DVCRFCLI at aol.com
03-02-1995, 07:44 PM
CDFI FUND MOVES FORWARD
[from DVCRF's "Reinvestment News"]
By Mark A. Pinsky
President Bill Clinton signed the Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFI) Act of 1994 on September 23, 1994. DVCRF's executive
director, Jeremy Nowak, attended the ceremony along with DVCRF borrowers
Robin Hynicka (Frankford Group Ministry), Betty Ferguson (Community Child
Development Center) and John Carpenter (New Kensington Community Development
Corporation). This ceremony marked the end of an intense two year process
during which DVCRF and the CDFI industry succeeded at persuading Congress and
the Administration to structure a program around the impressive work in
low-income communities throughout the U.S.. "The poor pay the most for and
have the least access to capital. The CDFI Act helps us solve both problems.
It empowers us to improve the good work that we are already doing,"
commented David Lollis, executive director of the Federation of Appalachian
Housing Enterprises, at the signing ceremony.
The federal CDFI Fund created by the CDFI Act of 1994 began work in December
with four transition staff. If it survives the budget-cutting mood in
Washington, the Fund could begin distributing funds to CDFIs such as DVCRF as
soon as this summer.
As with all federal programs in the wake of the November election results,
the CDFI Fund faces an uncertain future. Congress appropriated $125 million
for the current fiscal year, and some reports suggest that the new
Congressional leadership will attempt to rescind some or all of that funding.
CDFI industry leaders are hopeful that the program's historically bipartisan
support, the CDFI industry's track record of performance, and the industry's
innovative spectrum of solutions to pressing problems will help the CDFI Fund
survive. The CDFI Act passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a
410-12 vote. Many DVCRF supporters called and wrote their elected
representatives -- first, to vote for the bill and, then again, to appropriat
e monies in 1994. The groundswell of support from all over was instrumental
in achieving bi-partisan support. The CDFI industry comprises more than 310
CDFIs operating in 45 states. These private sector institutions have loaned
or invested more than $3 billion with loan loss rates as good as or better
than most banks.
The CDFI Fund was created to support and expand the established network of
these bottom-up capital providers which focus on persistent poverty in both
urban and rural areas. It will provide equity grants, operating support, and
loans to qualifying CDFIs under a highly competitive selection process. All
federal support will require a dollar-for-dollar and type-for-type match
using non-federal money. The CDFI Act is likely to reward CDFIs that are
effective at leveraging support from private sources, such as banks, and
specifically encourages CDFI-bank partnerships such as the Collaborative
Lending Initiative (CLI) that DVCRF operates. CDFIs that work in an
Empowerment Zone, as DVCRF does in Camden-Philadelphia, also are likely to
enjoy a competitive advantage in the selection process.
The CDFI Fund transition staff is led by Kate McKee, former Associate
Director of the Center for Community Self-Help in Durham, North Carolina.
She is joined by former Senate Banking Committee aide Jeannine Jacokes --
who led congressional staff work on the CDFI Act -- Patrick Quinton of the
Shorebank Corporation, and David Rice, most recently of Neighborhood Capital
Corporation. The CDFI Fund expects to hire more staff shortly.
The Fund staff has begun holding a series of meetings in Washington, DC, and
elsewhere to generate recommendations for how it should operate. The
transition staff is developing a series of policy option papers that the CDFI
Fund Administrator, who must be named by the President and confirmed by the
Senate, will use to issue draft regulations. The regulations are subject to
public comment before they are finalized.
President Clinton has nominated Kirsten Moy of Equitable Real Estate
Management in New York City to serve as CDFI Administrator. No one is predict
ing how quickly Senate Banking Committee Chairman Al D'Amato of New York will
move the nomination through the committee. The transition team will work at
least until Congress confirms an Administrator.
The CDFI Fund is based on a proposal developed by The CDFI Coalition,
representing DVCRF and 42 other community development loan funds that belong
to the National Association of Community Development Loan Funds (NACDLF), as
well as some 270 other community development credit unions, community
development banks, microenterprise funds, and community development venture
capital funds.
[Mark, the coordinator of the CDFI coalition, is the newly-appointed
executive director of the National Association of Community Development Loan
Funds.]
DVCRF and NACDLF can be contacted at:
924 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
[SOME MORE RECENT NEWS FROM THE CDFI COALITION]
Action Alert: Help Save the CDFI Fund
To: CDFI Coalition, CDFI Practitioners & Colleagues
From: Mark Pinsky & Laura Schwingel, CDFI Coalition
February 27, 1995
The new CDFI Fund is in danger of losing ALL of its funding for the current
year. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on HUD, VA, and Independent
Agencies voted last week to rescind all $125 million that Congress
appropriated last year. If approved and signed into law, this would put the
CDFI Fund out of business. The full House Appropriations Committee will
almost certainly rubber stamp that vote when it meets on Thursday.
To save the CDFI Fund, we must win broad bipartisan support in the
Senate—specifically in the Senate Appropriations Committee. We have very
little time.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the measure after the House
completes work on it—very likely by March 7th or 8th. By that time, we need
to generate 750 to 1000 phone calls and letters from the CDFI community to
Senators. These calls can have either of two purposes:
A) If your Senator is on the Senate Appropriations Committee (see the
attached list), call to ask for a public statement of support for full
funding for the CDFI Fund for fiscal 1995 when the House rescission package
comes up for a vote.
To call your Senator:
1. Call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
2. Ask to speak to your Senator's office.
3. Ask for the Legislative Aide who handles the Senator's Appropriations work
(the CDFI Coalition has a list and can give you the name and direct number of
the right person to talk to).
4. Tell the aide who you are, what the CDFI you represent does, and why the
CDFI Fund will help create quality jobs and affordable housing in your state.
5. Ask the Senator to publicly support full funding ($125 million) for the
CDFI Fund for fiscal 1995.
6. Ask for a letter from the Senator affirming her/his support, and send a
copy to the CDFI Coalition.
7. Follow up your call with a letter reiterating your request. (A sample
letter is attached.)
B) If your Senator is not on the Senate Appropriations Committee, ask her or
him to write a "Dear Colleague" letter urging those who are to preserve full
funding for the CDFI Fund for fiscal 1995 when the House rescission package
comes up for a vote.
Sen. Mark Hatfield, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee,
Sen. Robert Byrd, Ranking Minority Member of the Committee,
Sen. Christopher Bond, Chairman of the Sen. Appropriations Subcommittee on
HUD, VA & Independent Agencies
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Ranking Minority Member of the Sen. Appropriations
Subcommittee on HUD, VA & Independent Agencies
This post transferred from the cdb-l mailing list
[from DVCRF's "Reinvestment News"]
By Mark A. Pinsky
President Bill Clinton signed the Community Development Financial
Institutions (CDFI) Act of 1994 on September 23, 1994. DVCRF's executive
director, Jeremy Nowak, attended the ceremony along with DVCRF borrowers
Robin Hynicka (Frankford Group Ministry), Betty Ferguson (Community Child
Development Center) and John Carpenter (New Kensington Community Development
Corporation). This ceremony marked the end of an intense two year process
during which DVCRF and the CDFI industry succeeded at persuading Congress and
the Administration to structure a program around the impressive work in
low-income communities throughout the U.S.. "The poor pay the most for and
have the least access to capital. The CDFI Act helps us solve both problems.
It empowers us to improve the good work that we are already doing,"
commented David Lollis, executive director of the Federation of Appalachian
Housing Enterprises, at the signing ceremony.
The federal CDFI Fund created by the CDFI Act of 1994 began work in December
with four transition staff. If it survives the budget-cutting mood in
Washington, the Fund could begin distributing funds to CDFIs such as DVCRF as
soon as this summer.
As with all federal programs in the wake of the November election results,
the CDFI Fund faces an uncertain future. Congress appropriated $125 million
for the current fiscal year, and some reports suggest that the new
Congressional leadership will attempt to rescind some or all of that funding.
CDFI industry leaders are hopeful that the program's historically bipartisan
support, the CDFI industry's track record of performance, and the industry's
innovative spectrum of solutions to pressing problems will help the CDFI Fund
survive. The CDFI Act passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a
410-12 vote. Many DVCRF supporters called and wrote their elected
representatives -- first, to vote for the bill and, then again, to appropriat
e monies in 1994. The groundswell of support from all over was instrumental
in achieving bi-partisan support. The CDFI industry comprises more than 310
CDFIs operating in 45 states. These private sector institutions have loaned
or invested more than $3 billion with loan loss rates as good as or better
than most banks.
The CDFI Fund was created to support and expand the established network of
these bottom-up capital providers which focus on persistent poverty in both
urban and rural areas. It will provide equity grants, operating support, and
loans to qualifying CDFIs under a highly competitive selection process. All
federal support will require a dollar-for-dollar and type-for-type match
using non-federal money. The CDFI Act is likely to reward CDFIs that are
effective at leveraging support from private sources, such as banks, and
specifically encourages CDFI-bank partnerships such as the Collaborative
Lending Initiative (CLI) that DVCRF operates. CDFIs that work in an
Empowerment Zone, as DVCRF does in Camden-Philadelphia, also are likely to
enjoy a competitive advantage in the selection process.
The CDFI Fund transition staff is led by Kate McKee, former Associate
Director of the Center for Community Self-Help in Durham, North Carolina.
She is joined by former Senate Banking Committee aide Jeannine Jacokes --
who led congressional staff work on the CDFI Act -- Patrick Quinton of the
Shorebank Corporation, and David Rice, most recently of Neighborhood Capital
Corporation. The CDFI Fund expects to hire more staff shortly.
The Fund staff has begun holding a series of meetings in Washington, DC, and
elsewhere to generate recommendations for how it should operate. The
transition staff is developing a series of policy option papers that the CDFI
Fund Administrator, who must be named by the President and confirmed by the
Senate, will use to issue draft regulations. The regulations are subject to
public comment before they are finalized.
President Clinton has nominated Kirsten Moy of Equitable Real Estate
Management in New York City to serve as CDFI Administrator. No one is predict
ing how quickly Senate Banking Committee Chairman Al D'Amato of New York will
move the nomination through the committee. The transition team will work at
least until Congress confirms an Administrator.
The CDFI Fund is based on a proposal developed by The CDFI Coalition,
representing DVCRF and 42 other community development loan funds that belong
to the National Association of Community Development Loan Funds (NACDLF), as
well as some 270 other community development credit unions, community
development banks, microenterprise funds, and community development venture
capital funds.
[Mark, the coordinator of the CDFI coalition, is the newly-appointed
executive director of the National Association of Community Development Loan
Funds.]
DVCRF and NACDLF can be contacted at:
924 Cherry Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
[SOME MORE RECENT NEWS FROM THE CDFI COALITION]
Action Alert: Help Save the CDFI Fund
To: CDFI Coalition, CDFI Practitioners & Colleagues
From: Mark Pinsky & Laura Schwingel, CDFI Coalition
February 27, 1995
The new CDFI Fund is in danger of losing ALL of its funding for the current
year. The House Appropriations Subcommittee on HUD, VA, and Independent
Agencies voted last week to rescind all $125 million that Congress
appropriated last year. If approved and signed into law, this would put the
CDFI Fund out of business. The full House Appropriations Committee will
almost certainly rubber stamp that vote when it meets on Thursday.
To save the CDFI Fund, we must win broad bipartisan support in the
Senate—specifically in the Senate Appropriations Committee. We have very
little time.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will take up the measure after the House
completes work on it—very likely by March 7th or 8th. By that time, we need
to generate 750 to 1000 phone calls and letters from the CDFI community to
Senators. These calls can have either of two purposes:
A) If your Senator is on the Senate Appropriations Committee (see the
attached list), call to ask for a public statement of support for full
funding for the CDFI Fund for fiscal 1995 when the House rescission package
comes up for a vote.
To call your Senator:
1. Call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
2. Ask to speak to your Senator's office.
3. Ask for the Legislative Aide who handles the Senator's Appropriations work
(the CDFI Coalition has a list and can give you the name and direct number of
the right person to talk to).
4. Tell the aide who you are, what the CDFI you represent does, and why the
CDFI Fund will help create quality jobs and affordable housing in your state.
5. Ask the Senator to publicly support full funding ($125 million) for the
CDFI Fund for fiscal 1995.
6. Ask for a letter from the Senator affirming her/his support, and send a
copy to the CDFI Coalition.
7. Follow up your call with a letter reiterating your request. (A sample
letter is attached.)
B) If your Senator is not on the Senate Appropriations Committee, ask her or
him to write a "Dear Colleague" letter urging those who are to preserve full
funding for the CDFI Fund for fiscal 1995 when the House rescission package
comes up for a vote.
Sen. Mark Hatfield, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee,
Sen. Robert Byrd, Ranking Minority Member of the Committee,
Sen. Christopher Bond, Chairman of the Sen. Appropriations Subcommittee on
HUD, VA & Independent Agencies
Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Ranking Minority Member of the Sen. Appropriations
Subcommittee on HUD, VA & Independent Agencies
This post transferred from the cdb-l mailing list