Category: Community Partners
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These Maine CDFIs Are Showing Mainstream Lenders How to Open Doors For Muslim Borrowers
When Yassin arrived in western Maine in 2008 as a refugee from Djibouti, he knew that he wanted to start his own business one day. In recent decades, Maine has become a destination for a growing population of immigrants like Yassin, who are seeking to build a life for themselves in the U.S. According to…
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Free Resources for Growth in 2022
On January 26th, 2022 CNote hosted a webinar alongside Inclusiv and CUNA Strategic Services where they discussed key resources to help mission driven community financial institutions grow in 2022 and deepen their community impact. Title: Deepening Community Impact: A Discussion on Key Resources to Help Your Organization Grow in 2022 Brief Summary: Credit unions and…
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How Credit Unions Rose To The Challenges Presented By PPP Loan Issuance And Forgiveness
When Jim Barnhart pushed pause on his 34-year-long career in banking, he never could have imagined that a global pandemic was right around the corner. Instead, Jim was looking forward to some quality time at home with his family, particularly so he could help his son, a senior in high school, transition to college. As…
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Turning Dreams Into Reality: How Appalachian Community Capital’s Donna Gambrell Is Helping CDFIs To Thrive
Donna Gambrell’s journey into the world of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) was, as she puts it, “a crooked mile.” Donna studied journalism at Towson University, and upon graduation, she worked as a writer-editor. That eventually led her to the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation and Resolution Trust Corporation, where she worked for four…
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Meet Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund, the CDFI Aiming to Become ‘Harlem’s CDFI’
Although Hamil Douglas self-identifies as a reformed banker, he’s appreciative of his extensive experience in the world of finance. Without it, he likely would never have become the president and CEO of Harlem Commonwealth Council (HCC), where he also serves as the managing director of Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund (HEF), HCC’s investment vehicle. Hamil got his…
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Meet the Black Hills Community Loan Fund, A Native CDFI Rooted In Its Community, And Growing With It
When Onna LeBeau took the job of Executive Director for the Black Hills Community Loan Fund (BHCLF) nearly six years ago, the odds were stacked against the nonprofit. For the better part of a year, the Rapid City-based nonprofit had sat idle, and its board was only willing to give it — and Onna —…
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How the Power of a Shared Voice is Pushing the First-of-its-Kind African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs to New Heights
Lenwood Long has been immersed in the world of community economic development since the 1980s, and until 2019, he was the CEO and President of Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF), a North Carolina-based Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) committed to fostering economic development in underserved communities. However, despite a long career in community finance…
