Are you a member of the general public who is looking for a loan, perhaps to renovate your home or start your own business?

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, or CDFI Fund, is a program within the U.S. Department of the Treasury that awards money and tax credits to community-based organizations that work in low-income urban and rural communities across America. These organizations, known as CDFIs, all have a common mission of working toward revitalizing economically depressed communities or communities underserved by mainstream financial institutions and improving the quality of life of those that live and work in these communities.

The CDFI Fund does not make loans directly to individuals nor does it finance specific projects. Instead, the CDFI Fund provides financing to CDFIs that operate in communities for the benefit of people that live in them. In turn, these CDFIs provide financing to: residents that want to buy their first home; individuals that may want to start their own business, for example renovating homes in their neighborhood or opening a corner store or beauty salon; owners of existing businesses, like a printing shop or restaurant, that would like to expand their business (helping create new jobs). In addition, many of these CDFIs work with individuals on improving their credit rating or helping them to create a monthly budget.

There are two ways to find CDFIs in your community:

• Alternative 1: Searchable award database

1. Go to our searchable award database.

2. Under the Advanced Search option, select the city or town you are located in and submit your search request. Read the profiles of the CDFIs that are returned by your search. Identify those CDFIs that offer the type of loan you are looking for. Some CDFIs only specialize in certain types of loans. For example, one CDFI may make loans for housing development, while another for creating a small business.

3. If there are no CDFIs located in that city or town you live in, don't be discouraged. Review the profiles of CDFIs located in communities nearby or review the profiles for all CDFIs located in your state. The reason we suggest this is that some CDFIs may only serve the community where they are located while others may serve several counties or the whole state.

• Alternative 2: List of certified CDFIs

  1. Go to our lists of certified CDFIs.

  2. Scroll down to the "Certified CDFIs" section. Click on the link for a list sorted by CDFI name, location (state), or type (e.g. bank, credit union, venture capital fund). The list will contain contact info. For each CDFI, which you can use to contact the CDFI to inquire about the types of assistance it may provide.

We hope that this is helpful. If you have any further questions or suggestions, please e-mail us at cdfihelp@cdfi.treas.gov.