New York, NY - Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Donna J. Gambrell was in New York City to speak at the Asian Americans for Equality's (AAFE) 2008 Asian American Community Development Conference. This second annual conference was convened to examine the status of the country's economy amid recent financial and mortgage crises and to discuss their impacts on New York's immigrant communities and the city's key industries.
Director Gambrell's speech focused on the important work that CDFIs are doing in New York and across the nation to support the community development needs of Asian American communities, and how other community-based lending institutions can access the CDFI Fund's programs to improve access to community economic development opportunities, affordable housing, and critically needed social services for their communities.
During her speech, Director Gambrell relayed the inspirational homeownership success story of an Asian American family who participated in the First Home Club, a program of the AAFE Community Development Fund, which itself is a certified CDFI. The First Home Club is a savings program for low- to moderate-income first-time homebuyers.
"Today, through programs such as the First Home Club, families have affordable 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages and have become proud homeowners," said Gambrell. "I am proud that the CDFI Fund was able to provide critical financial capital that has enabled the AAFE Community Development Fund to grow and serve more Asian Americans families."
Currently, there are 213 certified CDFIs across the nation that serve Asian American communities. Since the CDFI Fund began collecting data in fiscal year 2003, CDFIs that serve Asian American communities who received awards totaling $127.6 million have:
- Created 67,329 jobs;
- Renovated and developed 34,283 affordable housing units;
- Provided financing to 12,885 first-time homebuyers; and
- Opened IDAs/new accounts for 37,498 people.
About the CDFI Fund
The CDFI Fund was created for the purpose of promoting economic and community development through investment in and assistance to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The CDFI Fund's role in promoting community and economic development was expanded in FY 2001 when the Secretary of the Treasury delegated to the CDFI Fund the responsibility of administering the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program.
Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded $947 million to CDFIs, community development organizations and financial institutions through CDFI Program, the Bank Enterprise Award (BEA) Program, and the Native Initiatives. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $19.5 billion in tax credit authority to community development entities (CDEs) through the NMTC Program.