Publications

Moderator: Robin Hacke, Living Cities
Panelists: Jessica Standiford, Low Income Investment Fund; Mike LaFave, Neighborhood Development Center; and Mary Tingerthal, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency 

Funders, policy makers, and developers have placed tremendous emphasis in recent years on mixed use transit oriented development (TOD) as a powerful tool for creating healthy, livable communities. While there is often a deliberate focus on the affordability mix of the housing in such projects, the commercial component of these projects is all too often less intentional. Moderated by Robin Hacke of Living Cities, this panel will highlight recent examples of mixed-use, TOD projects which have had a deliberate focus on economic development. The panel will discuss what “equitable" economic development means in the context of TOD, what it takes to make the economic development component a reality, how it interfaces with the housing component of the same project, and how CDFIs can play a meaningful role. Panelists include Mike LaFave of the Neighborhood Development Center, a CDFI that has completed several such projects; Jessica Standiford of LIIF, who recently completed a national study of mixed use projects; and Mary Tingerthal, a national leader in housing finance policy.

Track: Coverage
Level: General

Moderator: Terry Burks, Equifax
Panelists: Michael Stefanick, Equifax and Bonnie Bowling, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs 

In lending days of old, you could rely on the three C’s for mitigating risk: character, collateral, and cash. In today’s lending environment, relying on character can get you into trouble – you need to focus on the facts. This session will provide insights into a major credit agency’s recent analysis of the current market landscape for microenterprises, including risk and growth trends; outline critical factors for identifying and managing risk in your microenterprise loan portfolio; and show you how leveraging a new automated underwriting system can drive efficiency in your loan origination processes. You’ll hear from a CDFI microlender who's adopted the technology and achieved significant loan growth as a result.

Track: Organizational Capacity
Level: General

Moderator: Debby Stefaniak, Opportunity Finance Network

Panelists: Stefanie Arck, Opportunity Finance Network; Nick Burstein, Opportunity Finance Network; Demetric Duckett, TruFund; Andrew Schultz, Garfield Group; Sherry Simmons, Northern CA Community Loan Fund; Allison Starkey, Wells Fargo; Steve Varnum, New Hampshire Community Loan Fund

TED gives presenters 18 minutes to make their case—our marketing and communications experts only need eight! See eight communications professionals present eight tools or best practices in this engaging and fast paced session. Topics include: Social Media in Five Minutes a Day; Crisis Communications Readiness; Responsive Web Design; Tell Me a Story!; Be Bold with your Marketing; Designs That Scale; How to be an Effective Co-Brand Partner

Track: Strategic Communications
Level: General

Presenter: Cathy Dolan, Opportunity Finance Network

The CDFI Bond Guarantee Program is live and Guarantee Authority will be available in fiscal year 2014. If you are interested in applying or want to learn more to decide whether to apply, this session is for you. You’ll learn all the basics: what the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program offers, how your organization can benefit, program eligibility requirements, and what to consider in putting together an application. Don’t miss out! Get informed today.

Track: Financial Resources
Level: General

Presenters: Kristi Bias, Lisa Wagner and Sarah Sanders, Oweesta

This training provides participants with the essentials to prepare for successful investor conversations. Learn how to be responsive to your organization's funding needs by utilizing sources other than Federal programs. Acquire practical tips on preparing a funder’s packet. This session will shorten your learning curve, help you avoid pitfalls, and accelerate your process of building relationships with investors.

Track: Native CDFIs
Level: General

This is one of three Microenterprise sessions that will share out the work of the Scaling Up Microfinance participants. Part of the CDFI Fund’s Capacity Building Initiative, Scaling Up Microfinance includes six mentored Working Groups that are exploring creative ways to: develop new products, conduct effective market research, conduct outreach to potential clients, improve collections, underwrite quickly and effectively, and collaborate with partners. The six Working Groups are just getting underway this summer. In September we will review their findings and update this description with the specific elements of their work that will be covered in this session.

Presenters: Caroline Harries, John Weidman and Julia Koprak, The Food Trust; Gary Williams, Hope Enterprise Corporation; and Sajan Philip, Low Income Investment Fund

Over the last few years, many CDFIs have begun to utilize city, state, federal, and philanthropic dollars to fund healthy food retail projects. Terms such as ""food desert"" and ""underserved"" have become commonplace, yet clear definitions can be elusive and vary by state and program. Other challenges include building a robust pipeline of applicants and marketing the program effectively, as well as attracting additional investment to support projects. This session will be relevant to any CDFI that is working to increase access to healthy food, and is designed as a follow-up to the training sessions and technical assistance that were offered through the “Financing Healthy Food” Capacity Building series sponsored by OFN and the CDFI Fund. Attendees will walk away with: a clearer understanding of available data sources to determine eligibility, more confidence about how to prioritize projects in areas of need, building a pipeline of applicants, outreach strategies for the grocery industry, ideas to attract additional investment, and other best practices in healthy food financing. A recently released Healthy Food Financing Handbook will also be distributed.

Track: Healthy Foods 
Level: General

Moderator: Pam Porter, Opportunity Finance Network
Panelists: Allison Coleman, Capital Link; Kim Dempsey, NCB Capital Impact; and Tom Manning, Primary Care Development Corporation

Community Health Centers (CHCs) in underserved communities are projected to grow by 50 to 100%, triggering a multi-billion dollar capital need with significant investment opportunity for CDFIs. Moreover, evidence consistently shows that CHCs have a direct and measurable impact on the health of low-income communities while additionally serving as engines of primary and secondary economic development. In this context, The CDFI Fund has selected OFN, working with the CDFI industry’s most experienced health care lenders, to provide Capacity Building TA to increase CDFI lending to the CHC sector. Moderated by OFN, with panelists from the Primary Care Development Corporation, Capital Link and NCB Capital Impact, this session will cover the role of CHCs in the low-income communities and the most critical aspects of CHC lending. Participants will also understand the broader and deeper TA that will be available through this CDFI Capacity Building Initiative.

Special Session: Health Care Finance
Level: General

Moderator: Wanda Speight, Opportunity Finance Network 
Panelists: Amy Brusiloff, Bank of America; Dana Bourland, The JPB Foundation; Casey Bell, ACEEE; and Eileen Neely, Living Cities 

Meet some of the funders of CDFIs' energy efficiency financing work. Get an update on how energy efficiency fits into their programmatic priorities, the types of programs available to CDFIs, and how to apply.

Track: Energy Efficiency 
Level: General

Moderator: Vicky Stein, Community Reinvestment Fund 
Panelists: Kristin Faust, Partners for the Common Good; Catherine Godschalk, Calvert Foundation; Allison Moy, Self-Help; and a representative of NCB Capital Impact 

CDFIs raise capital in a variety of ways to support their mission, often relying on low-cost, long-term debt or philanthropic funds. However, some CDFIs are looking at innovative ways to diversify their capital base or to help overcome certain lending constraints (e.g., single borrower limits). One strategy that is starting to gain traction is partnering with other CDFIs to sell whole loans, with the end goal of increasing the liquidity base and lending capacity of the originating/selling CDFI. This activity has some history in the CDFI industry’s lexicon, but the idea has recently reemerged as a way for CDFIs to raise capital. The panel will talk about past efforts to create liquidity through loan purchasing partnerships, and will cover examples of the latest developments from CDFIs that are currently working together on transactions.

Track: Collaborations
Level: Advanced