What CDFIs are and why they exist

The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, or CDFI Fund, is part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Congress created it in 1994, in the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act.

Its mission, in its own words, is "to expand economic opportunity for underserved people and communities by supporting the growth and capacity of a national network of community development lenders, investors, and financial service providers."

The CDFI Fund doesn't make loans directly to individuals. It provides financing to CDFIs throughout the country, and they lend to people and businesses.

CDFI certification is a designation the CDFI Fund gives to specialized organizations that provide financial services in low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing. To be certified, an organization has to show that it:

• is a legal entity
• has a primary mission of promoting community development
• is a financing entity
• primarily serves one or more target markets
• provides development services along with its financing
• stays accountable to the target market it defines
• isn't a government entity or controlled by one (Tribal governments excluded)

Those requirements are about a lender's mission and who it serves. None of them sets the rate, the fees or the terms of a loan, so read every offer the same way you would anywhere else.

The CDFI Fund says it was created to promote "economic revitalization and community development" by investing in and assisting CDFIs, which provide loans, investments, financial services and technical assistance to underserved people and communities. Its goal is to help low-income and underserved people and communities "enter the financial mainstream."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists CDFIs among mission-based lenders, which it describes as lenders with "a particular focus on providing credit to traditionally underserved and low-income communities and individuals."

If a bank has turned you down, or you're building your credit or a new business, a certified CDFI is one more place to ask.

The CDFI Fund puts it this way: "CDFIs include regulated institutions such as community development banks and credit unions, and non-regulated institutions like loan and venture capital funds." Its list labels each one as a loan fund, a credit union, a bank or thrift, a bank holding company, or a venture capital fund.

If the CDFI is a bank or a credit union, check its deposit insurance the same way you would at any bank or credit union. Lesson P101.13 shows how.

For a business loan, lesson B102.8 covers SBA loans, microloans and what to do when the bank says no. The Small Business Administration (SBA) makes microloans of up to $50,000 through intermediary lenders that are nonprofit, community-based organizations.

1. Open the CDFI Fund's List of Currently Certified CDFIs, linked from its certification page. The list dated September 17, 2026 counts 1,281 certified CDFIs, and there are certified CDFIs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.
2. Sort it by name, location or type to find the ones near you. Each entry has contact information.
3. Match the lender's exact name and location. The list changes as the CDFI Fund completes its reviews, so check the current one.
4. Ask the lender, and get the answers in writing: the APR and every fee, the total you'll repay, the payment and how long it runs, whether there's a penalty for paying early, whether it reports your payments to the credit bureaus, and what development services come with the loan.

• CDFI Fund: CDFI certification and the list of certified CDFIs
• CDFI Fund: Frequently asked questions, including how to find a CDFI near you
• CFPB: Resources for small business owners, including mission-based lenders