League's Blau a Panelist on Nationwide CDFI Webinar

League Chief Advocacy Officer JT Blau was a featured panelist on a Community Development Financial Institutions webinar hosted today by Inclusiv.

Blau shared recent developments in Virginia related to the state's CDFI program. In 2021, the Virginia General Assembly passed a $10 million budget amendment that effectively created and funded the Virginia CDFI Fund. Administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), this fund supports Virginia-based CDFIs and builds their capacity to support communities and businesses across the state.

The League supported a CDFI bill in the 2023 session of the General Assembly. Companion bills SB1320/HB1411 would codify the Virginia Community Development Financial Institutions Fund initially created in 2021 and establish the Virginia Community Development Financial Institutions Program to carry out the purposes of the Fund. The bill passed the legislature and is awaiting the governor's signature.

The Program would provide grants and loans to community development financial institutions and other similar entities for the purpose of providing financing to small businesses, housing development and rehabilitation projects, and community revitalization real estate projects in the Commonwealth.

Blau noted the role Virginia’s CDFI credit unions have played in this state-level initiative and the League’s advocacy work in support of SB1320/HB1411. 

Related: League’s Blau Testifies Before State Senate Committee in Support of CDFI Measure
Related: League Co-Hosts CDFI Awareness Event for Lawmakers