Investing in Main Street America at OFN’s 13th Annual Small Business Finance Forum
At OFN’s 13th Annual Small Business Finance Forum, the CDFI field gathered in Austin to advance the capital, coaching, and innovation that help small businesses start, grow, and stay open
Read time: 4 minutes
In May, we marked Small Business Month, and this month we convened in Austin, TX, for Opportunity Finance Network’s 13th Annual Small Business Finance Forum (SBFF). We gathered with nearly 500 attendees representing more than 120 CDFIs, 14 different funders and investors, three separate federal or state agencies, and 82 other unique industry stakeholders to spotlight the power of small businesses and the CDFIs that finance their growth.
Small businesses create roughly three out of every five new jobs and employ nearly half of the private sector workforce. Beyond the numbers, they are the cornerstones of their communities: the employers who know their customers by name, the founders turning an idea into a livelihood, and the everyday expression of the American promise that hard work should have somewhere to go.
Turning that promise into reality takes access to capital, and conventional markets do not always reach the entrepreneurs and places that need it most. That is the gap CDFIs are built to close. As the financial infrastructure that channels patient capital and hands-on support into underinvested markets, CDFIs back the veteran starting a business, the family-owned shop on Main Street, and the rural farmer whom a bank branch never reached.
In a shifting federal policy environment, that work matters more than ever, and SBFF is where the field comes together to sharpen it. Across three plenaries, dozens of breakout sessions, and working conversations throughout the forum, practitioners dug into what actually moves this work forward: relationship-driven lending in rural communities, the practical role of technology and AI in underwriting, the technical assistance that turns a loan into a lasting business, and the future of the federal programs that small business lenders rely on.
Capital Innovation Takes the Stage
Through our CDFI Innovation Initiative, OFN is working with the field to build the tools and structures that help CDFIs reach deeper into communities and move capital faster. At SBFF, that work took center stage with the pitch competition that closed out the CDFI Capital Solutions Accelerator, a six-month program that paired seven CDFIs and partner organizations with technical assistance and resources to advance new capitalization strategies for small business lending.
Following the program’s Demo Day in Washington, DC, this spring, three finalists pitched at SBFF, and Northern Initiatives earned the top award for its Michigan 30 Fund, a model for raising unrestricted, patient capital from local investors to expand lending in its communities. The finalists shared a common thread: replicable structures other CDFIs can adopt to diversify their funding, increase the velocity of their capital, and attract patient and institutional investment.
The CDFI Innovation Initiative and the Capital Solutions Accelerator are supported by the MassMutual Foundation and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.
Other Highlights Include:
- Celebrating the work of our local member cohosts. During the closing plenary, Gustavo Lasala, President & CEO of PeopleFund, discussed the impact of the Veteran Loan Fund, which recently celebrated a major milestone: more than $100 million deployed to more than 1,350 veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs, supporting 7,500 jobs over four years of CDFI-led lending through a national coalition. In addition, the Taste of Austin CDFIs in Action Tour took attendees to Wanderlust Wine Co., a local winery and client of BCL of Texas, for a taste of what CDFI-backed entrepreneurship looks like in practice.
- Tate Hill, President & CEO of Access Plus Capital, received this year’s Small Business Leader of the Year Award. The award honors leaders whose vision and partnerships have driven lasting economic impact, and whose dedication reflects the best of what community development finance can be.
- A conversation with Daniel Pische, Director of the Office of Financial Assistance at the U.S. Small Business Administration, brought a timely federal perspective to the work CDFIs are doing on the ground.
- The lunch plenary, The Work Up Close, brought practitioners together for honest conversations on rural lending, what technology means for relationship-driven lenders, and how technical assistance turns a loan into lasting business success.
- More than 30 breakout sessions across seven distinct tracks featured over 100 subject matter experts, with four OFN training sessions covering small business lending, financial planning and analysis, impact measurement and management, and generative AI.
Don’t Miss These Post-Event Resources
Watch the Plenary Recordings: Opening | Lunch | Closing
View the Photo Galleries: Wednesday | Thursday | Friday
Download Session Materials
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