League Co-Hosts CDFI Awareness Event for Lawmakers

Your League was proud to co-host a special event Tuesday night at Credit Union House to promote Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and educate lawmakers about these unique institutions.

Among those attending: Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears; Sen. Adam Ebbin; and Dels. Betsy Carr, Mark Sickles and David Reid. 

Virginia has 22 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which include six credit unions.

CDFIs are specialized community-based financial institutions with a primary mission to promote economic development by providing financial products and services to people and communities underserved by traditional financial institutions, particularly in low-income communities. In addition to community development credit unions and banks, CDFIs can also be non-regulated institutions such as non-profit loan funds or venture capital funds.

Peoples Advantage Federal Credit Union CEO Amanda Habansky noted that the reception was the first of its kind in Virginia. 

"CDFIs leverage public and private sources of capital to create impact," said Habansky. CDFIs deploy capital in low-income communities, reaching people of color, women and rural communities -- those groups that need it most, said Habansky.

In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed a $10 million budget amendment that established and funded the VA CDFI Fund, to be administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The purpose of this fund is to support Virginia-based Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and build their capacity to support communities and businesses across the state. VCDC’s lending affiliate, VCDF, collaborated with a group of CDFIs to form the Virginia CDFI Coalition, which, among other things, is actively involved with the state agencies responsible for deploying the fund.