The following is a guest post from Deborah Temple with the Arkansas CDFI Coalition:
The Arkansas CDFI Coalition is a group of CDFIs and partner organizations working together to promote economic revitalization and community development in Arkansas. This coalition includes banks, credit unions, nonprofit loan funds, and support partners working together to provide access to capital, training, technical assistance and other critical services.
CDFIs in Arkansas have a history of working together in big and small ways. In 2021 they began a more formal coalition with the goals of increasing equitable access to capital, promoting the individual and collective work and impact of CDFIs, collaborating through loan participations or programs to reach more Arkansans, and advocating for policies that support CDFIs and Arkansans.
The first efforts were focused on designing programs and strategies that would support the use of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funds allocated to Arkansas for small business development with a focus on socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Together the Coalition submitted proposals that would support the goals of the program and leverage additional funds. These funds will be available in the first quarter of 2023 and will focus initially on loan participations, loan guarantee programs, and capital access programs.
Next each member of the coalition shared their impact data for 2021 to show the collective impact in Arkansas including:
- $440 million in loans to small businesses including over $300 million in PPP loans to businesses that were left out of the first round of PPP financing.
- 30,000 jobs created or retained
- $94 million in loans to individuals
- $22 million in mortgage loans
- 3,000 individuals received training and/or technical assistance through CDFIs and partners.
The impact data above includes $198 million loaned in rural Arkansas counties and $106 million loaned in persistently poor counties of Arkansas.
In 2021 the Arkansas CDFI Coalition members worked tirelessly to make approximately $345 million in PPP loans to small Arkansas based businesses that had been left out of the first round of funding.
The Coalition current includes seven CDFI’s and is open to all Arkansas based CDFIs. Additionally, there are two technical assistance providers as well as agencies such as the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. These groups work collectively and independently to serve a broad base of customers including small businesses, home buyers, communities, rural water and wastewater systems, and consumers.
To keep up with the latest news and events, please follow the Arkansas CDFI Coalition on Facebook and Linkedin.
