In October 2010, OFN convened a diverse group of young leaders—representing CDFIs, banks, foundations, and government—to discuss the strategic challenge of talent development in an effort to define a vision for the next CDFI era.
The ideas and recommendations generated during this discussion, and further developed in subsequent meetings and work groups, formed the foundation of CDFIs v2.0: The Vision of a New Generation. Published in January 2012 by OFN, this vision paper, made possible by a generous grant from Rabobank and in-kind support from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, makes five recommendations for building a solid future for CDFIs:
- Strategically recruit new talent
- Increase opportunities for training and advancement
- Improve social impact measurement and collection
- Collaborate and innovate to use resources more efficiently
- Diversify capital sources and improve transparency
These ideas are meant to act as a starting point for discussion within CDFIs, their partner organizations, and the industry as a whole. In particular, we hope that this document will stimulate conversation about fostering the next generation of leaders in the community development finance sector.
