VCDF Collaborates to Create the Virginia CDFI Coalition
May 12, 2021 - In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed a $10 million budget amendment that established and funded the VA CDFI Fund, to be administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The purpose of this fund is to support Virginia-based Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and build their capacity to support communities and businesses across the state. VCDC’s lending affiliate, VCDF, is collaborating with a group of CDFIs to form the Virginia CDFI Coalition, which will, among other things, be actively involved with the state agencies responsible for deploying the fund.
About CDFIs
CDFIs provide capital to historically underbanked populations. These non-predatory community lenders leverage capital from philanthropists, impact investors, and diverse federal funders to bring resources to low-income, low-wealth communities underserved by mainstream finance. CDFIs fill gaps in the economy—in housing, education, employment, healthcare, access to banking services—and address long-standing issues of disinvestment, the wealth gap, and persistent poverty nationwide.
The CDFI Fund
The CDFI Fund was created to promote equitable capital access, most recently receiving funds to assist in an evenly-shared recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study from the Local Government Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law, the VA CDFI Fund represents a unique opportunity to strengthen the Commonwealth’s small business ecosystem, provide targeted support for COVID-19 recovery and make headway against historic disparities in capital access.
Members of the VA CDFI Coalition include longtime VCDC/VCDF partners Virginia Community Capital, People Incorporated, and Piedmont Housing. VCDF is proud to join the Coalition and other VA CDFIs as we work to establish a collective industry voice and advocate for policy that supports our work of providing responsible, affordable finance where it is needed most.