Finance Justice Fund Surpasses $86 Million in Funding to OFN Member CDFIs
Caroline Valvardi
As we kick off 2022, OFN is pleased to announce we have deployed more than $86 million in Finance Justice Fund loans and grants to member CDFIs to date. As of December 31, 2021, OFN has closed $81.6 million in loans and disbursed $5.2 million in grants to more than 30 OFN members.
Launched in November 2020 with a $100 million investment from Twitter, the Finance Justice Fund aims to bring more than $1 billion in long-term, flexible capital from corporate and philanthropic partners to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to address longstanding disinvestment issues, the racial wealth gap, and persistent poverty nationwide.
In June 2021, Wells Fargo joined Twitter as a philanthropic supporter of the Fund with a $25 million grant, followed by an announcement of $23 million committed by Truist, Focusing Philanthropy, MacArthur Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Most recently, JPMorgan Chase committed a $20 million debt investment and a $2.4 million grant.
We congratulate the following OFN members on their recent funding:
- Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region provides access to capital by pooling investments and donations from socially concerned individuals and organizations, and re-lending it to nonprofit organizations and small businesses. They also offer training and technical assistance programs for small business owners and nonprofit leaders.
- Latino Community Credit Union is based in Durham, North Carolina, and has become a national model for credit unions and CDFIs seeking to serve unbanked individuals and immigrant communities.
- The Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund is rooted in faith and the call for economic justice. The Fund provides flexible capital, expertise, and advocacy to propel the growth of more equitable communities. Leviticus creates opportunities for vulnerable, low-income people – especially those harmed by systemic racial and ethnic discrimination – to thrive and live with dignity.
- National Council on Agricultural Life & Labor Research, Inc. (NCALL) is based in Dover, Delaware, and specializes in affordable housing development, education and lending. As a service provider for lower income households, NCALL also offers pre-purchase counseling, financial education, and default and foreclosure prevention programs to the public.
- Wind River Development Fund (WRDF) provides financial opportunities to stimulate economic development on and near the Wind River Indian Reservation, promoting self-sufficiency, self-determination, and an enhanced quality of life for the reservation community.
- Seed Commons is a national network of locally rooted, non-extractive loan funds that brings the power of big finance under community control. By taking guidance from the grassroots and sharing capital and resources to support local cooperative businesses, they are building the infrastructure necessary for a truly just, democratic, and sustainable new economy.
Visit OFN’s website to see the full list of OFN members that have received Finance Justice Fund loans and grants to date.
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Corporations and philanthropies interested in investing in the Finance Justice Fund, please contact Beth Lipson, CFO at OFN.
CDFIs interested in learning more about the Finance Justice Fund, visit OFN’s Finance Justice Fund page or contact Lisa Wright, senior vice president of financial services.
Photo: Esmerelda Leyva and family in San Juan, TX (supported with funding from Finance Justice Fund recipient Affordable Homes of South Texas)