Publications

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

Moderator: Kimberlee Cornett, The Kresge Foundation
Presenters: Emily Chen, Local Initiatives Support Corporation; Alisa Wilson, Mercy Loan Fund; and Andrew Baldwin, Corporation for Supportive Housing

Increasingly, CDFIs are focusing on promoting healthy communities through targeted investments that impact the social determinants of health. Integrating health care services with affordable housing developments is one effective way to do this. A few CDFIs have been doing this for decades; many more have only recently considered this option. In this session you’ll hear from three highly experienced CDFIs who will share their varied and successful approaches to combining health care with housing. Examples range from designing and designating space on-site for visiting health care providers, co-locating full-service primary health care clinics within housing developments, and providing a range of supportive services. You’ll also learn about a new financing vehicle, the Healthy Futures Fund, that explores the nexus between housing and health care access through Low Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, and associated lending. This session will provide a forum to discuss lessons learned as theory is put into practice.

Track: Housing
Level: General

Presenters: Stefanie Arck, Opportunity Finance Network; Jess Brooks, Boston Community Capital; Blair Kahora, Buchanan Public Relations; and Bob Sullivan, NBC News

Wow a reporter—and secure great press—with these PR tips borrowed from social media and vice versa. Use proven social media tactics to amp up your PR campaign and secure great press. We’ll cover the four s’s of social media to help secure breakout PR and talk about two-way communication.

Track: Strategic Communications
Level: General

Moderator: David Gibson, PNC Bank
Panelists: Daniel Moss, NCB Capital Impact; Eva Heintzelman, Enterprise; and Joan Brodhead, Community First Fund 

Hear from a panel of CDFIs with varying experience in the NMTC business about what the upside potential of the program is with respect to loan volume, deal size, and community impact, and what the back-office responsibilities are in terms of compliance, asset management, and fund accounting. The panel, moderated by a leading tax credit investor, will feature two CDFIs that have received multiple NMTC allocations, as well as a CDFI that is in the earlier stages of developing its NMTC program. The session should appeal to CDFIs that are considering entering the NMTC business for the first time or expanding their existing NMTC program.

Track: Financial Resources
Level: Advanced 

Moderator: Celia D. Smoot, LISC
Panelists: Brian Dowling, CDT and John Maneval, NeighborWorks Capital

According to a HUD-sponsored report, the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has been a significant source of new multifamily housing for more than 20 years, producing more than 2 million units of affordable rental housing since 1987. In the past few years, however, thousands of properties financed through LIHTC have reached their 15th year, becoming eligible to leave the program and thus end rent and income-use restrictions. In the worst-case scenario, more than 1 million LIHTC units could leave the stock of affordable housing by 2020. Many owners hit year 15 and wonder what the next life cycle of the property will be and what the asset is really worth. This workshop will discuss: 1) partnership valuation (GP and LP) and the financing of GP and LP acquisition; 2) property reposition and disposition; and 3) interim financing solutions to address year 15 debt. In all three cases, CDFIs and other lending intermediaries can play a role through technical assistance and creative financing solutions to assist owners in shaping the next 15 years of a LIHTC property.

Track: Housing
Level: Intermediate