Community Development: CDFI Fund Can Improve Its Systems to Measure, Monitor and Evaluate Awardees' Performance

摘要

Access to credit and investment capital is essential for creating and retaining jobs, developing affordable housing, revitalizing neighborhoods, and promoting the growth of small businesses. In economically distressed communities, where access to credit and investment capital through conventional sources is often limited, private for-profit and nonprofit community development financial institutions (CDFI) such as nonprofit loan funds and community development credit unions, provide lending and investment services. In 1994, recognizing that such institutions were often having difficulty meeting the demand for their services, the Congress created the CDFI Fund. The Fund currently seeks to expand access to credit and other financial services in distressed communities, primarily through two programs: The CDFI program provides financing and technical assistance to CDFI, while the Bank Enterprise Award program rewards banks and thrifts for providing similar services to CDFI and economically distressed communities.