U.S. TREASURY AWARDS $202.2 MILLION TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC GROWTH IN LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES
New York, NY – September 19, 2018 –TruFund Financial Services, Inc. has been awarded $1.125 million through the United States Department of Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions – FA program to spur economic and community development in distressed and low-income communities. The award will be used to support TruFund’s lending and business support services in its service markets of New York, Alabama and Louisiana.
In today’s announcement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded 302 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) $202.2 million in awards today. The awards, through the fiscal year (FY) 2018 round of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), will enable CDFIs to increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities across the nation. One-third of the awardees have committed to specifically serving Persistent Poverty Counties.
“This CDFI award will allow us to further enhance our ability to provide access to capital, relevant business advisory services and other forms of support to minority and women small business owners,” said James H. Bason, President & CEO, TruFund Financial Services, Inc. “Entrepreneurship represents a vast untapped source of innovation, job creation and economic growth in under served communities. TruFund continues to be an innovative leader, supporting small businesses and bringing creative solutions and resources to community development projects throughout the country.”
For the FY 2018 CDFI Program round, the CDFI Fund awarded $165 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 264 organizations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. In addition, the CDFI Fund awarded $22 million to 14 CDFIs through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance awards (HFFI-FA), a supplemental program designed to encourage investments in businesses that provide healthy food options for communities. The CDFI Fund also awarded $5 million to 15 CDFIs through the Disability Funds Financial Assistance awards (DF-FA), a supplemental program designed to help CDFIs finance projects and services that will assist individuals with disabilities
For the FY 2018 round, the CDFI Fund received applications from 432 organizations requesting $334.9 million through the CDFI Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards, $75.3 million through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, $45.4 million to serve Persistent Poverty Counties, and $15.2 million in Disability Funds Financial Assistance
“We are honored to have the CDFI Fund’s continued support as we implement innovative and client centered solutions for disadvantaged entrepreneurs.” said Aisha Benson, Executive Vice President, TruFund Financial Services, Inc.
View more information about the FY 2018 CDFI Program and NACA Program awardees below.
2018 CDFI Program and NACA Program Award Resources
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About TruFund Financial Services
TruFund Financial Services, Inc. is a wholly independent national non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). TruFund seeks to stimulate economic development in communities that are underserved by traditional banking institutions by providing fair and accessible capital, hands-on technical assistance and innovative solutions to small businesses and nonprofit organization. To learn more about TruFund, visit www.trufund.org.
About the CDFI Fund
Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $3 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through: the BEA Program; the Capital Magnet Fund, the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, including the Healthy Food Financing Initiative; the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program; and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $54 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, and closed guaranteed bonds in the amount of $1.36 billion through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.
To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the CDFI Fund’s website atwww.cdfifund.gov.
