Latest Industry Developments

CARS™ is partnering with the PRI Makers Network to introduce CARS™-rated CDFIs to the growing number of philanthropies that offer program-related investments. Find out more.

Paige Chapel, the director of CARS™, will be participating in a panel on risk rating and monitoring at the Network's conference in Chicago in May.

President Obama Releases Fiscal year 2011 Budget Proposal
In his budget proposal released February 1, President Barack Obama included $250 million for the CDFI Fund for FY2011. This proposal comes on the heels of a doubling of appropriations for the Fund in FY2010, and reflects a continued strong level of support for the CDFI Fund by the Obama administration. The budget proposal represents the first step in approval of funding for the CDFI Fund in FY2011; in the coming months, Congress will take up appropriations legislation that may or may not conform to the President’s proposal. Specific information from the budget on the CDFI Fund can be viewed here. OFN has also created a list of proposed funding levels for other programs of interest to CDFIs.

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The Fourth Quarter 2009 CDFI Market Conditions Report is now available!  Thanks to our survey participants, we have another valuable comprehensive report on the current state of the industry. This report provides a near-real-time view of market conditions and CDFI responses, analysis of regional and financing sector differences, and analysis of important trends.

The 2010 Opportunity Finance Network Conference will be held November 3-5, 2010 in San Francisco and the curriculum is now being finalized. More than forty CDFI practitioners and funders attended the Conference Kick-off event hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and sixteen OFN Member CDFIs have signed on as Co-Hosts to advise on the curriculum and tours.

Conference Sponsors are committing their support, including sponsoring individual conference tracks (such as affordable housing and green finance). To become a Conference Sponsor, contact Carol Carr at ccarr@opportunityfinance.net.

OFN has Closed its First Loan Participation with ROC USA™
OFN has partnered with ROC USA™ to participate in mortgage loans to Manufactured Housing Communities converting from investor ownership to resident ownership. On June 17, 2009, OFN closed its first deal with ROC USA™. OFN purchased a $600,000 participation in a four party, mortgage loan of $5.4 MM to a newly-formed corporation, Ryder Woods Resident Association, controlled by the residents, which is a 174-unit manufactured housing community located in Milford, Connecticut.

The 2009 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) State Legislation and Advocacy Guide is now available for download! This rich resource, now in its fourth year of publication, tracked legislation across a broad range of categories in which CDFIs are active participants. This year, the guide contains nearly 300 bills, as well as analysis of regional, year-to-year, and cumulative trends, as well as separate sections dedicated to analyzing subject matter areas of significant relevance to the CDFI industry including asset accumulation, affordable housing, mortgage lending, small business development, and others.

Join us on Facebook as we get ready for OFN’s 25 anniversary conference. We’ve got some photo albums with memories from the past 25 years. Why don’t you share some of your own?

Save the Date! The 2010 OFN Conference will be held November 2nd–5th, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco in Embarcadero Center. Sixteen OFN Members have signed on as co-hosts and, together with OFN, are working to identify key topics for the 2010 Conference. Each year more than 700 CDFI and opportunity finance practitioners, CDFI Board Members, bankers, regulators, foundation staff, religious investors, and investment managers attend the industry’s premier event. View the agenda and materials from the 2009 Conference.

Help make it happen! To learn about sponsorship opportunities, download our 2010 Sponsorship Opportunities brochure. Or contact Carol Carr at 215.320.4314 or ccarr@opportunityfinance.net to secure your sponsorship role.

Opportunity Finance Network would like to thank the Citi Foundation for underwriting OFN’s CDFI Stabilization and Growth Initiative. This grant enables OFN to provide training and strategic consulting for Member CDFIs. Citi is a GOLD Sponsor of the 2010 OFN Annual Conference, a series of Regional Meetings, and monthly Staying Connected Calls, all designed to insure that CDFIs emerge from the current economic crisis stronger than they entered it.

Opportunity Finance Network has already approved almost $5.9 million in financing to 6 CDFIs (including 3 loans totaling $1.6 million for Manufactured Housing Communities) that finance affordable housing, community facilities, and small businesses in low-income communities throughout the U.S. We've also closed 6 loans in 2009 for a total $11.4 million (including 2 loans totaling $7.5 million for the 2008 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance).

The CDFI Fund Opens Inaugural Round of Capital Magnet Fund
Last week, the CDFI Fund opened the inaugural round of the Capital Magnet Fund (CMF). Opportunity Finance Network fought for the establishment of the CMF in 2008 to provide a new, permanent source of capital targeted at affordable housing and related activities, and the FY2010 appropriations process made $80 million available to the Fund for the program.

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What a PR year it’s been. Opportunity finance has consistently been in the news. Check our online clippings regularly to see what the media is saying about us now.

We are pleased to release the latest edition of Inside the Membership: 2008 Statistical Highlights from OFN Membership. OFN Members continued to finance those who are overlooked by traditional lenders with FY 2008 financing for the network totaling $2.23 billion. Cumulative financing for the network reached $23.5 billion through FY 2008. Inside the Membership is an overview of fiscal year member data obtained through the annual OFN Member survey.

OFN would like to thank the following donors for their generous support:

• Bank of America for its sponsorship of the 2009 and 2010 Opportunity Finance Network Conferences.
• The Citi Foundation for its support of the CDFI Stabilization and Growth Initiative.
• The JPMorgan Chase Foundation for its support of CARS™.
• The Ford Foundation for its support of OFN’s Quarterly CDFI Market Conditions Report.

See all our generous donors.