Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are private financial organizations driven by a mission to bring mainstream finance and economic inclusion to underserved communities. While CDFIs come in many forms—they can be for-profits, nonprofits, credit unions, banks, loan funds, or venture capital funds—they are all certified by the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund to help communities grow equitably by offering affordable and sustainable financial services, as well as affordable credit and investment capital.
Our research on CDFIs includes mapping the distribution of CDFI services across the country, identifying metrics to measure CDFI activities’ effectiveness, and convening CDFI leaders to discuss state and local policy opportunities to expand CDFI impact.
Reports and briefs
- Catalytic Capital for Neighborhood Reinvestment
- Leveraging Technology to Scale Up Small-Business Lending
- A New Era of Racial Equity in Community Development Finance
- Capturing Shared Impacts of the Partners for Rural Transformation
- Improving Access to Capital for Small-Business Owners of Color
- Promoting Equity Investments for An Equitable Recovery
- Capturing Shared Impacts of the Partners for Rural Transformation
- Supporting Latino and Immigrant Entrepreneurs in a Time of Crisis
- Making Community Development Capital Work in Small and Midsize Cities
- A New Agenda for Community Development Finance
- Tracking the Unequal Distribution of Community Development Funding in the US
- Capital Access Programs: CDFI Case Study on the California Capital Access Programs
- Financing the Development in Transit-Oriented Development: CDFI Case Study
- Expanding Community Development Financial Institutions
- From Compliance to Learning
- Making Sure There Is a Future
- Scaling Impact for Community Development Financial Institutions
- State and Local Policy: A Critical Concern for CDFIs
- Mission Finance in the Motor City
Commentary
- What the Bay Area and Cleveland reveal about trends in federal community development funding
- Four ideas for strengthening the finances of community development financial institutions
- Six ideas to help community development financial institutions better demonstrate their impact
- The unsung financial institutions that fund inclusive community development
Events
- What Does It Take To Transform Persistent Rural Poverty into Opportunity?
- The Past and Future of Investing in CDFIs to Expand Lending to Diverse Small Business Owners
- Supporting Latino and Immigrant Entrepreneurs in a Time of Crisis
- Building Healthier Economies with CDFIs
For related content, see our work on capital flows, the New Markets Tax Credit, and Opportunity Zones.