Successful community development requires knowledge--knowledge about the particular community in question and about
what has worked in similar communities in the past--and community development organizations are working assiduously
and with sophisticated tools to help develop that knowledge.
A number of methods for evaluating community development projects are currently in use… The Community Investment
Impact System developed by the Department of Treasury's CDFI Fund… collects detailed information on institutions
and transactions, allowing the CDFI Fund to measure community effects and to associate those effects with
institutions working in that area. These results can help inform funding decisions, develop programs, establish
performance benchmarks, and communicate societal benefits attributable to specific policy.
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
Ben S. Bernanke
Los Angeles, California
April 20, 2006
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