There are over 1,000 CDFIs across the country with extensive experience providing patient capital to meet the needs of businesses and families in economically distressed communities. CDFIs also provide technical assistance and support to triage distressed businesses. This experience makes them uniquely suited to tackle the challenges facing businesses over the coming months. Learn how […]
Category: Blogroll
Support Small Businesses in Hard Hit Communities Through the CDFI Fund
Congress should provide $1 billion in emergency appropriations to the CDFI Fund
Deal on PPP extension
This afternoon, Senate leaders announced a deal on a nearly $500 billion relief package that includes a set-aside for Community Financial Institutions, including CDFIs. The legislation would provide an additional $10 billion for the Emergency Economic Injury Disaster Grants, $50 billion for the SBA Disaster Loans Program, and $321 billion in additional aid for small […]
Message from CDFI Fund Director Jodie Harris
The CDFI Fund put out an announcement from Director Jodie Harris today providing more information on the Fund’s plan moving forward during the Coronavirus crisis. The Fund has not yet decided whether to extend deadlines for the upcoming CDFI Program round. Harris encouraged award recipients with questions about compliance, issues with reporting, or other short-term […]
2020 CDFI Coalition Institute Wrap-Up
The CDFI Coalition, representing the nation’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), held its 2020 Annual CDFI Institute on February 27 and 28 in Washington, D.C. This year’s event drew one of the event’s largest audiences, with nearly 200 people attending over the two days. Members of Congress, congressional staff, federal agency officials and key staff, as well […]
OCC and FDIC Release CRA Modernization Proposal
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are soliciting comment on a new proposal to modernize Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) regulations. The proposal will have far-reaching implications for CDFIs and community development as a whole. Financial institutions often look to CDFIs when they seek to meet […]
From an Idea to a Movement, The CDFI Fund is Federal Government Success Story
Post by Bob Rapoza, founder and president of Rapoza Associates in Washington, D.C., and spokesperson for the CDFI Coalition. While campaigning for President in late summer 1992, then-Governor Bill Clinton made a campaign stop at South Shore Bank in Chicago, Illinois. It was here, at the nation’s first community development bank, that Clinton shared his vision […]
My Racial Equity Journey and the CDFI Industry…
Guest post by John Holdsclaw IV, CDFI Coalition Vice Chair and SVP, Corporate Affairs at National Cooperative Bank. “Racism still occupies the throne of our nation.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The social impact news and events group Genorocity defines racial equity as “fairness and justice in policy practice and opportunity consciously designed to address […]
Reflections on 25 Years of CDFI Practice
Guest post by Michael Swack, Professor and Director, Center for Impact Finance, Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire. As I reflect on the CDFI field, I realize what great success this field has achieved over the past 35 years – and in the 25 years since the creation of the CDFI Fund […]
CDFI Fund: 25 Years Revitalizing Communities and Providing Access to Opportunity Where It’s Needed Most
Twenty-five years ago today, President Bill Clinton signed the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 into law, establishing the CDFI Fund. The legislation, proposed by President Clinton and championed in Congress by Senator Don Riegle (D-MI), sought to increase access to capital for small businesses, affordable housing, the availability of commercial real […]