Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Community development financial institution
open-in-new
<h2 id="scope">Scope</h2> <p>In 2006, there were approximately 1,250 CDFIs, consisting of:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <ul><li>More than 500 community development loan funds;</li> <li>More than 350 community development banks;</li> <li>More than 290 community development credit unions;</li> <li>More than 80 community development venture capital funds.</li></ul> <p>In May 2010, the CDFI Fund had certified 862 CDFIs,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> 57 Native CDFIs (serving Native Americans),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> and 4,230 CDEs,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> each of which may have multiple subsidiary investment funds. </p><p>Nationwide, over 1,000 CDFIs serve economically distressed communities by providing credit, capital, and financial services that are often unavailable from mainstream financial institutions. CDFIs have loaned and invested billions of dollars in the most distressed communities in the United States, leveraging capital from the private sector for development activities in low wealth communities across the nation. </p><p>While there are numerous organizations certified as CDFIs by the CDFI Fund, it is believed that there are thousands of financial institutions serving the needs of low-income people or communities in the United States, that either have not applied for CDFI status or have otherwise not been able to fulfill all of the requirements for formal CDFI certification. </p><p>In fiscal year 2016, CDFI program awardees originated $3.6 billion in loans and investments to finance more than 13,000 businesses and 33,000 affordable housing units.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notable-depository-cdfis">Notable depository CDFIs</h2> <p><a href="/facts/ShoreBank/pM6XW3m4">ShoreBank</a>, headquartered in the South Shore neighborhood of <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a>, was founded in 1973. By 2007, it had over $2 billion in assets.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> ShoreBank had branches in Chicago’s South and West sides, Cleveland, and Detroit, but in August 2010 the bank was declared insolvent and its branches were taken over by <a href="/facts/Urban_Partnership_Bank/JaXlAhs8">Urban Partnership Bank</a>. Its holding company ShoreBank Corporation, still exists and promotes its community development mission through affiliates in Oregon and Washington state, and in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. ShoreBank’s international consulting services have offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and London, and projects in 30 countries around the world. </p><p><a href="/facts/OneUnited_Bank/yRzPm3oo">OneUnited Bank</a>, headquartered in <a href="/facts/Boston,_MA/exjfn6xf">Boston</a>, Massachusetts, is the largest African-American-owned CDFI in the country, with branches in Boston, <a href="/facts/Miami,_Florida/L5FsgQcb">Miami, Florida</a>, and <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles,_California/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles, California</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Center_for_Community_Self-Help/C0GPxBa3">Center for Community Self-Help</a>, another leading CDFI, was founded in 1980 in <a href="/facts/Durham,_North_Carolina/AvMmj3jS">Durham, North Carolina</a>. Self-Help's home and business lending has provided low-wealth, minority, rural and female borrowers with over $5.24 billion in financing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Much of this is through Self-Help's national <a href="/facts/Secondary_market/LybKbe7b">secondary market</a> program, which enables conventional lenders to make more home loans to low-wealth families. Self-Help also develops commercial and residential real estate and operates retail credit unions. In response to <a href="/facts/Predatory_lending/6xsXjowQ">predatory lenders</a> increasingly targeting family wealth in poor and minority communities, Self-Help in 1999 worked with the <a href="/facts/NAACP/gXSqUxTo">NAACP</a>, <a href="/facts/AARP/BHgPEPNP">AARP</a>, and other North Carolina groups to form the Coalition for Responsible Lending and help enact one of the United States' first laws to curb predatory mortgage lending.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> In 2002, Self-Help founded the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and policy organization that recommends solutions to predatory lending abuses.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="notable-non-depository-cdfis">Notable non-depository CDFIs</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Capital_Impact_Partners/QTU6JVQg">Capital Impact Partners</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Chicago_Community_Loan_Fund/8GbX1Pbp">Chicago Community Loan Fund</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Enterprise_Community_Partners/vmdS1VVr">Enterprise Community Partners</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Local_Initiatives_Support_Corporation/TpsnNUjw">Local Initiatives Support Corporation</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/ShoreBank/pM6XW3m4">ShoreBank</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Southern_Bancorp/jPrNywTN">Southern Bancorp</a></li></ul> <h2 id="other-countries">Other countries</h2> <p>While the CDFI Fund and its certifications are limited to the United States, the UK also has about 70 CDFIs and a trade association, <a href="http://responsiblefinance.org.uk/">Responsible Finance</a>, formerly known as the Community Development Finance Association (CDFA). The UK government has provided various funding initiatives for CDFIs and credit unions, and Community Investment Tax Relief (somewhat similar to New Markets Tax Credit) is available on investments in accredited CDFIs. </p><p>Institutions similar in purpose exist around the world, such as <a href="/facts/Grameen_Bank/A1CuR5yU">Grameen Bank</a> in <a href="/facts/Bangladesh/NXk4f78Y">Bangladesh</a> and <a href="/facts/Clann_Credo/8HMDQ0uU">Clann Credo</a> in Ireland, though they are not generally called CDFIs, but are described by other terms such as <a href="/facts/Microfinance/AfzqeeLR">microfinance</a> institutions or <a href="/facts/Social_bank/VSycLJl8">social banks</a> or social investment funds. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Community_land_trust/lXtRvcva">Community land trust</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Alexander_von_Hoffman/j2eTLtgw">Alexander von Hoffman</a> <i>Fuel Lines for the Urban Revival Engine: Neighborhoods, Community Development Corporations, and Financial Intermediaries.</i> Washington, D.C.: Fannie Mae Foundation, 2001.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/communityaffairs/national/CA_Conf_SusCommDev/pdf/zeilenbachsean.pdf">Community Development Financial Institutions: Current Issues and Future Prospects</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.occ.treas.gov/Cdd/Summer-05.pdf">Community Development Financial Institutions and CD Banks - Natural Partners for Traditional Lenders</a></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090206102029/http://fieldus.org/Publications/CDPRpt.pdf">Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) - Providing Capital, Building Communities, Creating Impact</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.citizencapital.fr/">Citizen Capital</a> is the first French venture capital fund to provide capital to underserved businesses.</li> <li><a href="http://www.aerisinsight.com/">CDFI Assessment and Rating System - CARS</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.opportunityfinance.net/public/files/FHLB%20Regulations%20Memo%20to%20Members.pdf">"Final Rule on CDFI Membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank System" Opportunity Finance Network</a>[<i>permanent dead link</i>]</li> <li><a href="http://community-wealth.org/strategies/panel/cdfis/index.html">Community-Wealth.org CDFI Models, Best Practices, and Research Resources</a></li> <li><a href="http://ncif.org/sites/default/files/free-publications/NCIF_FY2012AnnualReport.pdf">The CDFI Banking Sector: 2012 Annual Report on Financial and Social Performance</a>, NCIF</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Comparing Different Types of CDFIs. CDFI Coalition. <a href="http://cdfi.org/index.php?page=info-3" target="_blank">http://cdfi.org/index.php?page=info-3</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Russell, Corinne; Mullin, Stefanie (29 December 2009), FHFA Sends Final Rule to Federal Register for CDFIs to Become Members of FHLBs (PDF), Federal Housing Finance Agency, archived from the original (Press release) on 27 May 2010 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100527184011/http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/15336/CDFIPR122909F%5B1%5D.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20100527184011/http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/15336/CDFIPR122909F%5B1%5D.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Federal Housing Finance Board; Federal Housing Finance Agency (23 December 2009), Federal Home Loan Bank Membership for Community Development Financial Institutions (PDF), archived from the original (Final Rule) on 21 July 2011 <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110721040728/http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/15335/CDFIattach122909.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110721040728/http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/15335/CDFIattach122909.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"SEC - CNote Offering Circular". SEC.gov. August 29, 2017. <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1683145/000121465917005361/d829170253g1.htm" target="_blank">https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1683145/000121465917005361/d829170253g1.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"CNote is now available to all investors! | CNote's Official Blog". CNote's Official Blog. 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-10-12. <a href="https://blog.mycnote.com/2017/09/27/cnote-is-now-available-to-all-investors/" target="_blank">https://blog.mycnote.com/2017/09/27/cnote-is-now-available-to-all-investors/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Industry Statistics Archived 2007-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, Opportunity Finance <a href="http://www.opportunityfinance.net/industry/industry_main.aspx?id=234" target="_blank">http://www.opportunityfinance.net/industry/industry_main.aspx?id=234</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>CDFI List by Name Archived 2009-05-06 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/docs/certification/cdfi/CDFIbyOrgName.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.cdfifund.gov/docs/certification/cdfi/CDFIbyOrgName.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Certified Native CDFIs by Name[permanent dead link] <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/docs/certification/naca/NACACDFIsbyOrgName.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.cdfifund.gov/docs/certification/naca/NACACDFIsbyOrgName.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Certified CDEs by Name Archived 2009-05-06 at the Wayback Machine <a href="http://www.cdfifund.gov/docs/certification/cde/CDEsbyOrgName.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.cdfifund.gov/docs/certification/cde/CDEsbyOrgName.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Fact Sheet, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM" (PDF). www.cdfifund.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 6, 2017. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170807112021/https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/CDFI7205_FS_CDFI_updatedMar2017.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20170807112021/https://www.cdfifund.gov/Documents/CDFI7205_FS_CDFI_updatedMar2017.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Carpenter, Dave (12 June 2007). "'Bank with a heart' thrives". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved 11 August 2017. <a href="http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jun/12/bank-with-a-heart-thrives/" target="_blank">http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2007/jun/12/bank-with-a-heart-thrives/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Self-Help Credit Union - North Carolina Credit Union". www.selfhelp.org. Retrieved 11 August 2017. <a href="http://www.selfhelp.org/about-us/impact" target="_blank">http://www.selfhelp.org/about-us/impact</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"These Tough Lending Laws Could Travel". Archived from the original on 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2008-11-16. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090106010044/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_45/b4057078.htm" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090106010044/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_45/b4057078.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Subprime guru drives debate". politico.com. Retrieved 11 August 2017. <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7946.html" target="_blank">http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7946.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>