Lending With Community at Heart

Here’s a new one to add to your arsenal of do-gooder terminology: community development financial institution, or CDFI, which, according to CDFI coalition, are "private-sector, financial intermediaries with community development as their primary mission."

In an economic crisis in which the private sector is being reviled for caring too much about the bottom line, it’s refreshing to hear the word "community" nestled amid the branches of the "private-sector financial" thorn bush.

The even better news is that there’s a prize for some of the most effective of these organizations. Philadelphia-based Opportunity Finance Network has announced winners of the 2009 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance, with prizes totaling $8.25 million in grants and low-cost loans.

The Wachovia Foundation and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation helped create and fund the awards, which honor "the top performing CDFIs for lending programs directly benefiting low- and moderate-income communities," according to the Foundation Center.

And the winners are ... New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and Kentucky-based Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (FAHE). A press release (PDF) states that the former was chosen for "expansion of an innovative financing program for manufactured housing mortgage loans, which has the potential to change mortgage financing in the manufactured home sector across the U.S." and that FAHE is being recognized for "innovation and bold strategy in eliminating substandard housing conditions prevalent in the Central Appalachian region."

"Each award recipient has blazed an unlikely trail on solid ground against expectations," said Opportunity Finance Network president and CEO Mark Pinsky. "These awards recognize the outstanding achievements and extraordinary future potential of two leading CDFIs."

Photo courtesy of aeu04117, via Flickr