WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CDFI?

 

Community Development Financial Institutions - or CDFIs - are mission-driven financial institutions that are dedicated to providing financial services to meet the needs of economically disadvantaged individuals within underserved communities.

• CDFIs invest in local communities and the residents who live there by providing critically needed financing often unavailable from mainstream financial institutions.

• CDFIs are certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund – known as the CDFI Fund. In order to become a certified CDFI, the financial institution must: have a primary mission of promoting community development; provide financial products and services; serve one or more defined low-income target markets; maintain accountability to the community it serves; and be a legal non-governmental entity.

• All CDFIs share a common mission of serving low-income communities. CDFIs are commonly loan funds, credit unions, community banks, or venture capital funds.

• Certified CDFIs are part of a national network promoting economic growth in America’s underserved communities by financing businesses, creating jobs, and rebuilding neighborhoods.

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As a CDFI, CHSA puts the community first and values local, economic growth.  

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To learn more about CDFIs