FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Michigan CDFI Coalition Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
The Michigan CDFI Coalition convenes CDFIs from across the state with the goal of reaching more underserved borrowers and supporting economic growth.
LANSING, MI, December 12, 2023 – The Michigan CDFI Coalition is celebrating its one-year anniversary and is focused on growing its impact and providing more financial resources to underserved borrowers and communities. The Coalition was launched in late 2022 to bring together the state’s more than 50 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to increase awareness of CDFIs, expand programming to support more borrowers, businesses, and projects, and continue to support economic growth throughout Michigan.
“We could not be more excited to bring our Michigan CDFI community together with the critical goal of providing more financial resources to underserved borrowers across the state,” said Elissa Sangalli, Chair of the Michigan CDFI Coalition and President of Northern Initiatives. “Since taking on the position of Chair, I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished in our first year, and I can’t wait to see what we achieve in 2024.”
CDFIs are mission-based lenders that provide flexible and affordable financing to small businesses, first-time home buyers, affordable housing developments, and projects that revitalize neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and community spaces. CDFIs are certified by the CDFI Fund, a division of the U.S. Department of Treasury, which was established by the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to promote economic revitalization and community development in low-income communities. Certified CDFIs must meet impact measures demonstrating they are reaching underserved borrowers and communities. Underserved borrowers often cannot access traditional bank financing; CDFIs step in to provide and expand access to capital and the resources needed to grow communities.
“The Michigan CDFI Coalition is the collective voice of CDFIs in Michigan, and we work hand-in-hand to forge inclusive policies, deliver vital programs, and bolster efforts in community investment across the state,” said Eric Hanna, Vice Chair of the MI CDFI Coalition and President & CEO of Michigan Community Capital. “I believe if we can continue to increase funding for CDFIs and grow their capacity, these funds will go directly to creating jobs, affordable housing, financial health, and other economic opportunities for Michigan residents.”
Michigan is home to more than 50 CDFIs. This includes 47 headquartered in Michigan, including 16 nonprofit loan funds, 29 credit unions, one CDFI bank, and several larger multi-state loan funds that provide significant investments and resources to Michigan communities. The MI CDFI Coalition membership also includes impactful community partners who are mission-aligned with CDFIs and believe in the goal of access to capital for all Michigan residents.
“Michigan’s CDFI community is one of the largest and most collaborative around the country,” said Christi Coady Narayanan, Secretary of the MI CDFI Coalition, Chair of the Detroit CDFI Coalition, and President and CEO of Opportunity Resource Fund. “We actively work together to partner on deals, develop programming and share best practices, all with the goal of helping one another do more to reach more borrowers.”
To date, Michigan’s CDFIs have deployed more than $4 billion in loans throughout the state and have made the following impact:
- Created almost 30,000 permanent jobs
- Developed almost 23 million square feet of real estate
- Over 14,000 total housing units, 72% affordable
- Supported over 7,000 small or micro-businesses
CDFIs also played a significant role in providing Michigan small businesses and nonprofits access to the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loans and serviced $1.5 billion in loans, preserving 165,000 jobs. In FY 2021, MI CDFIs deployed $1.4 billion in loans.
Michigan CDFIs support several areas of the economy including:
- Small and Micro-Businesses.
- Single, Multi-Family, and Affordable Housing.
- Real Estate and Mixed-Use Projects.
- Consumer Loans and Banking Products.
- Non-Profit Projects, and more.
“The MI CDFI Coalition continues to amplify the voices of those in underserved communities throughout Michigan,” said State Senator Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.) “The work of CDFIs provide more Michiganders the opportunity to succeed and invest back into their community. I look forward to the growth of the Coalition’s impact across our state.”
The MI CDFI Coalition launched its new website and social media platforms to amplify its impact and reach more borrowers. With a commitment to raising awareness and increasing lending capacity, the MI CDFI Coalition is committed to working with private and public funders and partners to help increase CDFI’s capacity. The Coalition has worked with the state of Michigan to create the largest state CDFI fund in the nation with a total of $85 Million to date. This funding goes directly to CDFIs to provide loans and financial programming to homeowners, small businesses, affordable housing, community revitalization projects, and more.
The Coalition continues to work with state and federal leaders to help ensure CDFIs can reach borrowers and projects statewide.
Learn more about the Michigan CDFI Coalition and its members at www.micdfi.org.
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About Michigan CDFI Coalition
The Michigan CDFI Coalition was founded in 2022 with a mission of bringing Michigan CDFIs together to collaborate on the development of inclusive policies, deliver vital programs, and bolster their efforts in community investment across the state of Michigan. Prospective Michigan CDFI partners, communities, and individuals can learn more about the Michigan CDFI Coalition by visiting www.micdfi.org.