Register for OFN’s 2025 Small Business Finance Forum in Austin, TX
More than 500 mission-driven small business lenders and partners will gather this June 11-13 for OFN’s 12th annual SBFF.
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Small businesses are well-known as the backbone of the American economy. Led by passionate, hardworking entrepreneurs representing the best of our country, they also contribute to vibrant, flourishing, safe communities that we all deserve to call home.
Today, a rapidly changing federal policy environment and uneven economic impact threaten the sustainability and growth of many small businesses along with CDFIs and other mission-driven financial institutions that invest in them. Yet CDFIs have a long history of stepping up and serving as steady sources of capital, coaching, and hope in challenging and uncertain times — 2025 is no exception.
Join more than 500 CDFI industry peers and partners in Austin, Texas, at the 2025 Small Business Finance Forum. Together, we’ll explore policy advocacy, lending innovations, and enhanced technical assistance opportunities to sustain and strengthen small business financing for our nation’s most underinvested entrepreneurs.
Agenda Highlights
The 2025 forum will feature over 30 interactive breakout sessions across seven distinct tracks, opportunities for peer learning and networking, and a Small Business Partner Expo spotlighting tools, resources, and organizations that help CDFI small business lenders do their jobs more efficiently and effectively and maximize impact.
Attendees can also opt to arrive a day early to take advantage of our pre-forum training day on June 11. OFN will offer training opportunities on a variety of topics ranging from CDFI 101 to Financial Management and Impact Measurement & Management.
- Welcome reception (evening of June 11)
- 3 inspiring plenaries
- Small Business Partner Expo featuring exhibitors with products and services geared toward small business lenders
- 30+ interactive breakout sessions spread across 7 distinct tracks
- 4 pre-event training opportunities (June 11)
- Local tour after the closing plenary that highlights CDFIs’ collaborative work and celebrates local small businesses (June 13)
Haven’t attended an OFN Small Business Finance Forum? Check out the recap from our 2024 event.
Session Tracks
- Strategies for Entrepreneurial Success
- Scaling & Sustaining Loan Portfolios
- Policy in Action
- Optimizing Operations & Strategy
- Data-Driven Impact
- Innovating for the Future
- State of Small Business
Featured Breakout Sessions
- Lightning Talks: AI Innovation
- The Effects of CDFI Fund Financial Assistance Awards
- The “Real” ROI of Investing in CDFI Technology Solutions
- OFN Public Policy Advocacy Workshop
- Building a Legacy: The Role of CDFIs in Asset Building and Exit-Planning
- Putting Open-Source Data on the Map: Tools for Advocacy and Impact
- Can I Still Say That: Navigating Messaging in the New Policy Environment
- Leading Practices: Loan Policies Workshop
- When Mission Meets Market Pressure: A Conversation About Collaboration & Consolidation
See the registration site for the full list of sessions and stay tuned for plenary announcements!
Training
The forum will feature the following training opportunities on June 11:
- CDFI 101: Orientation to the Industry
- Small Business Lending 101
- Financial Management Workshop
- Impact Measurement & Management 201
These workshop-style courses will provide more comprehensive, interactive learning than our standard breakout sessions. Learn more about each training on the forum registration site.
Please note training availability is limited and there is a separate registration fee.
CDFIs in Action Tour
Austin has changed a lot in the last 15 years. Development and continued population growth have reshaped the city and altered the fabric of its small business economy. On this tour, join fellow OFN members as we visit projects like Austin’s Thinkery children’s museum that highlight their collaborative work, see how development has impacted historic business districts and meet entrepreneurs who are working to “Keep Austin Weird” even as they have been pushed to the city’s limits.
- Transportation: Charter bus and light mostly indoor walking
- Timing: 2-5pm CT on Friday June 13, 2025
- Tour Capacity: 40
- Pricing: $125 Member / $200 General
Refreshments will be served. Participants should allow for at least 40 minutes of travel time to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport after the tour.
Please note space on the tour is limited and there is a separate registration fee.
We expect the forum to sell out quickly. Register for SBFF and then book your hotel room through our discounted room block before it’s too late! The room block will close on May 20 at 5 p.m. CT or once it’s sold out — whichever comes first.
Please note you must register for the event and your hotel room separately. Registering for the event does not guarantee you a hotel room, and booking a hotel room does not guarantee your ticket to the event.
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
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Join us from October 20-23 in Washington, D.C. for the 41st annual OFN Conference!
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