https://www.fundci.org/journal daily 0.75 2025-04-09 https://www.fundci.org/journal/launch-of-technical-assistance-survey-and-landscape-analysis monthly 0.5 2025-04-09 https://www.fundci.org/journal/cdfi-industry-positioning-and-growth-opportunities-related-to-ggrf monthly 0.5 2025-01-22 https://www.fundci.org/journal/webinar-adapting-cdfi-technologies-to-respond-to-funding-opportunities-and-technology-changes monthly 0.5 2024-11-20 https://www.fundci.org/journal/ggrf-research-opportunities monthly 0.5 2024-10-29 https://www.fundci.org/journal/nmtc-allocations-a-review-of-three-funding-rounds monthly 0.5 2024-10-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/1727815928907-H6SM2Y4G3GRMI7LEKKIP/NMTC+image.png Research - NMTC Allocations: A Review of Three Funding Rounds The CDFI Fund recently announced the Calendar Year (CY) 2023 New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations and awarded $5B in allocations to 104 Community Development Entities (CDEs). Through the NMTC program, the CDFI Fund provides tax credit authority to CDEs, which serve as financial intermediaries to place investments into businesses that meet NMTC program requirements in low-income communities. Fund CI reviewed data on the past three funding rounds to better understand the geographic distribution of allocations as well as identify trends in successful applicants. Read the full report here. https://www.fundci.org/journal/cdfi-technology-landscape-scan-key-themes-from-technology-providers monthly 0.5 2024-07-24 https://www.fundci.org/journal/practical-solutions-for-recruiting-diverse-candidates-to-your-cdfi monthly 0.5 2024-07-16 https://www.fundci.org/journal/trends-among-early-cdfi-certification-applicants monthly 0.5 2024-07-05 https://www.fundci.org/journal/revisiting-and-updating-our-accountability-report monthly 0.5 2024-06-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/a010fe86-27a3-4831-ae64-1972eeeb6492/Ad+board+image+aspect+test.png Research - Revisiting and Updating our Accountability Report Fund CI has updated its Accountability Report based on the final CDFI Certification guidelines. This research brief explores one of the core criteria for certification: accountability. CDFI certification statutes require that CDFIs must maintain accountability to residents of its Target Market(s), either through governing boards or advisory boards. These advisory bodies can be an important part of maintaining certification and many CDFIs also leverage their advisory boards to support the capacity of the organization. FUND CI’s research finds that many CDFI’s advisory boards are under prepared for certification changes and likely can further leverage the expertise and knowledge of their assembled advisory boards. Overall, we find that CDFIs were consistently prepared on only one of the six accountability criteria we considered. Read the full updated report here. https://www.fundci.org/journal/sdlp monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/5076fea8-c9e2-481c-9dbc-02af52c05e07/SDLP+Map+image.png Research - Small Dollar Loan program: A Review of Three Funding Rounds The CDFI Fund announced the awardees of the FY2023/2024 combined funding round of the Small Dollar Loan Program (SDLP) in April 2024. This is the third funded round of the program and Fund Community Institute has taken this opportunity to review trends within the funding, across all three funding years. In total, the CDFI Fund has now provided 184 awards totaling $40.2MM in grant funds to support CDFIs in establishing and maintaining their small dollar lending programs. FUND CI hopes that this analysis provides a baseline from which to track the outcomes and impacts of the CDFI Fund’s Small Dollar Loan Program (SDLP) by building an understanding of which entities have received awards, where they are located, and funding strategies used. Read the full report here. https://www.fundci.org/journal/advisoryboards monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/0cea4ef9-1e01-4b10-8160-0a732e7a9a93/Ad+board+image.PNG Research - CDFI Certification : Accountability Accountability: Leveraging Advisory Boards and Preparing for Changes This research brief explores one of the core criteria for certification: accountability. CDFI certification statutes require that CDFIs must maintain accountability to residents of its Target Market(s), either through governing boards or advisory boards. These advisory bodies can be an important part of maintaining certification and many CDFIs also leverage their advisory boards to support the capacity of the organization. FUND CI’s research finds that many CDFI’s advisory boards are under prepared for certification changes and likely can further leverage the expertise and knowledge of their assembled advisory boards. Read the full brief here https://www.fundci.org/journal/emergingcdfis monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/c7438185-29c0-4111-9010-ec314ae70b09/NACL+image+resized+clean.PNG Research - CDFI Certification: Emerging CDFIs - Make it stand out Emerging CDFIs have had a unique experience with the delayed release of the certification and the long closure of the application window as they must balance continuing their operations with uncertainty of the timing and content of the final certification guidelines. To that end, Fund Community Institute spoke with John Godwin, Director of the New American Community Lending (NACL), a subsidiary of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) to learn about how the certification changes affect NACL. Read more about how NACL has handled the delay and uncertainty related to certification updates here. https://www.fundci.org/journal/five-year-report monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/24547998-f2eb-477c-a0d8-833b6c13b009/5+year+cover_with+words.png Research - Reflection on Five Years of Research - Originally published in 2022. For the past five years, FUND Community Institute (FUND CI) has conducted and disseminated research on issues and trends in the CDFI industry. The purpose of the organization is to support the industry by contributing research findings to the public discourse. FUND CI’s first five years were an eventful period that involved health, racial, and economic issues that seem to necessitate a different type of impact report. While annual reports tend to be about outputs and impact, I want to take a step beyond that and reflect on how FUND CI has shaped our work, and the inputs from the industry overall that have made our work possible. We are grateful for feedback from the industry at large, as well as collaborative support from those that have partnered on research, participated in presentations, and joined our advisory boards. Over the past five years, we have furthered our understanding that the “who” included and participating in our research is critically linked to the value and relevance of the findings. Read the full report here https://www.fundci.org/journal/womenincdfis monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/42e28115-469d-4d93-8771-b98414ffa2d5/Perceptions+vs+reality.png Research - Perception versus Reality: Women and Change in the CDFI Industry - Originally published in 2018 Introduction In 2018, FUND Community Institute (FUND CI) designed a research project examining the role of women in the CDFI industry. The goal of the research was to assess the roles women are playing in the industry, determine if they feel they have the resources necessary to succeed, and learn what changes they have noticed in the industry. In addition to collecting data and presenting findings on these issues, the intent was also to document women’s experiences. Read the full report here https://www.fundci.org/journal/t4mkioimt5q3716wkhn8vgylakv6us monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/advancing-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-at-cdfis monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/61523f6d-ba55-4427-9cef-bf9a313041be/Advancing+equity+cover.png Research - Advancing Equity: Diversity and Inclusion at CDFIs Originally published in 2019 Introduction: In 2018, Fund Community Institute (Fund CI) released its landmark study, Perception versus Reality: Women and Change in the CDFI Industry. One of the key findings was that the CDFI industry has a long way to go in terms of achieving diversity and inclusion. To further investigate this issue, Fund CI conducted research to identify the best practices of CDFIs that are recognized as being ahead of the curve in fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion both internally and externally. The purpose is to share both innovative and replicable practices for use by other CDFIs in advancing their own diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces Read the full report here https://www.fundci.org/journal/bending-toward-justice-credit-scores-as-measures-of-cdfi-impact monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/0222eef2-f4ca-4736-a7d8-0c464745d641/Bending+Toward+Justice+Cover.png Research - Bending Toward Justice: Credit Scores as Measures of CDFI Impact Originally published in 2020 Introduction Identifying and demonstrating CDFI impact has been elusive since the formal establishment of the industry in 1994. While it has often been hypothesized that a marker of CDFI success and impact would be for CDFI borrowers to “graduate” to working with traditional financial institutions, there has been little progress in supporting this and other claims. While such outcomes may be present across CDFI lending products, this research project focuses on the effects on credit scores of consumers accessing small dollar credit building loans (SDCBLs). Through this work, FUND Community Institute (FUND CI) and Credit Builders Alliance (CBA) reviewed data to test this claim, including credit score data collected from CDFIs as well as interviews with CDFI practitioners. The intent is for this work to be useful to CDFI practitioners in designing, administering, and tracking SDCBLs as well as to foundations and other funders of the industry in strategically targeting support Read the full report here https://www.fundci.org/journal/research-brief-succession-planning monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/c0662529-cb7d-410f-b10d-b8166b332f12/Succession+Planning+Image.png Research - Research Brief: Succession Planning Originally published in 2022 Fund CI completed an industry survey to understand how prepared organizations are for leadership changes, particularly as a generation of CDFI founders begin to retire. View the full research brief here. https://www.fundci.org/journal/why-do-cdfis-choose-people-or-place-based-strategies monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/thinking-about-people-and-place-based-lending monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/cdfi-loan-funds-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-two-spotlights monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/cdfi-banks-and-ppp-lending-two-spotlights monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/small-dollar-credit-builder-loans-adding-insight-to-build-impact monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/using-research-to-build-the-cdfi-industry monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/cdfis-value-in-person-communication monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/gender-at-native-cdfis monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/oimnrmya5tp1lp1ykgqsblye4w4myg monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/syziboz79pos7tmhqayk72ntdsouf1 monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/692yxiqmys2c4mfdv9i2h57vaf903b monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/vrt600uov81cmjf1645ngrn7ngrnhz monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/is-dei-language-important monthly 0.5 2024-05-16 https://www.fundci.org/journal/advancing-equity-diversity-and-inclusion-at-cdfis-1 monthly 0.5 2024-05-16 https://www.fundci.org/journal/sr5f0z7fxl2if675cda48r67n2xkfl monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/dyvf7188ne8k324tl7ktyfohp5do8b monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/journal/acloj6vfa1f2j40olna9yu5ye2x10d monthly 0.5 2024-05-17 https://www.fundci.org/home daily 1.0 2024-05-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/633b294d82b30f28aa639469/ec6f9f0f-a669-41c8-bff6-732f71e883c5/Arc.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/633b294d82b30f28aa639469/ec6f9f0f-a669-41c8-bff6-732f71e883c5/Arc.png https://www.fundci.org/about daily 0.75 2025-04-22 https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles daily 0.75 2024-10-21 https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/presta monthly 0.5 2024-08-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/1723749657795-ARSE4OSTHEAKQM34UN75/Official+Presta+Logo.png https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/ned monthly 0.5 2024-08-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/09aef123-3951-4123-b2b8-e16b2dc2f633/Ned+logo.png https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/dataselectsystems monthly 0.5 2024-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/1724250253040-9AVBZD7BOKA7LLFA5F05/Data+Select+Systems.png https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/highimpactfinancialanalysis monthly 0.5 2024-08-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/1724706103049-Q0IBKPXRVPHSDD545056/HIFA-final-stacked-01.png https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/ventures monthly 0.5 2024-09-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/1726166027772-C0MIU3DRXP6RSYIYUFM0/VLT+Logo.png https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/downhomesolutions monthly 0.5 2024-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/1729109389515-B71F6G7XGFC9SBOGR080/DownhomeSolutions_Logo_v2_Large.png https://www.fundci.org/featured-research-technology-profiles/craftsman monthly 0.5 2024-10-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6644d4cd83647c1737ee39a1/6b36d236-b86f-4d30-a108-f4b8c0fd8336/Craftsman.png