Fresno CDFI Offers Responsible Financing Alternative to Predatory Loans
Client: Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF)
Client Location: Fresno, CA
CDFI: CBA Fund
CDFI Service Area: National
Financing with support from OFN’s Finance Justice Fund
Founded in 2001 by local Hispanic business owners, the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF) develops strategies to support the growth of the community through technical assistance, outreach, advocacy, and access to capital.
Certified as a community development financial institution (CDFI) in 2021, FAHF offers technical assistance and microloan programs with one-on-one counseling and assistance aimed at helping individuals secure personal loans at reasonable interest rates and also helping entrepreneurs launch and expand self-sufficient small businesses.
FAHF began providing small-dollar consumer loans in 2021 after receiving funding from Wells Fargo and CBA Fund, Credit Builders Alliance’s CDFI intermediary, which is dedicated to helping nonprofits offer small-dollar, credit-building consumer loans that provide safe and affordable alternatives to predatory loans. They also received a CDFI Fund Small Dollar Program Award in 2022 for loan loss reserves and technical assistance.
In January 2023, FAHF received a second loan from CBA Fund to continue their small-dollar consumer lending. With the help of the CBA Fund loan, FAHF now provides flexible and accessible smaller-dollar consumer loans to residents with no or subprime credit. In addition to CBA Fund’s low-interest loan, FAHF also received training on the consumer loan product as a new CDFI, advice on how to develop their program, and even what to ask loan recipients.
“This is really a quality-of-life issue,” said FAHF Corporate Relations and Program Director Yurubi Ramirez. “Without CBA Fund helping to fund these loans, the alternative would be ultra-high interest products that can trap people in a cycle of debt or force them to simply go without things like a car, both of which can make it hard to provide for their family. We’re not interested in a profit. We want to help our community, provide assistance, and let them know they have better options.”
#CDFIstory
Are you an OFN member CDFI with a great borrower story to share?
Your client success stories illustrate what it means to deliver opportunity for all. They help OFN demonstrate how CDFIs work to help create good family-wage jobs, decent affordable homes, healthy foods, greener neighborhoods, and so much more.
Find Other CDFIs
Interested in learning more about other CDFIs in your region? Visit OFN’s CDFI Locator.
Stay Connected with OFN
Subscribe to receive regular updates from OFN straight to your inbox and follow OFN on social media.