CDFIs provide vital community revitalization work

The impact of Community Development Financial Institutions’ (CDFI) work to revitalize American communities is highlighted in The Hill this week. America’s Credit Unions’ op-ed published Monday shares examples from CDFI-certified credit unions.

• St. Louis Community Credit Union has used its CDFI certification to invest more than $40 million in loans, channeling resources in ways that improve household stability, generate jobs, and fuel economic development.
• By treating small business funding as personal loans, Lake Trust Credit Union has issued $5 million in microloans in Michigan.  The credit union provides loan approvals in days rather than weeks.
• Alltru Credit Union in Missouri embedded its no-cost Employee Wellness Benefits Program with two 30-employee firms. This helped owners retain talent while giving workers the tools to steady household budgets.

With CDFI Fund staff part of shutdown-related reductions-in-force (RIF), the op-ed urges continued support for the CDFI fund and staff rehiring once the shutdown ends.  Working in tandem with leagues, America’s Credit Unions helped gather more than 100 Republican signatures on a letter to the administration urging it to maintain the CDFI Fund.

Every CDFI dollar granted to a credit union generates $12 in private investment, including new storefronts, renovated homes, and revitalized Main Streets. The op-ed highlights that CDFI credit unions have invested $85 billion in community mortgage lending, $91 billion in local consumer financing, $30 billion in lending to local businesses, and $18 billion in affordable small-dollar loans and alternatives to payday loans.

Read the op-ed here