As a CDFI, we support areas that have had historical underinvestment and see a transformative impact to those communities over time. The CDFI fund has an excellent private investment track record that accompanies the Treasury investment, leveraging the funds at an $8 or more for every $1 from the CDFI fund. This helps incentivize investment in these communities, bringing greater prosperity to all and putting all Americans to work that can access these programs.
The impact CDFI organizations make through their lending programs helps communities by providing financing that helps create or expand a small business, create or sustain jobs, and offers communities an expanded tax base.
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.