CDFI Friendly America exists to solve a set of problems that have frustrated CDFIs and thousands of communities for decades:

  1. CDFIs saw and heard about communities that needed their financing but could not figure out how to serve them.

  2. Communities knew CDFIs could help them but could not figure out how to engage them.

CDFI Friendly America figured out how to bridge these gaps.

What We Do

How does it work?

Cities like Bloomington and South Bend, Indiana are too small to meet a CDFI’s need for deal flow on their own. They needed CDFI financing for a range of uses–small business, affordable housing, community facilities, and commercial real estate. No single CDFI could do all of that.

CDFI Friendly America taught them what CDFIs can and cannot do; at the same time, we reached out to CDFIs to tell them about the range of financing opportunities in the two cities. CDFI Friendly America brought the communities together with interested CDFIs and taught them to work together.

Now the CDFI financing is flowing in sustainable ways.

There is no longer any reason for CDFIs and communities to struggle to connect. CDFI Friendly America provides the solution.

All About CFA

Click through the Prezi below to learn more about CDFI Friendly America and our work.

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The CDFI Friendly Process

Our strategy targets the needs in your community, based on many decades of CDFI industry experience. We adapt our process to fit the needs and priorities of the cities we work with.

1

ASSESS & OUTREACH

The first stage includes research and review of community/city plans and data, interviewing a diverse group of community members, and assessing the feasibility of successful CDFI Friendly implementation. We visit in person and virtually with as many people as we can.

2

ORGANIZE & EDUCATE

We increase the number of community leaders who understand & support the CDFI Friendly strategy. We bring together CDFIs, prospective borrowers, bankers, and others to develop a pipeline of potential CDFI deals.

3

PLAN

We prepare a business plan, complete with market analysis and financial projections, and integrate feedback from the community. We circulate that business plan to get feedback from all partners until we get it right.

4

IMPLEMENT

We help a community-centered and community-controlled Board of Directors get the organization up and running. We develop policies, support the hiring of an Executive Director, and train the Board and staff, to make sure the new CDFI Friendly organization is fully operational. 

CDFI Friendly Communities

Visit the websites of the existing CDFI Friendly organzations.