New Public-Private Coalition Will Catalyze Massive Investments to Close the Wealth Gap
For Immediate Release: July 28, 2022
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Lisa Chensvold
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Opportunity Finance Network joins other social sector advisors to support the coalition’s deployment of significant resources to community development finance institutions and other entities
New York — Today, Opportunity Finance Network takes part in the announcement of a historic effort to catalyze public and private investments to address economic disparities and accelerate economic opportunity in communities of color and other underserved communities.
Vice President Kamala Harris will announce the formation of the Economic Opportunity Coalition, made up of 20 corporations and three foundations, which will align major investments in underserved communities with investments made by the Biden-Harris Administration.
The new coalition will coordinate across public, private, and social sector organizations to develop and deploy new products and services to get resources and capital where they are most needed.
Investing in community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and minority depository institutions (MDIs) is among the coalition’s four focus areas. Coalition members have already committed more than $3 billion of investments into CDFIs and MDIs, including $250 million in long-term, low-interest debt and more than $70 million in grants to CDFIs and MDIs.
“Today marks a historic moment of support for our industry,” said Opportunity Finance Network President and CEO Lisa Mensah.
OFN joins 16 other social sector organizations that will advise on the development and implementation of the coalition’s commitments.
”OFN is honored to support the new Economic Opportunity Coalition,” Mensah said. “CDFIs are creative community partners that work amid the harsh realities of the wealth gap and put more people on the ladder to prosperity with responsible financial products and services. With aligned investments from this powerful public-private coalition, we can do so much more.”
The formation of the coalition and the commitments that members have already made to accelerate economic opportunity signal a promising new era in investments to close the wealth gap in the United States.
The founding members of the coalition include Ariel Investments, Bank of America, BNY Mellon, Capital One, Citi, Discover, Ford Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Google, Key Bank, Kresge Foundation, Mastercard, McDonald’s, McKinsey & Company, Micron, Momentus Capital, Moody’s, Netflix, Next Street, PayPal, PNC, Rockefeller Foundation, TIAA-CREF, and Upstart.
In addition to OFN, social sector advisors include African American Alliance of CDFIs, Appalachian Community Capital, Enterprise Community Partners, Financial Health Network, Hope Credit Union, Momentus Capital, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Bankers Association, Next Street, Policy Link, Prosperity Now, SaverLife, The Resurrection Project, TruFund, and Urban Institute.
More details are available in the White House fact sheet.
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About Opportunity Finance Network (OFN)
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is a leading national network of more than 360 community development financial institutions (CDFIs), specialized lenders that provide affordable, responsible financial products and services in low-income rural, urban, and Native communities nationwide. As a trusted intermediary between CDFIs and the public and private sectors, OFN works with its partners – banks, philanthropies, corporations, government agencies and others – to create economic opportunity for all by strengthening and investing in CDFIs. Since its founding in 1986 and through 2020, the network has originated $91.2 billion in financing in rural, urban, and Native communities, helping to create or maintain more than 2.2 million jobs, start or expand 535,550 businesses and microenterprises, and support the development or rehabilitation of more than 2.2 million housing units and more than 13,270 community facility projects.