Attacks on the CDFI Fund: A Call for Solidarity
by Rudy Espinoza, Chief Executive Officer
At our loan committee meetings, Inclusive Action’s team of lenders and business coaches come together to share the profiles of entrepreneurs who are seeking a low-interest loan from our fund, and business coaching to help them grow their businesses.
Yesterday, I learned about Laura, a mobile vendor who buys pre-packaged goods in bulk and sells them at pop-ups throughout the city. She’s well-known in her community, has more than 30 years of experience, and is a trusted source of home goods for her repeat clientele. Despite her low credit score, we are inspired by her leadership in the community building programs and her eagerness to receive feedback to improve her operations. She is seeking a $7,000 loan to get ready for the next busy season as temperatures warm up.
I also learned about Roberto, an enterprising sports coach who realizes that there are limited options for young boys to learn the craft of soccer, their parents often struggling to afford the high-priced academies to access a pathway to college and career dreams. His credit score is strong, but the newness of his business is preventing him from a traditional bank loan. He is seeking $5,000 for the equipment, technology, and other infrastructure to launch his business.
We see that Laura and Roberto are worth investing in – but others may not see what we see.
This week, the news came that some of us expected: the President set in motion a process to dramatically reduce or even completely eliminate the CDFI Fund. The Executive Order communicated the intention to eliminate initiatives that focus on creating jobs, supporting entrepreneurs, and catalyzing economic opportunity in communities that have been historically under-served by mainstream financial institutions. Many in our field are concerned about a potential loss of much needed grant funding, low-interest debt capital used to support small businesses, and even the sought after “CDFI certification” that validates our work and unlocks resources in the public and private sector. The Executive Order to dismantle the CDFI Fund shakes the foundation of our work.
But our foundation is not only in CDFI status. Inclusive Action’s true foundation lies in our work for economic justice and the pursuit of a vision where all entrepreneurs have an opportunity to access capital, especially those who have been deemed “unworthy” of credit.
I believe we must be clear-eyed about what this Administration seeks to do: eliminate work that invests in low-income communities of color. And with our clarity, we must also recognize that we are being called to engage in different ways.
We cannot simply “wait and see.”
It is no longer enough to keep doing what we’ve been doing. We must move differently and act differently. In any crisis, it’s only human for us to think about how we preserve ourselves and our organizations, but this is a time for us to live and breathe solidarity – a framework that calls each of us to lock arms and lift up our collective interests and our shared priorities. Indeed, luminaries like Father Greg Boyle here in Los Angeles have elevated the power of “kinship” with each other, and the scholar john a. powell has written extensively about the root problem confronting much of our society: othering.
In this moment, we must fight back by bringing people together and calling more people in. Yes, we must call on our Congressmembers and add our names to petitions and sign-on letters, but we should also have the tough conversations in our communities to lift up democracy, solidarity, and economic opportunity for everyone. CDFIs should not only be writing to protect their certification, we must also join in with calls to defend free speech, protect immigrants, and preserve the social safety net. We must resist the urge to focus only on self preservation and instead broaden our view to center the threats faced by our clients, neighbors, and our country.
We cannot be silent when our community members are being targeted with ICE raids, attempts are being made to infringe on their taxpayer data, and dissent is being criminalized.
I recognize that many of us are stretched, and feeling overwhelmed by the onslaught of emergencies, but as the poet Rilke describes, this darkness must be a belltower, and we are the bell, growing louder with each push and pull.