First Round of Small Dollar Loan Program Awards Announced
On September 23, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) at the Department of the Treasury announced $10.8 million in awards to 52 CDFIs in the first round of the Small Dollar Loan (SDL) Program. The SDL Program was authorized as a part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 but was not funded until Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. The SDL Program funds activities to support affordable consumer loans and increase access to mainstream financial institutions. Under the SDL Program, the CDFI Fund provides awards for both loan loss reserves and technical assistance.
OFN congratulates all the recipients, especially the 19 OFN members that received over $3.2 million in awards. These members are:
- African Economic Development Solutions
- ACT! Albany Community Together, Inc.
- Communities Unlimited, Inc.
- Community Assets for People
- Community First Fund
- Community Ventures Corporation, Inc.
- Great Rivers Community Capital, Inc.
- Inclusive Action for the City
- Just Community
- Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon
- Nimiipuu Community Development Fund
- Northwest Access Fund
- Northwest Native Development Fund
- Opportunities Credit Union
- PathStone Enterprise Center
- People Incorporated Financial Services
- People Trust
- Union County Economic Development
- WomenVenture
Funding for this inaugural round of the SDL Program comes from the $270 million the CDFI Fund received for FY 2021. Future rounds of the SDL Program are dependent on Congress appropriating additional funding. The House of Representatives has proposed $10 million in SDL Program funding for the next fiscal year and the Senate has yet to release their funding bill. With the FY 2022 appropriations process still ongoing and the end of FY 2021 approaching on September 30, lawmakers will need to pass a continuing resolution in the next week to avoid a government shutdown.
OFN continues to advocate for at least $1 billion in appropriations for the CDFI Fund in the final FY 2022 funding bill.