Category: News

(Albany, GA, September 27, 2018) – Healthcare Georgia Foundation has awarded Albany Community Together (ACT!) a $100,000 grant to expand its available financial resources, leverage financial partnerships, and assist efforts to create new, strategic pathways in the southwest Georgia communities where health disparities are most notable.

“We believe that healthy communities support the health of the individual, and CDFIs, by definition, play a vital part in the development of that ecosystem by deploying capital in areas of particular need across the state: underserved rural areas and areas of persistent poverty,” said Gary Nelson, Healthcare Georgia Foundation President.

Albany Community Together, Inc.’s primary mission is to create wealth opportunities by helping lower income people underserved by traditional financial institutions build wealth through small business ownership, access to capital, and financial literacy. “The grant will allow us to continue to provide access to capital to small businesses in the area to address social conditions in our community that impact health,” said Thelma Johnson, President and CEO of Albany Community Together, Inc.

The goal of Albany Community Together Inc., is to build wealth and create economic opportunities in southwest Georgia by providing affordable access to capital and business support for aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners. A Certified Community Development Financial Institution through the Department of Treasury, ACT! creates a platform to create opportunities for the private sector to create jobs and wealth for the area residents.

About Healthcare Georgia Foundation Healthcare Georgia Foundation is a statewide, private independent foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to advance the health of all Georgians and to expand access to affordable, quality healthcare for underserved individuals and communities. Through its strategic grantmaking, Healthcare Georgia Foundation supports organizations that drive positive change, promotes programs that improve health and healthcare among underserved individuals and communities, and connects people, partners and resources across Georgia. For more information, visit www.healthcareorgia.org.

Albany, Georgia, September 19, 2018:   The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) awarded 302 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) $202.2 million in awards today. The awards, through the fiscal year (FY) 2018 round of the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program), will enable CDFIs to increase lending and investment activity in low-income and economically distressed communities across the nation. One-third of the awardees have committed to specifically serving Persistent Poverty Counties.

“The FY 2018 CDFI Program and NACA Program awardees will provide vital financial services and lending to low-income communities nationwide,” said CDFI Fund Director Annie Donovan. “The awards will also benefit Native Communities, areas of persistent poverty, and individuals with disabilities.” This award will allow us to continue to provide access to capital for small businesses in the area,” said Thelma Johnson, President/CEO of Albany Community Together.

For the FY 2018 CDFI Program round, the CDFI Fund awarded $165 million in Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 264 organizations in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The CDFI Program invests in and builds the capacity of CDFIs to serve low-income people and communities lacking adequate access to affordable financial products and services. In addition, the CDFI Fund awarded $22 million to 14 CDFIs through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Financial Assistance awards (HFFI-FA), a supplemental program designed to encourage investments in businesses that provide healthy food options for communities. The CDFI Fund also awarded $5 million to 15 CDFIs through the Disability Funds Financial Assistance awards (DF-FA), a supplemental program designed to help CDFIs finance projects and services that will assist individuals with disabilities.

For the FY 2018 round, the CDFI Fund received applications from 432 organizations requesting $334.9 million through the CDFI Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance awards, $75.3 million through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, $45.4 million to serve Persistent Poverty Counties, and $15.2 million in Disability Funds Financial Assistance.

The CDFI Fund also awarded $15.1 million in FY 2018 NACA Program Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance to 38 organizations in 16 states. The program facilitates the creation and advancement of Native CDFIs. Organizations funded through the NACA Program serve a wide range of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian communities, and reflect a diversity of institutions in various stages of development, including: organizations in the early planning stages of CDFI formation; tribal entities working to certify an existing lending program; and established Native CDFIs in need of further capacity building assistance. The CDFI Fund received 53 applications requesting $33.7 million for the FY 2018 round.

View more information about the FY 2018 CDFI Program and NACA Program awardees below.

2018 CDFI Program and NACA Program Award Resources

·       FY 2018 CDFI Program Award Book

·       FY 2018 NACA Program Award Book

·       CDFI Program and NACA Program Financial Assistance Application Evaluation Process

·       CDFI Program and NACA Program Technical Assistance Application Evaluation Process

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded more than $3 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through: the BEA Program; the Capital Magnet Fund, the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, including the Healthy Food Financing Initiative; the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program; and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $54 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, and closed guaranteed bonds in the amount of $1.36 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.