CDFIs provided necessary funding and support to communities, including small businesses. Economic opportunity is the path to a unified society.
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 provided necessary funding and support to communities, including small businesses. Economic opportunity is the path to a unified society.
After coming from several years working in for-profit corporations into a CDFI, I’ve come to appreciate the real benefits CDFIs provide to communities at all levels. CDFIs provide consumer, commercial, mortgage loans, housing development, community facilities when needed, and more creative solutions.
CDFIs provide critical support to low- to moderate-income communities in the form of loans and technical assistance. This support provides individuals and businesses unable to access traditional financing the opportunity to build their financial acumen, responsibly manage debt while building credit scores and wealth, and eventually graduate to accessing traditional banking products. In the meantime, these individuals are able to start or expand businesses, become homeowners, purchase vehicles, and access capital to cover emergency situations. CDFIs played a critical role with this activity during the pandemic and are part of the essential fabric when it comes to uplifting local economies and providing individuals with a path to the American dream of homeownership and prosperity in a way that promotes self-sufficiency and self-reliance.
As a consulting firm working closely with CDFIs and economic development partners across the country, SBC Small Business Consulting supports [CDFI Fund appropriations]. The clarity and continuity of these federal programs are critical for ensuring small businesses in underserved communities receive the technical assistance and capital they need to grow. We appreciate the Treasury’s commitment to supporting CDFIs and encourage swift action to maintain momentum in local economic development efforts.