CDFI Fund Announces Providers Under New Capacity-Building Initiative

Expanded Technical Assistance and Training Resources to Strengthen Capacity of Community Development Financial Institutions Across the Nation

Washington, DCThe CDFI Fund announced today the initial successful providers named under the Request for Proposals for its new Capacity-Building Initiative, designed to greatly expand technical assistance and training opportunities for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) nationwide. Through the Capacity-Building Initiative, these firms will provide specialized training and technical assistance designed to significantly increase the ability of CDFIs to deliver financial products and services to underserved communities.

"This exciting, new initiative marks another key success in the CDFI Fund's efforts to deliver additional resources, funding, and specialized technical assistance to the entire CDFI sector. I would especially like to thank the Community Development Advisory Board for their inspiration and hard work to make this initiative possible," said CDFI Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell. "The CDFI Fund will be working closely with the providers announced today to offer high quality training resources, on-site technical assistance and individualized capacity-building assistance to help CDFIs extend and expand their coverage."

Training will cover areas like affordable housing and business lending, portfolio management, risk assessment, foreclosure prevention, training in CDFI business processes, and assistance with liquidity and capitalization challenges.

The providers selected for the initial Capacity-Building Task Orders are:

• CDFI Solutions for Foreclosure Prevention: NeighborWorks America
  
  NeighborWorks will provide training and/or technical assistance services to help CDFIs respond to the nation's foreclosure crisis. Participants will learn how to effectively implement foreclosure prevention programs or to strengthen existing programs. This initiative will focus particularly on CDFIs serving communities that are most affected by the current housing crisis.
   
• CDFI Expansion: Deloitte Financial Advisory Services
  
  Deloitte will undertake market research to help determine if and how training and/or technical assistance services should be provided to communities hardest hit by the recession. This will help lay the foundation for a training and technical assistance strategy by: 1) identifying which communities have been the hardest hit by the recession; 2) if a CDFI serves those areas hardest hit; 3) if a CDFI does serve such areas, what kind of capacity building would be most appropriate if at all; and 4) if a CDFI does not substantially serve the hardest hit areas, what is the extent of the need for such an entity.
   
• Portfolio Management and Risk Assessment: NeighborWorks America
  
  NeighborWorks will provide training and/or technical assistance services to help participants effectively assess the risks in their loan portfolios and manage these risks. NeighborWorks will identify best practices in risk assessment and portfolio management that are being used by the CDFI industry, CDFI partners or other community development lending institutions.
   
• Liquidity and Capitalization: NeighborWorks America
  
  NeighborWorks will conduct market research on: 1) current avenues for capacity and liquidity for CDFIs; 2) barriers to achieving greater capitalization and liquidity; and 3) best prospects for achieving capitalization and liquidity. It will take the results of this research and implement a program of training and technical assistance to support the capital structure of CDFIs.

In addition to the providers mentioned above, the CDFI Fund is pleased to announce that the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, the Opportunity Finance Network and Reznick Group, P.C. have also been selected as providers under the Request for Proposals for the Capacity-Building Initiative and will be able to compete on additional task orders which will be issued in the future.

Selections were made based on the providers overall expertise and ability to serve the full range of CDFIs. Training will be directed to nonprofit loan funds, banks, credit unions and venture capital funds, in both rural and urban settings.

The CDFI Fund is coordinating with the providers to begin delivery of the technical assistance and training in the coming months. These opportunities will be posted on the CDFI Fund's website. The CDFI Fund anticipates announcing the provider selected to conduct training and technical assistance for CDFIs to successfully finance the full continuum of access to healthy food options in underserved markets later this month.

About NeighborWorks America   Neighborworks America (NeighborWorks) is a national nonprofit organization chartered by Congress in 1978. Its mission is to create opportunities for Americans to live in affordable homes, improve their lives, and strengthen their communities. NeighborWorks has over 22 years of experience providing training and is recognized as the premier provider of training in the affordable housing and community development industry. NeighborWorks supports over 4,000 affordable housing and community development nonprofit organizations and municipalities across America each year by providing training, technical assistance, access and capital. In fiscal year 2009, NeighborWorks awarded more than 20,000 training certificates to affordable housing and community development professionals from 3,500 nonprofit organizations and municipalities from all 50 states and Puerto Rico.

About Deloitte   Deloitte is a global organization devoted to excellence in providing professional services and advice. With access to the deep intellectual capital of more than 160,000 people worldwide, its member firms deliver services in areas of consulting, assurance & enterprise risk, tax, and financial advisory services. Deloitte Financial Advisory Services brings strong industry experience in financial transaction work restructuring impaired assets, and developing business models that can attract new capital, and providing technical assistance to troubled institutions. Deloitte's Financial Services Industry practice is a far-reaching network of practitioners who offer their experience to the world's leading federal and commercial financial services enterprises. This practice serves 83 percent of the financial services companies listed on the Fortune Global 500, operates in more than 40 countries and encompasses a network of more than 1,000 partners and 17,000 professionals.

About the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions   The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (the Federation) was established in 1974 by a national coalition of credit unions dedicated to the financial empowerment of low-income, underserved communities. The Federation is a certified CDFI, a national CDFI intermediary, and a HUD Approved National Housing Counseling Intermediary. The Federation has developed a deep menu of capacity-building services and capital products, a continuum of services that begins with the earliest stages of organizing new community development credit unions and runs through each stage of development on the path to maturity as full-service CDFIs. The Federation is the only national CDFI intermediary with the exclusive mission of expanding the reach and increasing the impact of credit union CDFIs.

About Opportunity Finance Network   Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) possesses 25 years of experience as a community development finance industry leader. OFN's mission is to lead the community development finance system to scale through capital formation, policy and capacity development. OFN has managed numerous national capacity building initiatives and worked successfully with CDFIs on a daily basis. OFN's team is recognized across the CDFI industry as experts in CDFI capacity building, risk management, institutional growth and development, and strategy.

About Reznick Group P.C.   Reznick Group P.C. (Reznick) is a national leader in accounting, tax and business advisory services. It has more than 32 years experience supporting community development and affordable housing clients. Reznick has helped CDFIs organize themselves, complete competitive applications for funding, and comply with Federal program requirements. It has provided services for CDFIs and nonprofits ranging from structuring and implementing compliance and monitoring programs to asset management, to designing and evaluating capitalization and business strategies, financing structures, and equity solicitations. Reznick will apply its proven project management approach to serve the diverse and complex needs of this initiative.

CDFI Fund Background

The CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of community-based, private, for-profit and non-profit financial institutions with a primary mission of community development in economically distressed communities. These institutions certified by the CDFI Fund as Community Development Financial Institutions or CDFIs are able to respond to gaps in local markets that traditional financial institutions are not adequately serving. CDFIs provide critically needed capital, credit and other financial products in addition to technical assistance to community residents and businesses, service providers, and developers working to meet community needs. The CDFI Fund's vision is an America in which all people have adequate access to affordable capital, credit and financial services.

For more information on the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the Fund's website at: http://www.cdfifund.gov.