ABSTRACT
Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) represent a key innovation in community development. CDFIs are loan funds, venture capital funds, microloan funds, credit unions, and banks that include community development at the core of their mission. Federal, state, and local governments, as well as private foundations and financial institutions, have invested billions of dollars in CDFIs over the last twenty years to revitalize communities through improved access to affordable capital and credit. Both private social investors as well as governments are increasingly asking for evidence of CDFIs’ impacts.
