Voices of Solutions: Reflections on Our First Six Months

Francisco Lopez, SVP, Innovation Programs, and Sydney Schoeller, Senior Associate, Programs and Investment Services, OFN

December 19, 2025 – 

How the first six months of the CDFI Innovation Initiative have laid the foundation for field-driven solutions and collaboration in the CDFI industry.

Read time: 6 minutes

In our first six months with OFN’s CDFI Innovation Initiative, our focus has been to move from concept to construction. We aren’t just facilitating conversations; we are operationalizing the action tank the industry needs to institutionalize innovation and test bold capital solutions. 

Since joining the team, we’ve had the opportunity to work alongside CDFIs, partners, and colleagues who are exploring new ways to strengthen and scale community finance. These conversations have clarified where the field is experimenting, where support is most needed, and how OFN can play a meaningful role in helping ideas evolve and mature. 

Throughout the early stages of the Initiative, one of the most important themes to emerge is that innovation in the CDFI field is unique; it rarely looks like disruption for its own sake. Instead, it often emerges as thoughtful adaptation — new ways of solving persistent challenges, while staying rooted in mission. These early insights have shaped how we approach this initiative and how we think about designing solutions that meet organizations where they are. 

Six-Month Lookback: Launching the Initiative’s First Wave of Programming

Looking back on our first six months, much of our time focused on launching the CDFI Innovation Initiative’s first wave of programming and building the structures that will support the development and scale of solutions and investments in the years ahead. Together, with OFN CDFI members and partners across the field, we: 

• Mapped the landscape, sourcing ideas to identify market gaps from CDFIs and partners who shared new ideas, models, and approaches. Their submissions are directly informing our ongoing Environmental Scan, a research effort that helps OFN understand which ideas are being tested and which challenges persist. OFN will share some of the early learnings from this research with the industry in 2026. 
• Convened the CDFI Capital Solutions Accelerator, with seven selected organizations testing their solutions for CDFI capitalization strategies. Through workshops and peer exchanges, the cohort has already surfaced creative approaches and early learnings. 
• Invited catalytic insight, assembling an Innovation Council of CDFI and industry leaders to help surface bold ideas and translate them into strategies that strengthen CDFIs and the communities they serve.
• Hosted significant programming at OFN41, where innovation was a central theme across OFN’s Annual Conference panels, roundtables, and workshops. We offered sessions that showcased forward-looking ideas shaping the sector’s future, from ethical AI and decentralized finance to data-driven underwriting models. Through the “Innovating Capital Flows” panel, participants explored how CDFIs are leveraging technology, data, and new financial models to drive impact and scale. Key takeaways included:
  • Data-Driven Storytelling: Integrated data and storytelling tools, like PolicyMap and LIIF’s platform, enable CDFIs to demonstrate portfolio stability, highlight impact, and attract new sources of capital.
  • Secondary Markets and Fed Window Access: Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE) identified an opportunity for CDFIs to access the Federal Reserve Window, a tool that supports the liquidity and stability of the nation’s banking system. Although the window is typically only available to banks, CDFIs have accessed it successfully in the past. The ACE-led discussion highlighted that creating permanent access to a dedicated liquidity mechanism could significantly expand CDFIs’ lending capacity. 
  • Shared Services: Allies for Community Business emphasized that each CDFI should identify its true core strengths—those things at which it excels—and focus on delivering those, while finding ways to partner with or outsource all other functions. For example, sharing back-office functions with other CDFIs, such as accounting or compliance systems, can create efficiencies without sacrificing each CDFI’s unique mission or value. 
  • Collaborative experimentation: Panelists reinforced the importance of adopting a positive bias towards innovating and trying new things, testing ideas carefully, and leveraging OFN’s support to scale solutions that work across the sector. 

The discussions at OFN41 closely aligned with what OFN is hearing from our members and helped validate the direction of the Initiative’s early, solutions-oriented work. 

What We’ve Learned 

Across conversations with members, Accelerator participants, and partners, we’ve seen that many CDFIs are already innovating, though often quietly and under significant constraints. What they consistently need is not just new ideas, but space, structure, and support to test those ideas responsibly, learn from peers, and determine what is truly scalable. 

We’ve also learned that readiness varies widely. Some organizations are ready to pilot sophisticated solutions, while others are earlier in their journey and need foundational support to prepare for innovation. This has reinforced the importance of building an Initiative that meets organizations where they are, offering multiple entry points rather than a single, one-size-fits-all approach.

Another clear takeaway has been the power of collaboration. Many of the most promising ideas we’ve encountered are not about individual CDFIs doing more on their own, but finding solutions to share learning, infrastructure, and risk. Innovation in this industry is often strongest when it is designed to work across institutions. 

These reflections have directly shaped how we are designing the next phase of the Innovation Initiative, and they continue to guide how we listen, learn, and build alongside our members. 

Looking Ahead: What’s Coming in 2026

The next year is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Innovation Initiative. We’re gearing up to: 

• Publish new research, tools, and case studies that highlight promising solutions emerging across the field and provide use cases and routes for CDFI adoption and replication of innovations. 
• Expand opportunities for collaboration, including working groups, peer testing opportunities, and additional innovation accelerator opportunities. 

As the Initiative’s sponsors, the MassMutual Foundation and Mastercard serve as catalytic partners in this work, helping create access to the capacity and resources CDFIs need to test bold ideas and reimagine community finance. Together, OFN, MassMutual, and Mastercard are fostering collaboration, developing tools, and piloting models that will strengthen the industry for years to come. 

Continuing the Conversation

As we reflect on these first six months, we’re inspired by the work happening across the CDFI industry, and we’re committed to ensuring that OFN continues to be a strong leader and partner in advancing solutions. Visit our website and subscribe to OFN’s newsletter to stay connected and informed as we continue to highlight CDFIs and partners driving innovation across the industry.

For more updates, follow OFN on social media to join the conversation and see innovation in action. 

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Tags: CDFI Leadership, Community Development, Impact Investing, OFN