Black History Month may be over but Cinnaire’s focus on honoring Black History and fostering social equity continues. Throughout 2021 we will continue to highlight the importance of investing in Black communities and the work that still needs to be done to move our industry and our nation toward racial equity. Since our nation’s founding, government and banks have systemically and structurally disenfranchised Black communities – from financial paths to entrepreneurship and homeownership. In this episode of Advancing Communities Podcast, Prosperity Now CEO Gary Cunningham discusses how we can address the income and asset gap and build Black wealth in order to create an economy that works for all.
Prosperity Now is a national coalition of African American CDFIs committed to closing the racial wealth divide and dismantling systemic racial and economic disparities. Gary shares his experience and perspective on the challenges Black owned businesses face in access to capital and technical assistance; Prosperity Now’s multi-faceted approach to addressing the history of racism in lending at the federal, state and local government levels and the many ways COVID-19 has emphasized the economic inequalities and transfer of wealth in communities of color.
Check out Episode 17 of Cinnaire’s Advancing Communities Podcast on Apple Podcasts here!
About the CDFI Fund Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $3.9 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through the Bank Enterprise Award Program, the Capital Magnet Fund, the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program, and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $61 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, and closed guaranteed bonds for over $1.7 billion through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.
To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov.
