Publications

We are excited to announce the availability of OFN's annual Opportunity Finance Institutions: Side by Side publication for fiscal year 2017—Twentieth Edition. Side by Side is OFN's annual reference guide for industry practitioners, investors, and others interested in assessing the CDFI industry's activity and performance. It presents data from OFN Member financial institutions and includes peer group analyses for primary financing sectors. This data is an invaluable resource to CDFIs, funders, and investors, in addition to its critical role in OFN's advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire industry.

The Side by Side report defines 30 core peer groups and 12 additional groups. For each peer group, we present data in support of the following topics: institution size, sectoral composition of financing, staff and board composition, efficiency and operations ratios, sources and composition of capital, financing activity and performance, and markets served.

OFN Members and Allies, please contact Lance Loethen at lloethen@ofn.org for the purchase code.

Our new report is an invaluable resource that can help CDFIs recruit, reward, and retain high-quality employees. It is a comprehensive examination of CDFI loan fund compensation and benefits data from more than 140 CDFIs from across the country. For CDFIs that are in expansion mode or those now budgeting for 2018, this report will be helpful in setting compensation levels for new positions.

The report includes:

• Compensation and benefits information for 21 executive and staff positions
• Compensation data for the top five compensated executives
• A comprehensive view of CDFI staff benefits

In addition, with permission from the American Bankers Association, we have included the most relevant cuts of data from their 2016 Compensation & Benefits Survey for each position in this survey, to provide mainstream bank data for reference.

Preview the report

• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• List of Surveyed Positions

This report provides information on 222 CDFIs in the OFN membership. The vast majority (197) of these institutions are community development loan funds with the balance being 22 community development credit unions, two community development banks, and a single community development venture capital fund.

We are excited to announce the availability of OFN's annual Opportunity Finance Institutions: Side by Side publication for fiscal year 2016—Nineteenth Edition. Side by Side is OFN's annual reference guide for industry practitioners, investors, and others interested in assessing the CDFI industry's activity and performance. It presents data from OFN Member financial institutions and includes peer group analyses for primary financing sectors. This data is an invaluable resource to CDFIs, funders, and investors, in addition to its critical role in OFN's advocacy efforts on behalf of the entire industry.

The Side by Side report defines 29 core peer groups and 12 additional groups. For each peer group, we present data in support of the following topics: institution size, sectoral composition of financing, staff and board composition, efficiency and operations ratios, sources and composition of capital, financing activity and performance, and markets served.

OFN Members and Allies, please contact Jacki Fox at jfox@ofn.org for the purchase code.

This analysis of CDFI banks and credit unions is a companion piece to OFN’s 2015 longitudinal analysis of CDFI loan funds, “20 Years of Opportunity Finance, 1994-2013: An Analysis of Trends and Growth.” Using several data sources on regulated financial institutions, this study shows that CDFI banks and credit unions grew dramatically and demonstrated strong performance throughout the 20-year period, even during the Great Recession. Findings also show that CDFI banks and credit unions offer financial services benefitting low/moderate-income communities at substantially higher rates than conventional banks and credit unions.

Download a printable 8.5"x11" Infographic of the 18th Edition of Side by Side.

The 18th Edition of Side by Side highlights essential peer groups and key statistics of the over 200 Opportunity Finance Network Member institutions with data from FY 2015. This reference guide - FREE to OFN Members and Allies - is essential for practitioners, investors, funders, and others who assess the activity and performance of the opportunity finance industry. It is also a valuable tool for CDFIs and can help to plan and better understand their organization’s performance relative to their peers. OFN Members and Allies, please contact Jacki Fox at jfox@ofn.org for the purchase code.

This report provides information on 221 OFN Member CDFIs. The vast majority (195) of these institutions are community development loan funds with the balance being 23 community development credit unions, two community development banks, and a single community development venture capital fund.

Using quantitative and qualitative research, CDFI Futures: An Industry at a Crossroads explores these questions and more, discussing this inflection point for community investment and its future challenges and opportunities. The groundbreaking research was motivated by a view among many practitioners and investors that the CDFI industry is at a critical time of change.