Profitwise News and Views

Articles on economic development news and trends including small business lending, labor trends and tax incentives to assist underserved communities; consumer issues such as predatory lending, credit scoring and identity theft; regulatory compliance topics; and research activities relevant to community development. Also includes a calendar of events and district news. View Guidelines for Authors.

 

The material in Profitwise News and Views is not necessarily endorsed by, and does not necessarily represent views of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

CURRENT ISSUE

The Northwest Side Community Development Corporation: Transforming the Approach to Creating Positive Economic Impact in Distressed Communities 
In this issue of Profitwise News and Views, we hear from a Milwaukee community development organization, the Northwest Side CDC, about its business model transformation from one of acquiring, developing, owning, and managing property – and near failure – to a vibrant, but leaner organization focused on leveraging partnerships and collaborations to bring about community redevelopment. We also hear from Indianapolis about the Legacy Project, which will bring about significant community assets in the city’s Near East Side neighborhood due to the efforts of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation chapter in Indianapolis. Finally, we get an overview of the first of three symposia dealing with inner city workforce development, which took place at the Chicago Fed on June 20, 2011. Download the current issue.

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SPOTLIGHT!

Recently certified CDFI banks and the CDFI banking sector

The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund came into existence in 1995 with the mission to “expand the capacity of financial institutions to provide credit, capital, and financial services to underserved populations and communities in the United States.” Since the recent economic crisis, CDFIs have been a vehicle for the implementation of several new policy initiatives designed to direct capital to the nation’s underserved communities, businesses, and home owners. Though few in number, CDFI banks hold the majority of capital among certified CDFIs. Download the current issue.