Restore the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund
Members of Congress
The CDFI Fund—the federal program that helps community lenders build affordable housing, finance small businesses, and bring investment to underserved areas—has been effectively eliminated. During the government shutdown, every staff member at the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Fund was laid off. This means no new grants, no technical assistance, and no oversight of billions in community projects already approved. For the first time in thirty years, one of the most effective public investment tools in America has gone dark.
This is not a partisan issue. The CDFI Fund has long been one of the few programs both parties agree works. Congress created it in 1994 to strengthen local economies through smart public investment. For every dollar the Fund provides, CDFIs leverage about eight more from private banks and investors. That money finances grocery stores in food deserts, childcare centers in working-class neighborhoods, small manufacturers in rural towns, and affordable homes in communities rebuilding after disaster. It is one of the few federal programs that unites red and blue communities because it strengthens both.
Two-thirds of CDFI funding goes to rural and small-town America, often in Republican districts. The rest supports cities and neighborhoods still recovering from decades of disinvestment. When large banks failed to reach small businesses during the pandemic, CDFIs succeeded. They lent to the employers, farmers, and families that other lenders overlooked. They did it efficiently, transparently, and at a fraction of the cost of other federal programs.
Now, that infrastructure is at risk of collapsing. Without staff, CDFIs cannot access or manage federal awards. Hundreds of community lenders could lose the capital that makes their work possible. Small business loans will be delayed or denied. Affordable housing projects will stall midstream. Clinics, food hubs, and local employers could shut their doors. The damage will reach every region of the country and will take years to repair.
Restoring the CDFI Fund is not about growing government—it is about protecting one of the most efficient public-private partnerships ever created. It empowers local decision-making, multiplies every dollar it receives, and builds lasting assets in communities that have worked hard for every opportunity they get.
For three decades, the CDFI Fund has proven that smart, targeted public investment can strengthen markets, expand opportunity, and give people the tools to build their own future. Losing it now would not just end a program; it would break faith with the very communities that make America strong. Congress must act immediately to restore full staffing and funding so that the CDFI Fund can continue doing what it was built to do—help America’s communities grow, rebuild, and thrive.
Petition by
.png)
Sponsored by
To:
Members of Congress
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Members of Congress,
We, the undersigned, urge you to take immediate and bipartisan action to restore full staffing and funding for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund. The recent decision to eliminate the Fund’s entire staff during the shutdown has stopped one of the nation’s most effective and efficient programs from serving the communities that depend on it. As you negotiate to reopen the federal government, we call on you to include a clear condition to fully staff the CDFI Fund and release the funds Congress has already appropriated.
For thirty years, the CDFI Fund has proven that government can work efficiently and locally. It does not create bureaucracy; it builds opportunity. Every public dollar invested through the Fund leverages roughly eight private dollars from banks and investors. Those dollars become affordable homes, small business loans, rural clinics, child care centers, and grocery stores in areas long overlooked by traditional finance. In towns where banks have closed and credit has dried up, CDFIs fill the gap. They give families, farmers, and entrepreneurs the tools to build their own future.
This is not a partisan issue. The CDFI Fund serves America as a whole. Two-thirds of its funding supports rural and small-town communities, many in Republican districts. The rest supports urban neighborhoods rebuilding after decades of disinvestment. A Republican Congress and Democratic administration alike have praised the Fund because it delivers measurable results without waste. It strengthens both red and blue communities because it strengthens the country.
When major banks pulled back during the pandemic, CDFIs stepped up. They made loans to small businesses that no one else would touch. They supported essential workers, housing providers, and local employers when it mattered most. Their record shows what happens when public trust and private investment work together.
If Congress fails to restore the CDFI Fund now, the damage will reach far beyond Washington. Local lenders will lose the capital that keeps them operating. Small businesses will lose their financing. Affordable housing projects will stop midstream. Jobs will vanish. Communities that have already been left behind will lose one of the only tools proven to help them rebuild.
Restoring the CDFI Fund is not about expanding government. It is about protecting a proven model of partnership, accountability, and results. It is about keeping faith with the people and institutions that make this country work at the local level.
We call on Congress to:
Include, in negotiations to reopen the federal government, a binding condition to fully staff and fund the CDFI Fund at its appropriated FY2025 level.
Ensure that all funds reach eligible lenders, projects, and communities without delay.
Publicly reaffirm bipartisan commitment to the CDFI Fund as one of the most effective investments in American strength and local self-reliance.
For three decades, the CDFI Fund has shown that when America invests in its communities, those communities deliver back many times over. This program pays for itself in stronger small businesses, higher employment, and thriving neighborhoods. Congress must act now to ensure that the CDFI Fund continues its essential work serving the people who make America strong.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned