Thank you to our #OFN42 co-hosts for helping bring the CDFI field together in New Orleans! Your partnership helped make this year’s conference possible, and your work every day shows what’s possible when communities have access to capital and opportunity. @EnterpriseNow Hope Enterprise Corporation @Liifund NewCorp, Inc. Reinvestment Fund Renaissance Community Loan Fund, Inc. @TruFundFinServ upLFT Capital Access #OpportunityNext #CDFI

Last night, OFN presented the 2026 Ned Gramlich Lifetime Achievement Award for Responsible Finance to Ignacio Esteban, who led FCLF for 26 years. His vision and dedication continue to shape communities across Florida. #OFN42 Read more: ofn.org/?p=88913&post_type=c…

Last night at #OFN42 in New Orleans, we celebrated individuals and organizations who drive capital to communities underserved by mainstream finance. Congratulations to our awardees! - Adina Abramowitz Impact Award for Organizational Growth and Change: Oweesta Corporation - Emerging Growth CDFI Award: Philadelphia Accelerator Fund - Native CDFI Leadership Award: Four Bands Community Fund - Executive Leadership Award: Marla Bilonick, NALCAB - Small Business Leader of the Year: Tate Hill, Access Plus Capital Thank you for showing what’s possible when communities have the tools, capital, and support to shape their own futures. Read the full awards release here: ofn.org/news/opportunity-fin… #OpportunityHonors #CDFI

Congratulations to Minnesota’s Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) on its Outstanding CDFI Award; and Invest Appalachia CEO Andrew Crosson for his Rising Star Award last night at #OFN42 Read the full announcement here: ofn.org/news/opportunity-fin…

303 Hill meetings. 206 congressional offices. 188 members and allies participating in fly-ins. That is how the CDFI field protects what works cdn.ofn.org/uploads/2026/09/… #OFN42 #CDFIs

OFN members financed 222,944 small businesses and microenterprises in 2024, helping create or retain 393,970 jobs. Explore the impact: cdn.ofn.org/uploads/2026/09/… #OFN42 #CDFIs

OFN members developed or rehabilitated 98,451 housing units in 2024. See how CDFIs are helping communities preserve affordability and create stable homes: cdn.ofn.org/uploads/2026/09/… #OFN42 #CDFIs

Today’s CDFI Research Symposium in New Orleans brings CDFI stakeholders together to help move evidence into practice: ofn.org/cdfi-research-sympos… ofn.org/innovation-initiativ… Our final Environmental Scan examines how shared services could help CDFIs reduce costs while preserving independence and community focus: ofn.org/innovation-initiativ…

Thank you to our incredible #OFN42 sponsors and opportunity partners for helping make this year's conference in New Orleans possible! Together, we're advancing capital and economic opportunity in underinvested communities nationwide. Lead: @BankofAmerica Platinum: @CapitalOne @jpmorgan @WellsFargo Gold: @PNCBank @Truist Silver: @FHLBanksVoice @Moodys @TDBank_US Bronze: @CharlesSchwab @GS10KSmallBiz @Huntington_Bank @kresgefdn @RWJF @usbank Special Support: @massmutual | @CNTR4growth #OpportunityNext #CDFI

OFN42 is one week away. 2,000+ CDFI leaders. 125+ sessions. 14 tracks. One city: New Orleans. ⚜️ If there’s someone you’ve been meaning to meet, they’ll be there. Last call to register: ofnconference.org/event/1704… #OFN42 #CDFI

Save the dates: #OFN43 heads to Houston Oct. 26-29, 2027, and the Small Business Finance Forum comes to Austin June 23-25. Plus, 5 summits and 5 regional meetings across the country. View the full lineup: ofn.org/blog/save-the-dates-… #CDFI #CommunityDevelopment #OFN43

CDFIs remain resilient—but the pressures they face are becoming more interconnected. OFN’s 2026 Annual Portfolio Performance & Trends Review, based on responses from 158 OFN borrowers, examines capital access, lending demand, portfolio quality, financial sustainability, liquidity, and organizational risk. Key findings: • 61% reported increased lending demand • More than 50% reported increasing delinquencies • 79% reported 6+ months of operating liquidity • 82% of those seeking new debt financing closed a transaction • 65% identified federal public policy among their top 3 organizational risks Read the full report:cdficonnect.org/ofnresources…

Mergers, coalitions, and other forms of integration across organizations have helped CDFIs cut administrative costs, coordinate lending, and present the scale investors respond to. The scan is honest about the tradeoffs—integration is disruptive and isn't right for everyone—and points to the industry examples that got it right. Week 11 of 13. Read the scan: ofn.org/innovation-initiativ…

OFN welcomes the CDFI Fund's release of $289M in FY 2025 awards, helping CDFIs finance small businesses, housing, and community facilities nationwide. Read the statement ofn.org/news/ofn-statement-o…

Join more than 2,100 community development finance professionals in New Orleans for the conversations, connections, and ideas shaping the future of the field. With 100+ sessions across 14 tracks, there will be plenty to learn in the rooms—and, as always, plenty to learn from each other over coffee, at receptions, and throughout the week. Register today! ofnconference.org/event/1704…

Most CDFIs hold every loan to term—capital that could be lent twice works once. Secondary markets change the math: sell portions of a portfolio, recycle the proceeds into new loans, meet more demand with the same balance sheet. Recent transactions demonstrate that it may work for CDFIs; the path runs through standardization and the right market infrastructure. Week 10 of 13. Read the scan: ofn.org/innovation-initiativ…

This year's compensation numbers are in! OFN's 2026 CDFI Loan Fund Compensation Survey Report, developed in partnership with Quatt Associates, is now available for purchase and download. The report benchmarks pay for sixty-nine positions across 174 CDFI loan funds nationwide—giving mission-driven lenders the data they need to attract, reward, and retain the people behind their work. Get your copy: ofn.org/product/2026-cdfi-lo…

What does it look like when CDFIs meet capital markets on their own terms? Preferred equity: investors provide equity that supports additional lending in exchange for a fixed dividend on pooled loans. Aggregation platforms bring the scale and performance history investors look for. It's diversification, liquidity, and resilience—built in partnership with the market. "Innovations in preferred equity structures offer a promising solution to unlocking the power of the nonprofit structure for CDFIs; with a stronger net asset base, CDFIs will have the balance sheet resilience to increase lending, drive earnings, and grow sustainably which translates into more impact in our communities," says Jessel Amin, Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer at OFN. Week 9 of 13. Read the scan: ofn.org/innovation-initiativ…

What would your CDFI do in the first 72 hours after a disaster? Join OFN Sept. 29, 2–3 p.m. ET, for CDFI Disaster Readiness: The First 30 Days. Hear from CDFI leaders, explore real-world response strategies, and take an interactive readiness assessment. Register: ofn-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi… #CDFIs #DisasterReadiness

Build a stronger capital strategy at #OFN42. Explore sessions on capitalization roadmaps, investor relationships, capital agreements, equity capital, new funding sources, public capital markets, and more. Join us in New Orleans, Oct 20-23. ofnconference.org/event/1704…? _gl=1*1t66ol*_ga*NjM3OTE3MTQ0LjE3ODg4OTkwODE.*_ga_XJR7QDGHSL*czE3ODk2NTc4NzckbzkkZzAkdDE3ODk2NTc4NzckajYwJGwwJGgw