
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.
CDFIs can provide financial tools tailored to the needs of their communities. As a non-profit CDFI serving low-income rural communities, this is very valuable.
CDFIs fill a critical void in funding the development of affordable housing. They provide below market interest rates, have flexible terms, and can respond to critical funding needs with more flexibility than a traditional bank/credit union.