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When Cedar Falls Mobile Home Park in Bangor, Maine, came up for sale, the community knew they wanted to save their affordable housing, which meant avoiding a private-equity acquisition.

Genesis Community Loan Fund, a CDFI experienced in housing infrastructure, answered the call. The group formed a cooperative and outbid a private investor, preserving affordable housing for 130 families and creating new space for 28 more.

This is how flexible, responsible capital and long-term investment help communities grow, and economies thrive.

Hampton Roads, Virginia, needs roughly 50,000 more affordable housing units to meet demand. In the Daily Press, Jane Ferrara of LISC laid out a regional path forward, and her three-step approach describes the work our network does every day:

1) Build a strong pipeline of affordable housing developers. Our members provide patient capital and technical assistance to make it happen.

2) Rethink the vision. Mixed-income, mixed-use developments build resilient communities, and CDFIs are already financing them.

3) Align local leadership with capital partners. That's how regions move from plan to units.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland just released new research on CDFIs, and the findings align with what our network has built over decades: flexible capital, long-term relationships, and technical assistance that enables borrowers to act on opportunity. The Fed calls CDFIs “critical connectors in the financial ecosystem.” We agree. OFN calls it Capital Plus.

In Nashville, 30 years of affordable housing at Mayflower Apartments will continue for the next generation of families. @pathwaylending, a local CDFI, has acquired the property, securing long-term affordability on the Hillsboro Village corridor and keeping it out of the private equity pipeline.

This is what mission-driven capital as housing infrastructure looks like: stable units, stable residents, and preserved neighborhood economics.

Housing is the foundation of every strong community, and CDFIs are the builders making it possible. When families can stay in the neighborhoods they helped shape, when first-generation buyers can finally put down roots, when rental homes are preserved instead of lost, that's CDFI capital at work.

In 2024 alone, OFN's member CDFIs financed 98,451 housing units across the country, financing construction in places conventional lenders haven't reached in years and standing alongside the families and communities building what comes next. #AffordableHousingMonth

Healthcare disparities are common in rural communities. Distance makes it challenging to reach facilities and providers, and transportation is often the issue. Phoenix-based Beyond Transport Services is working to bridge that critical gap.

The small business makes healthcare accessible to people who may have no other way to get the care they need. It’s a pressing problem that requires a significant response, and demand has increased accordingly. To meet it, Quintin Yazzie needed to grow his business.

He turned to OFN member DreamSpring, a CDFI based in Albuquerque that works to accelerate economic inclusion and strengthen vulnerable communities. Its loan allowed Yazzie to purchase upgraded fuel-efficient vehicles and expand his client base. Now, he’s up to 10 vehicles, 20 employees, and more than 60 regular clients—and he's not done yet.

DreamSpring’s guidance and resources also helped Yazzie learn how to manage his finances, grow his business, and better serve his community. This comprehensive support is central to DreamSpring’s work with all clients and will be highlighted at the upcoming Small Business Finance Forum, cohosted by the CDFI.

Learn more about the upcoming Small Business Finance Forum through the link in our bio.

Williams Academy STL was already facing financial challenges when the tornado hit.

Despite its success, the Montessori S.T.E.A.M.-focused school was strained by rapid enrollment increases. Families understood its value, and classrooms were growing. The school was already struggling to maintain staffing and operations, and then a natural disaster made it even more difficult.

Thankfully, OFN member Justine PETERSEN, a Missouri-based CDFI, stepped up with mission-driven financing. With it, the school stayed financially stable and operational during its growth, and families remained despite significant local tornado damage. Williams Academy became a beacon of the community.

This was all possible because Justine PETERSEN follows the same motto as the school: When you show up consistently, long-term growth follows.

Tell us: What mantra do you think best showcases the power of both small businesses and CDFIs?

Small businesses are essential for economic development. They bring jobs into communities and support households across the country. To make that impact, however, many of these businesses need funding and guidance from an ally.

For Jon Bancroft at 23rd Century CNC, OFN member Valley Economic Development Partners was that ally. The full-service machine manufacturing shop in Kinsman, Ohio, needed to expand to meet rising client demands, but that would require new machines and more employees. Bancroft’s loan was denied by his local bank, but Valley Partners saw the potential. It approved a CDFI revolving loan fund that allowed his business to grow and hire.

23rd Century CNC expanded, and its economic impact on employees and the community expanded along with it. All this was possible because a CDFI provided support.

This Small Business Week, we’re celebrating the small businesses helping grow their local economies and the CDFIs that helped them get there. When Julia Green, owner of LaBella’s Salon in Gulfport, Mississippi, partnered with OFN member Renaissance Community Loan Fund, she gained flexible financing and the business coaching to put it to work — expanding her salon, hiring local stylists, and growing her cosmetology institute.

CDFIs deliver financial products many entrepreneurs could never otherwise access — paired with the transparency, openness, and counsel that create lasting success. Click the link in our bio to read about how business owners like Julia are benefiting from everything CDFIs have to offer.

It’s Small Business Week.

For more than 60 years, @sbagov has honored the entrepreneurs who bring their ideas to their communities and make an impact. We're proud to celebrate alongside them.

Every week of the year, OFN members are the lenders who said yes when others didn't—financing startups, backing Main Street businesses, and deploying capital where it counts.

This week, follow along as we share stories of entrepreneurs who built something—and the OFN member CDFIs that helped make it possible. Click the link in our bio to learn more.

#SmallBusinessWeek #CDFI #OpportunityFinance #MainStreet #SmallBusiness #CommunityDevelopment

What does investment in rural America actually look like on the ground?

In Moorhead, Mississippi, it looks like a CDFI stepping in to take the place of a struggling local bank, keeping vital financial services available for a community in need.

That's just one example from Federal Reserve Governor Barr's recent remarks on rural economic development. Governor Barr spoke to how CDFIs serve as financial engines and cross-sector connectors for communities across the country, providing capital, technical assistance and a bridge between federal resources and local needs.

Governor Barr's remarks make clear that CDFIs are recognized at the highest levels of economic leadership as essential infrastructure for rural economic growth.

#CDFI #RuralAmerica #CommunityDevelopment #EconomicDevelopment #RuralEconomy #CommunityFinance #FederalReserve

Today, the President released his FY 2027 budget proposal, which proposes significant cuts to the CDFI Fund.

For more than 30 years, the CDFI Fund has been one of the most efficient, market-based tools in the federal toolkit: leveraging an estimated $8 in private investment for every $1 in public funding. In 2023 alone, CDFI Program recipients financed 109,151 businesses and 45,255 affordable housing units.

Cutting the Fund threatens economic growth and weakens Main Street, jeopardizing thousands of projects that create local jobs, build affordable housing, and drive opportunity in communities across the country that rely on CDFIs as their primary source of affordable capital.

We urge Congress and the Administration to protect this proven investment. Click the link in our bio to read our full statement.

#CDFIFund #OpportunityFinance #AffordableHousing #SmallBusiness #EconomicOpportunity #CDFI