To view or print the PDF content on this page, download the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®. June 29, 2009 Treasury Awards $90 Million in Recovery Act Funding for Community Development At Event in the Bronx, Secretary Geithner Announces To read biographical sketches of CDFI borrower and end beneficiary attending today's event, please visit link. BRONX, NY – As part of the Obama Administration's continued investment in economic development in communities around the country through the Recovery Act, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today announced $90 million in financial assistance awards for 59 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in 26 states and Puerto Rico dedicated to helping communities hard hit by the economic crisis. These awards will support new economic recovery projects in some of our nation's most vulnerable communities at a time when they are facing many financial challenges. "The Recovery Act is playing a critical role in restoring economic growth and strengthening our nation's financial stability by developing and investing in local communities," said Secretary Geithner. "The Recovery Act awards announced today build on the Administration's efforts to get lenders lending again – these awards will help generate capital for small businesses, mortgage loans for homebuyers, and funding for affordable housing projects and other facilities in communities across the country." Secretary Geithner's announcement was made today at The Point, an organization previously funded by the Nonprofit Finance Fund, a New York based CDFI and Recovery Act awardee that is receiving a $1.9 million award today. The Point is dedicated to youth development, the cultural and economic revitalization of the South Bronx, and to providing support to local entrepreneurs by helping them create new businesses and explore economic opportunities. Of the 56 awards announced today, 10 recipients are located in New York. Said CDFI Fund Director Donna Gambrell: "We are here today to not only announce the national Recovery Act awards under the CDFI Program, but to also highlight how these resources can help to transform distressed communities. The Point is a remarkable example of an organization supported by CDFI investments that is successfully bringing about the economic revitalization needed in communities around the country." As part of the Administration's continued effort to invest directly in communities, the Treasury Department has also recently announced:
The CDFI program invests in and builds the capacity of a nationwide network of community-based financial institutions with a primary mission of community development in economically distressed urban, rural, and Native communities. The CDFI Fund receives applications on an annual basis and awards funds through a competitive process. For a complete list of award recipients and profiles, visit http://www.cdfifund.gov/.
### Biographical sketches of the CDFI borrower and program beneficiary attending today's event:
Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Health Plan (UHP), a federally qualified health center located in the South Bronx. She began her tenure at UHP in 1976 as the organization's office manager and moved through the ranks to become first the administrator, then the executive director and in 1996 she became the President and CEO. Ms. Izquierdo Hernandez has grown UHP from a one-site facility to a network of three health centers; five school health programs; four sites at facilities for at-risk populations; and two administrative facilities that house multiple grant-funded programs. Ms. Izquierdo Hernandez was raised in the Bronx, NY. She holds a masters degree in speech pathology from Columbia University's Teachers College and a master of public health from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The expansion of UHP was made possible by financing from The Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC), the only Community Development Financial Institution in New York State and the largest in the country specifically investing in primary care. In 2007, U.S. Treasury awarded PCDC $40 million in New Market Tax Credits – the largest community development investment made to date in primary care. Today, PCDC will receive a $2 million Recovery Act CDFI Award; they subsequently plan to generate $20 million in new loans that will allow community health centers to expand, providing services to almost 100,000 low-income residents. Wilfredo "Bio" Feliciano Wilfredo Feliciano is a founding member of Top Artistic Artists Cru (TATS CRU), Inc., a Bronx-based graphic design company. Headquartered at The Point, TATS CRU is on the forefront of mural art. In the early 1990s, Wilfredo and two of his high school friends -- all talented mural artists -- were struggling to get their business off the ground. They were working out of an old Ford Bronco, had little equipment, and were relying on word of mouth to get new clients. But then they were approached by The Point who offered them a headquarters, gave them space to paint their murals and equipment to grow. TATS CRU has been hired to paint sets for Broadway plays, music videos and movies. Coca Cola, Pepsi, Kodak and McDonalds have sought them out for their unique graphic arts skills. Their revenue, at one point, reached $1 million a year. Over the years, The Point has received critical financing from the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), the only national Community Development Financial Institution to service the nonprofit sector exclusively. Today, NFF will receive a $1.9 million Recovery Act CDFI Award, which they plan to use to generate up to $10 million in additional loans and help as many as 20 small and mid-sized nonprofits expand. LINKS |
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