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Community development finance - Publications
Bridges — Winter 2017-2018
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects, and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics, and government officials that work in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Winter 2017-2018 issue include: New St. Louis Fed Tool Dives Deep into Community Investment; Cash on Hand Is Critical for Avoiding Hardship; Connecting a Memphis Community to the Built Environment through Equity; Investment Connection: The St. Louis Fed’s New Approach to CRA; CRA: An Examiner’s Perspective – Questions to Ask Workforce Development Partners; and more.
posted 03/20/2018 by St. Louis
Resilient Legacy, Connected Future: CDFIs in the Southeast
This issue of Community Scope presents key findings from the 2017 Richmond Fed’s Survey of CDFIs in the Southeast.
posted 03/06/2018 by Richmond
Community Practice Papers: Community Development Corporations- Diverse Practices Across North and South Carolina
In this issue of Community Practice Papers, we take a look at examples of sustained and emerging business models from rural and urban Community Development Corporations across North and South Carolina.
posted 03/05/2018 by
The Quest for Durable and Inclusive Economic Growth
Data show a persistent widening of income inequality in this country. How can communities establish economic growth that is both strong and inclusive? This article looks at a South Florida effort to improve prosperity for all and create a more resilient local economy.
posted 02/14/2018 by Atlanta
The Small Cities Study Tour: Cedar Rapids' Economic Recovery
How can a small city that suffers a natural disaster recover economically? This article explores the economic success and challenges of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the wake of a disastrous 2008 flood.
posted 02/05/2018 by Atlanta
Exploring Atlanta's Community Development Landscape with Governor Lael Brainard
As a proponent and facilitator of more equitable and inclusive communities, the Atlanta Fed’s community and economic development (CED) program works to activate financial, human, and social capital to foster economic growth and opportunity in low- and moderate-income communities in the Southeast. This article recaps a November 3, 2016, community tour that Atlanta Fed employees from CED and supervision and regulation organized for Fed Governor Lael Brainard. It was one of several trips she has made around the country to speak with community members and organizations about local challenges and community development efforts.
posted 02/05/2018 by Atlanta
Data Tools for Dynamic Communities
Infographics and data visualization tools are increasingly available from many sources, such as an interactive map accompanying a news article or a graph of expenditures analyzing an online credit card statement. These types of tools enrich our understanding of concepts and trends. This article examines two tools that aim to capture the real variation between housing and transportation costs between and within regions, and therefore the relative affordability for households of varying income levels.
posted 02/05/2018 by Atlanta
CDFIs Seek Federal Home Loan Bank Membership
Since their creation in the 1990s, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) have worked to aggregate capital to help economically distressed communities across the United States. Because CDFIs have a mission to serve distressed or low-income communities, they are a natural partner for banks and other investors. Even so, long-term, affordable financing is one of the most pressing and persistent challenges facing the CDFI industry.This article discusses the current state of CDFI-Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) membership. It focuses on several new FHLBank members in the Atlanta region, providing lessons that could be useful to others considering FHLBank membership.
posted 02/02/2018 by Atlanta
Partners Update
This article explores the Small City Economic Dynamism Index, an interactive data tool that examines the economic trajectory of small and midsized cities. As the article explains, the tool's interactive charts enable peer comparisons and visualization of trends across time. The information can be used to support development of local policy, strategies, or funding proposals related to community and economic development in small and midsized cities.
posted 02/02/2018 by Atlanta
Can Community Development Improve Health? Emerging Opportunities for Collaboration between the Health and Community Development Sectors
The two sectors of community development and health have long worked in the same neighborhoods, but they have not always worked together. This is starting to change, due in part to a growing recognition among health experts of the social determinants of health—the social, economic, and environmental factors that drive health outcomes. This discussion paper reviews early lessons on how to build a successful health and community development partnership, including an examination of the incentives for community developers, health professionals, state and local governments, and philanthropy to participate in these collaborations.
posted 12/21/2017 by Atlanta
Coming Up with the Money: Five Principles for Launching a Successful Community Development Initiative
This guide, designed especially for those new to the field of community development, also serves as a refresher and resource for those who don’t engage in financing projects regularly or those who would like to consider new partners and new tools for upcoming projects.
posted 09/14/2017 by St. Louis
What Matters: Investing in Results to Build Strong, Vibrant Communities
What does it take to measure and fund positive social change? This new book from the San Francisco Fed and Nonprofit Finance Fund sets a vision for revolutionizing the way America achieves social progress: By paying for results. The book features a collection of essays by 80 authors with wide expertise on the social, cultural, and financial implications of orienting programs and funding around outcomes.
posted 06/30/2017 by San Francisco
Scale Finance: Industrial-Strength Social Impact Bonds for Mainstream Investors
Social Impact Bonds have demonstrated significant growth potential within their defined boundaries, but the standard model has not yet developed “mainstream” investment transactions capable of expanding certified evidence-based programs (CEBPs) commensurate with unmet population needs. This San Francisco Fed paper proposes an enhanced SIB model called “Scale Finance” in which asset owners and fund managers would work with CEBP developers to expand these proprietary programs at their maximum feasible growth rates.
posted 06/30/2017 by San Francisco
Nonprofit Co-location and Opportunities for Community Development Financial Institutions
This white paper produced by the St. Louis Fed focuses on the benefits of nonprofit co-location, the unique position of CDFIs to partner with these facilities, and how co-location is happening in the U.S. The research was presented at the Bank’s Social Purpose Real Estate Regional Conference; materials and videos from the event are available here.
posted 05/18/2017 by St. Louis
Communities & Banking magazine, spring 2017
Read about C&B's transformation this fall into our new online magazine, Invested. Our spring 2017 feature article shares valuable lessons from the Boston Fed's Working Cities Challenge, an ongoing initiative to help smaller industrial cities in New England tackle social and economic problems. Also in this issue, we learn about the perils and abuses of land installment contracts, the value of community benefits agreements, and how entrepreneurship breeds opportunity in minority communities. Other articles highlight the importance of anchor institutions to local businesses, how "gamified" financial education seems to reinforce smart savings decisions, and we see evidence that pay-for-success approaches to preventing formerly incarcerated youth from reoffending can turn young lives around. Finally, we examine recent changes in the prospects for renters in New England.
posted 04/20/2017 by Boston
Investing in America's Workforce: Improving Outcomes for Workers and Employers
Investing in America’s Workforce seeks to strengthen our nation’s economic potential through reframing and reimagining workforce development efforts, taking a broader view of them as investments, rather than as a limiting view centered on the delivery of social services. This initiative will connect businesses, government, nonprofit, and philanthropic partners to rethink policy and investments, attract new resources, and improve economic mobility for workers.
posted 04/11/2017 by Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, San Francisco
CultureBank: A New Paradigm for Community Investment
Building on the concept of creative placemaking, this paper from the San Francisco Fed presents an idea for a Community Development Financial Institution organized around art: CultureBank. Housed at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, this nonprofit bank will specialize in unleashing asset value in art collections and focus on artists as borrowers, or Artist-Entrepreneurs.
posted 04/06/2017 by San Francisco
Watermen Workforce Challenges and Opportunities: Lessons from the Chesapeake Bay Region
The third issue of Community Scope 2016 will offer a broad overview of the challenges faced by today’s watermen that may be precipitating their declining numbers and will discuss alternative and supplemental employment options that may be available to them.
posted 03/31/2017 by Richmond
The Geographic Scope of CDFI Activity in the Southeast
The second issue of Community Scope 2016 examines the patterns in geographic service provision by respondent CDFIs in urban, rural, low- and moderate-income (LMI), underserved and distressed markets and areas.
posted 03/31/2017 by Richmond
Community Development Financial Institutions in the Southeast: Surveying the Social Investment Landscape
Volume 4, Issue 1 2016 of Community Scope uses the results of the 2015 survey to present timely key findings on CDFI activity in the Southeast, including capitalization, demand, capacity, non-lending programs and services, and impact investing.
posted 03/31/2017 by Richmond
Bridges — Winter 2016-2017
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials that work in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Winter 2016-2017 issue include: Indianola Promise Community: Improving Academic Outcomes in the Delta; Working Together to Address the Wealth Gap; Community and Economic Development: Around the Globe and Back to the Mississippi Delta Region; 12 Steps to Financial Success: Empowering At-Risk Adults; Memorial Community Development Corporation: Putting Faith to Work; and more.
posted 03/22/2017 by St. Louis
Directory of Southeastern Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)
Contact information for CDFIs in the Southeast region of the U.S. (Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky), updated in partnership with The Support Center in North Carolina and CDFI Fund.
posted 11/15/2016 by Richmond
Communities & Banking Magazine, Fall 2016
The fall 2016 issue leads off with the necessity of teachers of color in public school systems and also reports on local educators' reactions to Common Core implementation. Other topics include the high prevalence of young adults receiving Social Security Disability benefits in northern New England, an overview of the region's addiction epidemic, a look at unemployment and the popularity of lotteries in Maine, and the relationship between homelessness and subsidized housing. More articles cover the Capital & Collaboration initiative's examination of community investment in Massachusetts Working Cities, how mobile payments help streamline commuting, a collaboration between Starbucks and a nonprofit group of CDFIs to create jobs, and data on childhood food insecurity in New England.
posted 10/25/2016 by Boston
Bridges — Summer 2016
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials that work in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Summer 2016 issue include: All Low- and Moderate-Income Areas Are Not Created Equal; Moving First-Time Buyers Off the Fence: Solving the Millennial Homebuyer Puzzle with Proven Online Solutions and Partnerships; Innovative Partnership Brings Hope to Small Towns; Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Fueled by Students and Faculty; Impacting Homelessness in Missouri; and more.
posted 09/22/2016 by St. Louis
Bridges — Spring 2016
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials that work in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Spring 2016 issue include: Arkansas Communities Focus on Action, Reap Results; What Happens When the Least of These Gives the Most?; From Restaurant to Kitchen Incubator: Chef Space; Bioscience as a Foundation for Transforming St. Louis; The Information You Need for the Impact You Want: Two New Websites Link Data with Donor Action; and more.
posted 06/22/2016 by St. Louis
Understanding the Crowd, Following the Community: The Need for Better Data in Community Development Crowdfunding
In the past half-decade crowdfunding has emerged as a popular way to raise money online for a wide range of projects. As the reach of crowdfunding has expanded, the field of community development has the potential to benefit from the practice, both as a straight fundraising mechanism and as a way to give greater voice to community members. This San Francisco Fed working paper makes the case that in order for community development crowdfunding to reach its potential scale, and to involve the full range of potential stakeholders, better standards of data reporting and collection need to be established.
posted 06/01/2016 by San Francisco
Impact Investing in the U.S. and the Fifth District
The net assets of investment funds pursuing an impact investment strategy have grown from $12 billion in 1995 to $4.3 trillion in 2014 – that’s growth by a multitude of nearly 360 in less than 20 years. This 5th District Spotlight presents context to impact investing’s meteoric rise through facts, figures and analysis.
posted 05/24/2016 by Richmond
Bridges — Winter 2015-2016
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials that work in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Winter 2015-2016 issue include: Thrivers and Strugglers: A Growing Economic Divide; Neighborhood “House Economy” Teaches Youth Life Lessons; Grassroots Neighborhood Revitalization in Hyde Park; Collaboration: The Key to Champion Community Investments’ Success; How Housing and Health Care Nonprofits Can Increase Access to Medical Residential Services; Jacobsville Join In!; and more.
posted 03/09/2016 by St. Louis
Small Business Credit Survey
Small businesses’ access to credit is critical to their ability to establish, run and grow their operations. In late 2015 the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, New York, Philadelphia, Richmond and St. Louis conducted a joint survey of small businesses; 5,420 responses from 3,459 employer firms in 26 states provide insight into the primary source of financing for small businesses and shed light on their business conditions, credit needs and borrowing experiences.
posted 03/04/2016 by Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, St. Louis
CDFIs Seek Federal Home Loan Bank Membership
Long-term, affordable financing is one of the most pressing and persistent challenges facing the community development financial institution (CDFI) industry. Regulatory and business cycle pressures have tended to limit the borrowing terms available to CDFIs. This January/February 2016 Partners Update article explores the current state of CDFI-Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLBank) membership by focusing on several new FHLBank members in the Atlanta region
posted 02/25/2016 by Atlanta
The Small Cities Study Tour: Chattanooga's Comeback
How have some small cities forged a path to economic resurgence while others still languish? Representatives from several Federal Reserve Banks and place-based funders are on tour to find out. In this first article in a Partners Update series, they study a revitalized Chattanooga.
posted 02/05/2016 by Atlanta
IFF: A Leading Community Development Financial Institution Expanding Its Market Reach across the Midwest
In this 2015 edition of ProfitWise, the Chicago Fed profiles IFF--formerly Illinois Facilities Fund-- one of the largest and most innovative Community Development Financial Insitutions (CDFIs) nationwide. In its 27th year of operation, IFF is expanding its financial and development services, and its impact on low- to moderate-income communities, to a broad collection of Midwestern states.
posted 01/06/2016 by Chicago
CRA OneSource
CRA OneSource is your source for Community Reinvestment Act tools, templates, guides, webinars and other resources to assist you in preparing for an exam and growing your community development program.
posted 12/03/2015 by Kansas City
Community Reinvestment Act: How Much Is It Worth in the Southeast?
Community development practitioners want to know how much banks are investing in a particular geography, as that information could help them "right-size" their strategy for bank partnerships. This second Partners Update article on the CRA, released in September/October 2015 by the Atlanta Fed's Will Lambe, provides an approximate figure for the Southeast.
posted 11/20/2015 by Atlanta
CDFIs seek to innovate to compete with speedy online lenders
With more and more entrepreneurs turning to quick, online lending options, could mission-focused lenders, such as CDFIs, use similar technology tools to improve efficiency and capture some of this business activity? From the October 2015 issue of Community Dividend, a publication of the Minneapolis Fed.
posted 11/19/2015 by Minneapolis
Community Development Data Inventory
Published by the Philadelphia Fed, the Community Development Data Inventory describes timely and publicly available data sources to help inform the work of those involved in community development research or practice. This November 2015 release contains updated information and an expanded number in the inventory, from 16 resources to 24. The resources are described in easy-to-read, two-page summaries organized by topic, including Economy/Employment, Household Financial Stability, Housing/Homelessness, and Data/Mapping Platforms.
posted 11/10/2015 by Philadelphia
Bridges — Summer 2015
Bridges, a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects, and regulatory changes, is for practitioners from community-based organizations, CRA officers, academics, and government officials working in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Summer 2015 issue include: Innovative Credit Union Association Expands Access to Capital; Better Homes, Better Loans: Better Business; Binghampton Development Corporation: Building Assets and Communities; The Hager Educational Foundation: Empowering Citizens To Make Better Communities; and more.
posted 11/06/2015 by St. Louis
Community Banking in the 21st Century
Missed the live webcast? Presentation slides and videos are now available from “Community Banking in the 21st Century,” the third annual community banking research and policy conference, hosted by the Federal Reserve System and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS). Also available from the conference is a report that details conditions facing today's community bankers. Speakers and moderators of the event, held in St. Louis Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, 2015, included: Fed Chair Janet Yellen; Fed Governor Lael Brainard; St. Louis Fed President James Bullard; CSBS Chairman/Massachusetts Commissioner of Banks David Cotney; CSBS President and CEO John Ryan; and Houston Astros President of Business Operations Reid Ryan, founding investor and board member, R Bank and R Corp Financial, Round Rock, Texas.
posted 10/30/2015 by Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, San Francisco, Board of Governors
Weathering the Great Recession: A CDFI Case Study in Patient Capital
This working paper from the San Francisco Fed looks at the lending performance of one CDFI, the Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF), through the Great Recession. Its authors argue that LIIF’s success weathering the downturn—relative to similarly-sized banks—is the direct result of a “patient capital” approach to portfolio management unique to the CDFI industry.
posted 10/05/2015 by San Francisco
CRA: Geographies and Strategies in the Southeast
The Community Reinvestment Act helps drive significant investments into low- and middle-income communities, but not all communities benefit equally. This July/August 2015 Partners Update article by the Atlanta Fed's Will Lambe and Jessica Farr discusses where banks are motivated to act and provides a mapping tool to illustrate where particular banks engage in community development.
posted 08/27/2015 by Atlanta
Leveraging the Power of Place: Using Pay for Success to Support Housing Mobility
Families who use housing vouchers to move from areas of concentrated poverty to better-resourced neighborhoods experience higher earnings and improved health. Housing mobility programs increase the effectiveness of housing vouchers by providing education and support. This San Francisco Fed working paper proposes using a Pay for Success financing mechanism to increase investment in housing mobility programs based on the hypothesis that healthcare savings stemming from a positive mobility outcome—specifically related to diabetes and obesity— are sufficient to pay the entire cost of the mobility program.
posted 08/10/2015 by San Francisco
Economic Dynamism in Small Cities (Part 2): Migration, Commuting, New Firm Creation, and Population Density in Small Cities
The factors that contribute to economic dynamism in a small city can be elusive to define and measure. This May/June 2015 Partners Update article by the Atlanta Fed's Will Lambe looks at some elements of small city economic dynamism that may contribute to growth and development.
posted 06/25/2015 by Atlanta
St. Louis Fed 2014 Community Development Outlook Survey
The St. Louis Fed’s annual Community Development Outlook Survey gathers input from a variety of stakeholders regarding the economic conditions of low- and moderate-income (LMI) households and communities in the seven states that make up the Fed’s Eighth District. Data from the survey is used to inform strategic planning, community and economic development, and public policy dialogue around issues and challenges for the District’s LMI areas.
posted 05/21/2015 by St. Louis
Economic Dynamism in Small Cities
Many small cities are growing at faster rates than has occurred in decades. This March/April 2015 Partners Update article by the Atlanta Fed's Will Lambe examines factors that contribute to economically vital small cities.
posted 05/04/2015 by Atlanta
The Role of Place-Based Initiatives in Community Development
As the name says, these initiatives are designed to concentrate investments in a specific location, and some couple infrastructure and human capital investments. This Partners Update article by the Atlanta Fed's Will Lambe summarizes place-based initiatives, describes challenges for communities incorporating such a strategy, and discusses best practices.
posted 03/31/2015 by Atlanta
Community Development Financial Institutions: Providing Capital for Revitalization
As the country continues to rebound from the recession, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are working to meet the needs of communities that slipped through the cracks during this turbulent period or that had few safety nets even before the recession. This March/April 2015 Partners Update article, authored by Atlanta Fed visiting scholar Donna Gambrell, discusses CDFIs doing business in the Southeast. These lenders provide capital for affordable housing, small businesses, schools, health centers, and manufacturing facilities.
posted 03/31/2015 by Atlanta
Growth and Performance of the Native CDFI Loan Fund Sector, 2001–2012
This new Community Development Report from the Minneapolis Fed suggests that loan funds serving Native communities grew significantly in number and asset size from 2001 through 2012 and have generally posted fairly positive financial ratios.
posted 02/09/2015 by Minneapolis
Blog Further Explores the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
The EB-5 program was designed to attract foreign investment into economically distressed communities, but is it achieving that goal? A second blog post by the Atlanta Fed's Will Lambe discusses some southeastern projects and raises several issues for community and economic developers to consider.
posted 01/20/2015 by Atlanta
Mortgage Lending in New England: Key Trends and Observations in 2012
Analyzing Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data, researchers at the Boston Fed provide a brief overview of New England's mortgage lending activity in 2012 and evidence of disparities in loan origination outcomes for borrowers of various incomes, races, and ethnicities in this Community Development Issue Brief from November 2014.
posted 11/13/2014 by Boston
What Makes Working Cities Work? Key Factors in Urban Economic Growth
In this Community Development Issue Brief, a researcher at the Boston Fed examines the factors that influence firm location choice in US cities--including availability of local labor, building lease costs, on-site parking for employees, and others--along with which of these might best explain the variance in employment trends across a set of small and mid-sized post-industrial Massachusetts cities. The results provide some indication of the extent to which these cities, and others like them, might influence their own economic futures.
posted 11/13/2014 by Boston
Blog Explores the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program
Community and economic developers are always looking for new ways to help revitalize economically distressed communities. In a blog post, the Atlanta Fed’s Will Lambe looks at one rather novel program that could help: the Immigrant Investor Program, or EB 5.
posted 11/12/2014 by Atlanta
Cascade (Summer 2014)
This edition of the Philadelphia Fed's Cascade provides highlights from the 2014 Reinventing Older Communities: Bridging Growth & Opportunity conference. The major themes of intergenerational mobility and equitable growth and subthemes of education, employment, and revitalization appear throughout the issue. Articles focus on measuring intergenerational mobility and economic growth in the Third Federal Reserve District; reversing the cycle of poverty through education and mentoring, as well as workforce development; exploring the future of community development corporations (CDC) and measuring CDC impact; and more.
posted 08/07/2014 by Philadelphia
5th District Footprint: NMTC Investment in the Fifth District
How are New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) being used in your area? Which city received the largest amount of NMTC investment? Find out in the July 2014 issue of 5th District Footprint, which offers a brief look at NMTC investment across the Fifth Federal Reserve District.
posted 07/28/2014 by Richmond
Federal Reserve Community Development Perspectives
Ever wonder about the Federal Reserve’s involvement in the field of community development? Wonder no more. Released in June 2014, Federal Reserve Community Development Perspectives: A summary of activities, insights, and future opportunities answers the "what," "why" and "how" of the Fed's role in community development. The report highlights the Fed’s recent efforts to address barriers to economic growth, and promote fair and informed access to financial markets. Featuring brief summaries of its community development work organized into four focus areas--people, place, the policy and practice of community development, and small business--the report includes background information that helps to provide context for this work, a sampling of key research, outreach programs and other initiatives, as well as some ideas on future challenges, needs and opportunities.
posted 07/23/2014 by Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, San Francisco, Board of Governors
Does the CDFI Fund Help Low-Income Borrowers?
What is the impact of the CDFI Fund on institutions that receive funding, and what is the return on investment? In this Economic Commentary, Cleveland Fed economist Kristle Cortés and Harvard Business School professor Josh Lerner evaluate the Fund’s core program. Examining 10 years of propriety data provided by the US Treasury, they measured the increase in lending at credit unions that received grants, those that applied but did not receive grants, and those that never applied. Their results show that CDFI Fund grants do increase lending, by 3 percent. And for every dollar awarded, 45 cents is loaned out to borrowers in the first year and up to $1.60 is loaned out within three years.
posted 07/15/2014 by Cleveland
Bridges — Spring 2014
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials that work in the Eighth Federal Reserve District. Feature articles in the Spring 2014 issue include: Local Innovation, National Impact: Engaging Municipal Government in Financial Empowerment; Enrollment, Student Debt and LMI Communities; We’ve Met the Solution, and It Is Us; West Tennessee Day Trippin’: Rural Tourism Campaign Builds Regional Partnerships for Community and Economic Development; From the Ozarks to the Delta: A Historical Perspective of Regional Poverty in Arkansas; and more.
posted 07/01/2014 by St. Louis
Minnesota CDFI Network Concept Paper
This May 2013 paper by the Minneapolis Fed and partners is a discussion of the context and potential benefits of forming a statewide CDFI network in Minnesota. Featuring comments from Minnesota CDFI practitioners, recommendations for next steps, and information about established national and state-level CDFI networks.
posted 05/27/2014 by Minneapolis
Community Investments: An Integrated Approach to Community Development
This special issue of Community Investments from the San Francisco Fed highlights excerpts from Investing in What Works for America’s Communities: Essays on People, Place & Purpose, with a particular focus on the topic of integration, a prominent theme that emerges from the book.
posted 05/23/2014 by San Francisco
CDFIs and Transit-Oriented Development
Transit-oriented development (TOD) can provide households with more opportunities and choices. Ideal TOD communities are mixed-use neighborhoods with good-quality public transit that connect people of a variety of incomes to a wide range of economic, social, and educational opportunities. This report published by the San Francisco Fed explores how Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) can be utilized to provide financing for TOD projects.
posted 05/20/2014 by San Francisco
CRA Collaboratives and the San Joaquin Valley
California’s San Joaquin Valley is one of the nation’s most impoverished areas. Recent developments such as the foreclosure crisis have heightened the Valley’s needs, and there is also evidence that the Valley is beginning to garner more attention from financial institutions and federal regulators, creating an opportunity for community-based organizations (CBOs) and financial institutions to work together in a mutually beneficial way. This paper from the San Francisco Fed describes how stakeholders have successfully collaborated to increase reinvestment in other locales, with lessons learned for the San Joaquin Valley.
posted 05/15/2014 by San Francisco
Community Investments - Community Development in Native Communities
This issue of the San Francisco Fed’s Community Investments, explores a selection of Native initiatives across the country. It discusses how Native communities are partnering with federal agencies to build and support sustainable housing in Indian Country and establish modern water and sewer systems for remote Native communities in Alaska. The articles also examine a community-based health worker initiative in the Navajo Nation and a Native Hawaiian financial education program and community-based lending institution.
posted 05/15/2014 by San Francisco
The New Family Philanthropy: Investing for Social and Environmental Change
The impact investing marketplace is gaining traction—investment vehicles now span asset classes, infrastructural improvements are enhancing transparency and investor confidence, and social enterprise is maturing with a new generation of entrepreneurs. This paper published by the San Francisco Fed focuses on family investing through family offices and foundations and the factors that families and advisors consider when deciding whether or not to invest for impact.
posted 05/15/2014 by San Francisco
Community Investments - Collective Action for Community Development
This issue of the San Francisco Fed’s Community Investments explores the emerging approach of collaborative community development and lifts up early learnings from pioneers in the field. The articles discuss how to establish and grow collective action leadership organizations and working groups and build a strong but flexible initiative framework; consider how government can be an effective partner in collective action work; and convey the critical role of data and measurement in these initiatives.
posted 05/14/2014 by San Francisco
Community Development Investment Review: The Green Issue
In this issue of CDIR, the San Francisco Fed highlights a number of deliberate, innovative and interdisciplinary efforts addressing community development and environmental issues. These efforts are diverse, both in the issues they touch and the range of approaches and partnerships they employ. Issues addressed include air quality, climate change and water access on the environmental side, and education, health, and affordable housing on the community development side.
posted 05/08/2014 by San Francisco
Community Development Investment Review: Pay for Success Financing
This issue of the San Francisco Fed's CDIR focuses on Pay for Success financing, its origins, models, potential implications, exciting potential and possible pitfalls. Pay for Success is a tantalizing idea, but it also raises important questions.
posted 05/08/2014 by San Francisco
Community Development Investment Review: Advancing Social Impact Investments through Measurement
This issue of the San Francisco Fed's CDIR includes the proceedings of the “Advancing Social Impact Investments through Measurement” conference held at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in 2011. The issue also includes a series of thoughtful essays written by conference attendees in response to what they heard at the convening.
posted 05/08/2014 by San Francisco
Community Development Investment Review: International Community Development
This issue of the San Francisco Fed's CDIR is dedicated to a simple idea: innovative ideas to solve poverty should not stop at the national border. There are too many good ideas abroad that can help inform our practices domestically, and good ideas here that can be relevant to other countries.
posted 05/08/2014 by San Francisco
Community Development Investment Review: Building Scale in Community Impact Investing through Nonfinancial Performance Measurement
In the community development finance and impact investing worlds, there is both universal agreement on the need for better social outcome measurements and no consensus on how to do it. In this issue of CDIR, the San Francisco Fed offers ideas on how we might contribute to an ongoing process to establish a tool—or many tools—that help us measure the social benefit of impact and community investing.
posted 05/08/2014 by San Francisco
Community Development Investment Review: Health and Community Development
In this issue of the CDIR, the San Francisco Fed explores the intersection of community development and health. Specifically, authors offer varying perspectives on how to “bend the health cost curve” using innovative community development strategies and how to positively affect social determinants of health to generate better health outcomes for low-income people.
posted 05/08/2014 by San Francisco
CDFIs Emerge as Key Partners in Improving Community Health
Community development financial institutions often play a critical role in financing the infrastructure that makes good health possible. From the April 2014 issue of Community Dividend, a publication of the Minneapolis Fed.
posted 05/06/2014 by Minneapolis
Mass CDFI Recertification Push Winnows List, Ensures Compliance
A 2013 mandate from the U.S. Treasury resulted in a reduced but focused pool of community development financial institutions. From the April 2014 issue of Community Dividend, a publication of the Minneapolis Fed.
posted 05/05/2014 by Minneapolis
Community Connections (April 2014)
The Spring 2014 issue highlights the State Small Business Credit Initiative that is helping fund small businesses across the Tenth District by leveraging private lending. The issue also spotlights an Albuquerque collaboration assisting underserved families and children, and the use of crowd funding as a tool for social entrepreneurship. In addition, the issue features a Q&A with Mark Pinsky, president and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network, on the challenges facing CDFIs in the wake of the Great Recession.
posted 05/01/2014 by Kansas City
Is Home Maintenance Contagious? Evidence from Boston
In disadvantaged neighborhoods, the condition of the housing stock can vary from block to block. On one block, homes appear well kept and in good condition, while on another, many homes show signs of physical distress. Since the blocks within the same neighborhood are often similar in terms of home values, what accounts for this pattern? And is there any contagion effect of home maintenance? Researchers at the Boston Fed examine this issue in several Boston neighborhoods in this report.
posted 04/30/2014 by Boston
Community Development Bank Peer Group Analysis, 2005-2012 Data Report
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Community Development Bank (CDB) Peer Group Analysis provides descriptive statistics on a peer group of community development banks that are tracked over time. The peer group of CDBs consists of banks that were in existence from the start date of the analysis and continue to be in existence as of the end date. The latest report incorporates data from 2005 to 2012.
posted 04/25/2014 by Richmond
CDFI Resources
Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are specialized financial institutions operating in markets that are underserved by traditional financial institutions. This section of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's website provides information on CDFIs, with a particular focus on the Southeast region of the U.S. In addition, it includes a dedicated section on CDFI banks, also known as Community Development Banks (CDBs). Resources include webinars, data tables, reports, regulations, etc.
posted 04/25/2014 by Richmond
Funder's Guide: A Guide to Funding Small Business Development Organizations
The Kansas City Fed's Funder's Guide offers philanthropists, funding agencies and small business development organizations information and guidance on how to support economic growth through supporting organizations that develop small businesses.
posted 04/25/2014 by Kansas City
Bridges — Winter 2013-2014
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials. Feature articles in the Winter 2013-14 issue include: Family Scholar House: Educational Program Breaks Cycle of Poverty for Single Parents in Louisville; Health Around the Corner; Insight Park: Visioning for the Future of Oxford and Ole Miss; Anchor Institutions in the Mississippi Delta; Charter School Anchors St. Louis Neighborhood Revitalization; and more.
posted 04/21/2014 by St. Louis
Bridges — Fall 2013
Bridges is a quarterly review of regional community and economic development issues, projects and regulatory changes for practitioners from community-based organizations, as well as for CRA officers, academics and government officials. Feature articles in the Fall 2013 issue include: Increasing Density: A Small-Town Approach to New Urbanism; Women Helping Women: Healing Hearts Bank at Redevelopment Opportunities for Women; The Graying of America: Preparing for What Comes Next and more.
posted 03/18/2014 by St. Louis
Social Impact Bonds Offer Promise of Savings, Profits and Positive Outcomes
A performance-based social investment tool being piloted in some communities offers a new model for delivering social services. From the July 2013 issue of Community Dividend, a publication of the Minneapolis Fed.
posted 02/21/2014 by Minneapolis
Community Outlook Survey
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Community Outlook Survey monitors the economic factors affecting low- and moderate-income (LMI) households in the Third Federal Reserve District. A report summarizing the most recent survey as well as an archive of prior surveys are available on our website.
posted 02/19/2014 by Philadelphia
Communities & Banking magazine, Spring 2013
This Spring 2013 issue of the quarterly publication by the Boston Fed features research and best practices for CBOs, policymakers, financial institutions. and others; articles include Latino Dairy Workers in Vermont; Access to Affordable Food in New Hampshire; Beginning Farmers and Local Food Systems; Closing the Academic Divide through Debate; Giving a Decommissioned Military Base New Life; The Urban Forest; Great Recession and Confidence in Homeownership.
posted 02/17/2014 by Boston
Investing in What Works for America’s Communities
A compilation of essays published by the San Francisco Fed and the Low Income Investment Fund highlights entrepreneurial solutions for addressing poverty. Authors include leading experts from across the U.S. in community and economic development, academia, government policy, health, and philanthropy.
posted 12/31/2013 by San Francisco
Cascade (Fall 2013)
This issue of the Philadelphia Fed's Cascade spotlights the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) industry and the products and programs implemented by CDFIs and their funding sources. Also featured is Mark Pinsky, Opportunity Finance Network president and CEO, who provides perspective on the CDFI recertification process.
posted 12/31/2013 by Philadelphia
Communities & Banking (Winter 2014)
This quarterly publication from the Boston Fed is geared for lenders and community development practitioners and focuses on the economic concerns of low- and moderate-income constituencies and those who serve them. The feature article in this issue is on the topic of universal preschool.
posted 12/31/2013 by Boston
