FAQs

CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is a community-centered and community-controlled strategy that will provide fair and patient lending to Fort Worth’s minority-owned businesses, affordable homeowners, rental housing, nonprofits, consumers, and commercial real estate. CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is a go-between, matching CDFIs (community development financial institutions) to residents, entrepreneurs, developers, and nonprofits in Fort Worth’s underfinanced communities. CDFIs offer patient, flexible capital to meet needs in underserved and under-financed communities.

To read the full business plan, click here.

CDFIs–or community development financial institutions–are private financial institutions dedicated 100% to benefitting low-income, low-wealth, and other under-resourced people and places. All CDFIs make loans, and some CDFIs are banks or credit unions that also provide vital savings and checking accounts, as well as payment services.

There are more than 1,200 CDFIs working in all 50 states across the United States. They are not working in all communities, however. The CDFI Friendly strategy is a way of connecting some of those underserved communities to CDFI financing.

For a more detailed explanation of CDFIs, click through this interactive presentation.

CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is already working with CDFIs that specialize in many types of loans.

CDFIs offer loans for:

• Buying a home

• Buying a car

• Other personal needs

• Starting or buying a small business

• Growing a small business

• Nonprofit organizations

• Developing affordable housing

• Developing commercial real estate

If your financing needs are outside of all of these categories you can still submit this form. Select “Other” and briefly explain what you need the loan for.

CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is a private, nonprofit business that was launched thanks to start-up funding from the City. In 2023, it will become an independent nonprofit organization.

The Board of Directors governs CDFI Friendly Fort Worth. CDFI Friendly Fort Worth will become an independent, nonprofit organization in early 2023.

At the start of 2022, only one CDFI was based in Fort Worth–the William Mann Jr Community Development Corporation. Other CDFIs including PeopleFund and LiftFund have made loans here over the years, but there is a much greater need for CDFI financing and services.

Please fill out the form on this site at CDFIFriendlyFortWorth.org/borrowers.

CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is focused on financing dreams and opportunities in Fort Worth: if the loan is for an individual, they must be a resident of Fort Worth. If the loan is for a business, affordable housing development, or nonprofit, it must be located in Fort Worth.

This depends on the CDFIs that might be right for you. After we connect you with CDFIs, they will contact you to understand what you need and to explain how they work. If you are interested in working with them, they will request documents and provide an application for you to fill out.

Yes. If the borrower is an individual they must be a resident of Fort Worth. If the borrower is a business, an affordable housing developer, or a nonprofit, they must be located in the city of Fort Worth.

Each CDFI has its own process for making loan decisions. The CDFIs you hear from will explain their loan application and review processes and answer your questions. CDFIs carefully evaluate each application, taking extra time to make sure you get a customized review and the most appropriate and affordable financing possible.

The CDFI will tell you what documents and information you need to provide for the application process. We urge you to provide the information as soon as possible to get a quicker response. If you need guidance on preparing materials, please ask the CDFI that is requesting them.

Once your application is complete, the CDFI’s review process may take several days to several weeks, depending on the details of your loan application.

CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is prioritizing CDFI lending to BIPOC, women, and other historically underfinanced borrower groups, but it will support CDFI lending to other borrowers as well. If you have tried to get a loan from other sources without success, we want to hear from you. We promise you a fair shake and, if possible, a fair deal.

Yes. We are working with CDFIs that offer mortgages and one that offers car loans. Although we do not have CDFI partners that offer personal loans in Fort Worth, we are in the process of finding CDFIs for this type of lending. At this time, the only consumer loans we can refer to CDFIs are for home mortgages and used car loans. If you need a mortgage or car loan please fill out the form here.

Yes. The CDFI industry across the U.S. has more than $250 billion and it is growing. You do not need to worry about CDFIs running out of money before you are able to request a loan.

CDFIs receive funding and investments from many banks, including the nation’s largest banks and smaller, often local, banks, foundations and other philanthropic organizations, faith-based organizations and mission-motivated investors, and the federal government. Some CDFIs also receive support from state and local governments.

CDFIs exist to bring their resources to underfinanced people and communities. CDFI Friendly Fort Worth is helping CDFIs around the country see the opportunities to do that in Fort Worth.

There are numerous ways to support CDFI Friendly Fort Worth and CDFIs generally.
This includes:

• Loans to CDFIs

• Loans to Fort Worth borrowers in partnership with CDFIs

• Grants to borrowers or to CDFIs

• Grants to CDFI Friendly Fort Worth

• Loans to CDFI Friendly Fort Worth’s “CDFI Enhancement Fund”

Please contact Glenn Forbes at Glenn@cdfifriendlyfortworth.org to learn more.

The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) generally gives banks lending or investment credit, as appropriate, for working with CDFIs. While the CDFI Friendly strategy is too new to be included in CRA rules, we expect your regulator to treat CDFI Friendly loans and investments the same as they treat CDFI loans and investments. We encourage you to talk with your regulator to learn more.

Yes. National foundations such as the Ford Foundation and the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation developed a way for public foundations to invest in CDFIs using program-related investments (PRIs). More recently, foundations have added mission-related investments (MRIs) and impact investments to their toolkits.

CDFI Friendly America can advise you and put you in touch with other experts, including the AERIS rating system for CDFIs. Let us know what assistance you need at support@cdfifriendlyfortworth.org.