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Community Reinvestment Fund USA Granted CDFI Certification



Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a nonprofit organization that connects community development lenders with the capital resources of Wall Street, today announced it received Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certification from the United States Department of the Treasury. Donna J. Gambrell, director of the CDFI Fund, announced CRF'ss certification during her keynote address at the Community Development Forum held today in Minneapolis.



Established in 1994, the CDFI Fund promotes economic revitalization and community development by providing credit, capital and financial services to underserved populations and communities in the United States. CDFI designation will provide CRF greater access to community development funding, which it will use to finance loans for small businesses, community facilities and affordable-housing initiatives in low-income communities. To date, CRF has funded more than $1 billion in community development projects across the United States.



Since its inception in 1988, CRF'ss mission and focus on helping change the lives of people living in economically disadvantaged communities has paralleled the CDFI Fund'ss mission, said Frank Altman, president and chief executive officer of CRF. CDFI status gives CRF more opportunities to deliver capital to low-income communities, and will allow us to help strengthen the industry'ss collective efforts to create jobs, support crucial social services and develop affordable housing.



We are pleased to recognize CRF as a certified CDFI, said Donna J. Gambrell, director of the CDFI Fund. Its track record of generating meaningful community impact by driving capital into economically disadvantaged areas is noteworthy, especially during these economically challenging times.



With current economic conditions continuing to restrict credit access for many organizations, the CDFI certification will enable CRF to pursue additional funding sources -- including CDFI Fund and federal economic stimulus grants -- that can expand its outreach. In collaboration with its national network of lending partners, CRF will use this funding to help community development organizations recirculate capital more quickly and fund larger initiatives that might otherwise be impossible to finance.



In today'ss economic climate, many small business owners cannot access capital to fund their growth initiatives, Altman said. Our CDFI designation is a positive step toward improving this situation and will help us further support disadvantaged communities.



About CRF


Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a nonprofit organization and certified Community Development Financial Institution, is the nation'ss leader in bringing capital to public and private, nonprofit community development lenders through the secondary market for community development loans. Formed in 1988, CRF has injected more than $1 billion into low-income and economically disadvantaged communities around the country to help stimulate job creation and economic development, provide affordable housing, and support community facilities. CRF is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. http://www.crfusa.com.






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