Introduction to Community Development Finance: The Movement, The Practice, The Promise is an engaging and outcome-focused five-hour workshop designed for emerging CDFIs. Participants will gain insights into the business model of a mission-driven and high-performance CDFI and the implications and opportunities for establishing a high-impact loan fund. Click here for the SOW and fee.

What keeps your organization from achieving growth and making a more significant impact? We evaluate your loan fund operations based on industry standards and best practices. By conducting a comprehensive review of your loan fund, we will provide a 'gap analysis' outlining the necessary improvements to reach optimal performance and impact. We then help you develop an initial 18-month implementation plan.  Click here for the SOW and fee.

A business plan is not just a document; it's a vital reflection of your CDFI’s dreams, goals, and the journey you envision. It articulates your vision while laying out financial forecasts, revenue expectations, and insights into the market landscape. It’s a roadmap that instills accountability and provides a clear overview of your operations. And it’s absolutely essential to persuade the public, private, and philanthropic sectors to provide funding. Click here for more information and pricing.

CDFIs are dedicated to setting ambitious and measurable outcome goals. We aim to develop a dynamic and actionable strategic plan that clearly outlines your aspirations and serves as a living document that evolves with your organization. To achieve this, we prioritize an inclusive process that guarantees full buy-in from the board and staff. Click here for a summary of our process.

Mission-driven lending is challenging because it involves serving underserved communities with higher credit risks, requiring a balance between achieving social impact and maintaining financial sustainability. This makes it all the more important to have carefully crafted credit policies that balance mission and achieve remarkable results in portfolio quality. Click here for more information and pricing.

Are you struggling to attract borrowers for your Development Services? Could it be they don’t recognize the “features and benefits?” An effective DS program should (1) align with your mission to support sustainable businesses and demonstrate impact and (2) function as a risk mitigation strategy alongside strong underwriting guidelines.

Do we know compliance? F|A was retained as a subcontractor in 2019-20 to review, assess, and rewrite the CDFI Fund’s internal standard operating procedures for its Certification, Compliance, Monitoring, and Evaluation (CCME) division. For certified CDFIs we can serve as your Compliance Officer and train your staff to eventually take this function in-house! Click here for our proposal and pricing.