| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Continental Breakfast
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| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Networking Breakfasts
Come network with CDFIs and other institutions working in your region. See old friends and meet new peers. Share successes and lessons learned. Explore opportunities for collaboration.
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| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Networking Breakfast: Microloan Management Services (MMS) Users
Facilitator: Catherine Meyrat, Accion Texas
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| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Networking Breakfast: Midwest
Includes IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, and WI.
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| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Networking Breakfast: Northeast
Includes CT, ME, MA, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, and VT.
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| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Networking Breakfast: South
Includes AL, AR, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV, and Puerto Rico.
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| 7:00 AM
- 8:30 AM |
Networking Breakfast: West
Includes AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NE, NM, OR, UT, WA, and WY.
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| 8:45 AM
- 10:45 AM |
Opening Plenary: Creating Opportunity in the Midst of Municipal Meltdowns
Moderator: Greg Jefferson, San Antonio Business Journal
Panelists: Alyssa Lee, Pew Charitable Trusts; Jim King, FAHE; Don Baylor, Center for Public Policy Priorities; and Anthony Snipes, Chief of Staff to the City Manager, Austin, Texas
We’ve all read the stories about municipalities going bankrupt. The number of local governments facing severe revenue shortfalls combined with overwhelming long-term liabilities is all too common. And the picture looks bleak into the future. The communities that CDFIs serve are and will be serving are being hurt by tough municipal conditions. CDFIs that rely on local governments for funding or project support are also feeling the impacts. What is the current state of affairs of local government budgets? And what do the trends tell us about what to expect over the next few years, especially if Congress fails to reach a budget deal and sequestration is triggered on January 1? How are CDFI markets faring? How can CDFIs prepare themselves for what’s to come so that they can meet their markets’ growing needs and become partners to local governments in ways that perhaps neither had anticipated.
Click here for speaker bios.
Click here for session material.
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| 10:45 AM
- 12:00 PM |
Dedicated Trade Show Visiting Time
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| 12:00 PM
- 2:00 PM |
Lunch and State of the Industry Speech by Mark Pinsky, President and CEO
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Credit Skills for Underwriting Farm Production
Session Leaders: Denise Dukette, New England Bank and Gray Harris, Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Access to flexible, affordable capital is critical for farm growth and success. Underwriting farm production, however, poses serious challenges to lenders, especially those unfamiliar with the farm sector. Underwriting farm production requires both fundamental business lending skills and a clear understanding of the unique aspects of a sector that is not easily defined or standardized. CDFIs can expect to see a variety of loan applicants, farming operations, capital needs, and customized repayment terms. Building on the CDFI Capacity Building Initiative for Financing Healthy Foods Options, this interactive training will provide an underwriting framework which will allow CDFIs to understand and actively support the local agriculture sector. Come get your hands dirty as we work through case studies, identify critical credit factors for farm business success, and engage in the sector that grows our fresh, healthy foods.
Track: Healthy Foods
Level: Introductory
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Development Services: What Are They and How Can You Integrate Them?
Session Leader: Jaci Ree, First Nations Oweesta Corporation
A key characteristic of successful Native CDFIs is their ability to provide development services to their customers. Development services can range from business coaching to a comprehensive financial education program that includes classes as well as a suite of integrated asset building components. Development services can be provided by the CDFI itself or through a community partner. In this session, we will discuss the different types of development services, the different delivery mechanisms, and ways to link different types of development services to meet a larger need. Increase your number of clients and their capabilities by learning how to effectively provide the range of development services your market needs.
Track: Native CDFIs
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio.
Click here for session material.
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Financing Energy Efficiency Improvements in Multi-family Properties
Session Leader: Amy Brusiloff, Bank of America
Session Panelists: Dick Jones, Boston Community Loan Fund; Jack Markowski, Community Investment Corporation; Lori Chatman, Enterprise Community Loan Fund; and Kim Latimer-Nelligan, Low Income Investment Fund
Energy efficiency retrofits lower building operating costs, reduce carbon footprints, and create construction jobs. Yet the volume of energy efficiency retrofitting in low-income communities continues to lag expectations due to reasons such as financing complexities and lack of empirical evidence quantifying potential savings. In this session you’ll hear from a panel of leading CDFIs that are overcoming these barriers and have developed innovative structures to finance multi-family energy efficiency improvements. Come learn about their successes and challenges.
Track: Energy Efficiency Finance
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Geographic Expansion Models
Session Leader: Sarah Bennett, Wells Fargo
Session Panelists: Joe Neri, IFF; Janie Barrera, Accion Texas; and David Wood, Hauser Center for Nonprofit
Expanding geographic coverage is one of the themes of the 2012 Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance. This panel offers strategic perspectives on models for geographic expansion from two NEXT Awardees, IFF and ACCION Texas, as well as funders, investors, and other key industry players who have evaluated geographic expansion models. Any CDFI considering geographic expansion will face unique challenges but session participants will walk away from these case studies with frameworks for determining potential business opportunities and organizational readiness to expand, along with knowledge of pitfalls to avoid.
Track: Expanding Coverage
Level: General
Click here for session materials.
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Innovations in Financing to Expand Working Capital for Nonprofits
Session Leader: Greg Maher, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Session Panelists: Hannah Blitzer, Low Income Investment Fund and Claudia Lima, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
A significant number of nonprofits rely on government funds to carry out operations and programs. When there are delays in government funding due to budget constraints or public subsidy and/or conventional funds are not available, some organizations may be forced to take on high cost debt to fund their operations or delay or forego much-needed projects in their communities. This panel will focus on innovative ways to address the current state of public funding and how CDFIs are responding to the need for working capital. Two products will be featured from LISC and LIIF. LISC created a new $10 million fund that provides working capital to smaller charter management organizations and charter schools in Los Angeles by purchasing their State of California receivables. LIIF developed an acquisition line of credit product to allow high capacity developers to acquire and preserve affordable properties where the construction and/or permanent financing have not yet been committed, allowing the borrower to continuously fund property acquisitions.
Track: Healthy Communities
Level: Intermediate
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Learning from the CDFI Small Business Growth Collaborative
Session Leaders: Cristina Shapiro, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group and Donna Fabiani, Opportunity Finance Network
Session Presenters: Adina Abramowitz, Consulting for Change; Matthew Stewart, PeopleFund; Jim Thomas, Community Capital Development; and Pam Porter, Opportunity Finance Network
In 2011, OFN partnered with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses to develop the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses CDFI Growth Collaborative, an initiative whose purpose is to help CDFI loan funds address the needs of small businesses in underserved communities across the country. The Growth Collaborative achieves this purpose by a) strengthening the 21 selected partner CDFIs’ capacity to lend to small businesses through training and peer learning; and b) widely disseminating knowledge and resources to help build the broader field of CDFI small business lenders. At this session, the Growth Collaborative partners will share what they have learned from each other and outside experts in year two of this three-year initiative. Be a part of this learning community by participating in this session, the second of three Growth Collaborative sessions that will be offered at the 2011 – 2013 OFN Conferences.
Track: Small Business Finance
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session materials.
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
OFN Meets SOCAP
Session Leader: Penelope Douglas, SOCAP
Session Panelists: Elyse Cherry, Boston Community Capital; Nathan Rothstein, Project Repatand; and Daryn Dodson, Calvert Funds
A new form of capitalism is arising to shift the power and efficiency of market systems toward social impact. Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) is dedicated to supporting the growth of this market. SOCAP is an event series that connects leading global innovators – investors, foundations, institutions, and social entrepreneurs – to build this market for a more sustainable economic and social future. SOCAP investors and social entrepreneurs seek to create major scale social change in the world, with enterprises/businesses as the vehicle for change. In the SOCAP world, CDFIs are both investors and social entrepreneurs. In this session we will focus on CDFIs as social investors. We will look into the slice of the SOCAP world where CDFIs and other social investors intersect: investing in enterprises that create social change in underserved communities. What terms, conditions, and impact are social investors seeking? How do they underwrite deals? How do these align with CDFIs’ terms, conditions, impact and underwriting? What are the opportunities for CDFIs and other social investors to co-invest in enterprises in underserved communities? What are the benefits of such collaboration for CDFIs, other social investors, the enterprises, and the communities?
Track: Financial Resources
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
Tell Your CDFI Story through Video
Session Leaders: Jenna Urusky, FAHE and Alexis Marlin, Citi Community Development
“Who you are will never go viral. What you DO will.” -Alexis Marlin, Citi Community Development. CDFIs change lives and communities and video can help you show the world how. Video transcends complexity, geographic isolation, and insider jargon to get to the bottom line of your CDFI story. After winning Citi’s video contest last year, Fahe decided to invest in making video one of its primary marketing mediums, learning many lessons along the way. Whether your objective is raising donations, increasing investments, advocacy engagement, or attracting new partners, video can be a valuable investment with returns of its own. Questions you'll be able to answer after this session include: Is video the right medium for your CDFI story? What does it cost time and money? How should you plan your video shoot and post production?
Track: Strategic Communications
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
The Evolution of Community Development: Next Generation Thinking
Session Leaders: Robin Hacke, Living Cities; Ian Galloway, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; and Ellen Seidman
Community development is at its core about providing people with opportunities to realize their full potential. Doing so requires that we cross the boundaries of traditional approaches to bring together affordable housing, effective education, and access to family-supporting jobs and essential services. Particularly in the aftermath of the great recession and with reduced local, state and federal resources, the challenge for those involved in community development is to think about how to be most effective. In this session, Robin Hacke will share insights from Living Cities’ capital absorption research, and Ian Galloway and Ellen Seidman, editors of the just-published Investing in What Works for America’s Communities (www.whatworksforamerica.org) will discuss strategies for maximizing community development’s effectiveness.
Track: Expanding Coverage
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 2:15 PM
- 3:45 PM |
The Regulated CDFI - Loan Fund Model: A Path to Growth?
Session Leader: Joseph Firschein, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Session Panelists: Alan Branson, Hope Credit Union and Hope Enterprise Corporation; Jane Henderson, Virginia Community Capital; and Salam Nalia, Fresno CDFI
Several well-known CDFIs consist of a non-regulated loan fund and either a bank CDFI or a credit union CDFI. Think of Self Help, Hope Credit Union and Hope Enterprise Corporation, and Virginia Community Capital. Other CDFIs – both regulated and non-regulated – are considering acquiring or creating an entity of the opposite regulatory status. What makes this model attractive? Should more CDFIs be thinking about it? What are the down sides? Learn from those that have many years of experience with this model and those that recently made the decision to pursue it.
Track: Regulated CDFIs
Level: General
Click here for session material.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Consumer Finance Regulation: What CDFI Loan Funds Need to Know
Session Leaders: Sarah Chenven, Credit Builders Alliance and John Snyder, Neighborworks America
CDFI loan funds have been engaged in mortgage lending for many years and more recently have delved into non-mortgage consumer loan products such as small dollar loans, credit builder loans, and auto loans. In the past few years, regulation of these consumer loan products has increased substantially and continues to evolve. As complicated as these regulations may be, all lenders—even non-regulated CDFIs-- must abide by them because even though loan funds aren’t regulated their consumer products are. This session will raise your awareness of the many federal and state consumer finance regulations that apply to your mortgage and other consumer loan products and services, teach you the basics of these regulations, and give you critical advice on when to seek professional guidance in designing and implementing your consumer programs.
Track: Consumer Finance
Level: Introductory
Click here for session materials.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Crafting and Communicating Your Message
Session Leader: Michael Levine, LISC
Session Panelists: Geraldine Baum, LISC; Nandika Madgavkar, Citi; Amy Cortese, Locavesting; and William Luecht, CDFI Fund
We call ourselves financial “intermediaries.” Yet try explaining that to the guy sitting next to you at Thanksgiving dinner. We are the grease that helps move things along, the glue that holds together different parts of the community development puzzle, the advocates for policy change, sharers of best practices, and the stopgap against forces that would drain the industry. Our roles are complex, making telling our story a challenge. This session will focus on how intermediaries and others in our field have crafted their message about who they are and what they do, and pushed it out to various audiences. This will be a highly interactive session, so please bring your insights and challenges.
Track: Strategic Communications
Level: General
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Effectively Expanding Beyond Microlending to Small Business Lending
Session Leader: Cristina Shapiro, Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group
Session Panelists: Dan Betancourt, Community First Fund; Shaw Canale, Mountain BizWorks; and Tess Colby, CARS™
Many micro lenders are expanding their product offerings to include small business loans. Aside from larger loan sizes, what’s the difference between a small business loan program and a microloan program? This session will tell microlenders what they need to know about underwriting and risk rating small business loans, and how they may need to modify their financial management, staffing, technology, and polices & procedures to accommodate this new type of lending. A CARS™ representative and two CDFIs that have expanded their portfolio to include small business loans will provide you with practical recommendations and help you avoid common pitfalls.
Track: Small Business Finance
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Engaging Community Banks in Community Development Finance
Session Leader: William "Dub" Sutherland, Kennedy Sutherland LLP
Session Panelists: Sam Kana, First National Bank of Eagle Lake, Texas; Victor Elmore Texas Mezzanine Fund; Robert Kennedy and Rosa Valdez, BCL of Texas; and Eloy Villafranca, FDIC
Community banks and CDFIs share the same goals around financing local businesses and improving community facilities and services, however, it is often the exception rather than the rule when both parties work together to effect a financing. This panel will discuss proven strategies for engaging community bank or CDFI counterparts, as well as specific successes related to the utilization of federal, state, and local government programs to leverage community bank and CDFI capabilities. Participants will take away actionable strategies and tools to deploy on their business and community services financing.
Track: Financial Resources
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session materials.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Financing Options to Meet Health Center Needs
Session Leader: Allison Coleman, Capital Link
Session Panelists: Mary Ann Wayne, Community Health Center Capital Fund; Carrie Vanderford, Forward Community Investments; Anne Dyjak, Nonprofit Finance Fund; and Al Shehadi, Enterprise Community Investment
Thinking about financing a health center in your community? The session will present a range of options to meet the capital and operating financing needs of community health centers. With community health center expansions happening across the U.S, this is a growing market for CDFIs. The panel will discuss the challenges confronting health centers seeking to expand and their capital needs. We will explore financing to fund the acquisition, construction, and renovation of owned and leased facilities, technology upgrades, and working capital to support health center operations. Participants will leave the session with an understanding of how CDFIs are working to meet the financing needs of health centers through traditional loans, lines of credit, and creative collaborations that utilize financing available from USDA, the New Markets Tax Credit Program and other public and private resources.
Track: Healthy Communities
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Latest Industry Developments toward Standardization in Financial and Impact Reporting
Session Leader: Catherine Godschalk, Calvert Foundation
Session Panelists: Paige Chapel, CARS Inc; Michael Swack, University of New Hampshire; Cecilia Walker, Calvert Foundation; and Kelly McCarthy, The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN)
No one would argue about the increasing importance of standardized financial and social impact ratings. Funders and investors are increasingly looking at relative financial and impact performance as they make decisions of where to allocate their dollars and time, while borrowers face different reporting requirements in order to demonstrate and prove impact to their stakeholders. Standardization of reporting both financial and impact performance is necessary to improve and bring more efficiency into the space. This session will discuss some of the latest developments in standardization of financial and impact reporting systems.
Track: Operations and Human Resources
Level: General
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Leveraging Relationships as Assets
Session Leader: Adina Abramowitz, Consulting for Change
Session Panelists: Jim King, FAHE and Jeff Faulkner, Ways to Work
Learn how two small CDFIs made the jump to scalable impact by looking outside their balance sheets to their most valuable assets, their partners. Like many small CDFIs, FAHE and Ways to Work faced broken financial markets, where barriers like isolation, poverty, and limited access to capital change the rules of supply and demand. Presentation and discussion will include lessons learned for better partnerships and scalable financing using network-based models. About the presenters: FAHE is a network of affordable housing lenders in Appalachia that recognized the small scale of their solutions in the face of the persistent regional poverty. Ways to Work provides a replicable economic empowerment model offering low-income families a hand-up to greater economic stability through a low-interest car loan, financial education, and case management support. Both CDFIs work with broad networks of community partners to implement their programs. Click here to view the agenda.
Track: Expanding Coverage
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Measuring the Community Impacts of New Markets Tax Credits
Session Leader: Doug Bystry, Clearinghouse CDFI
Session Panelists:
Julia Nelmark, Midwest Minnesota CDC; Nelson Black, Florida Community Loan Fund; Charlie Spies, CEI Capital Management LLC; and Rosa Martinez, CDFI Fund
CDFIs have been using New Markets Tax Credits since the program’s inception ten years ago. How are CDFIs measuring the community impacts of their NMTC transactions? Are they doing enough to capture the benefits? In this session you’ll hear from three CDFIs with extensive NMTC experience. They’ll present different approaches to measuring impact, from negotiating community benefits agreements and tracking the specified indicators to conducting low-cost in-house surveys to hiring third parties to conduct complex modeling of projected impacts. How much impact measurement is really needed to adequately explain the benefits of this major federal tax credit program to investors, the CDFI Fund, and the communities CDFIs serve?
Track: Financial Resources
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Native CDFI Funders Panel
Session Leader: Chrystel Cornelius, First Nations Oweesta Corporation
Session Panelists: Rodger Boyd, HUD; Randy Rice, Trillium Asset Management; Amber Kuchar, CDFI Fund; Charles Henderson, Bank of America Foundation; and Chris James, SBA
This session will highlight funding sources available to Native CDFIs. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from banks and foundations, as well as public sector officials who will describe underutilized federal funding programs. This session is followed by a Native Funders Reception where Native CDFI practitioners and potential funders can meet.
Track: Native CDFIs
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
Click here for session material.
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| 4:00 PM
- 5:30 PM |
Public Health and CDFIs: Partnering to Increase Access to Healthy Food
Session Leader: Catherine Howard, NCB Capital Impact
Session Panelists:
Tina Castro, The California Endowment; Hannah Burton Laurison, Changelab Solutions; and Andrea Misako Azuma, Kaiser Permanente
Public health organizations and health care systems are on the forefront of work to address chronic diseases related to poor diet and nutrition, and the impact limited food choices can have on a community’s health outcomes. Such health organizations can play an important role in developing healthy food financing programs that take on local challenges related to healthy food access. This panel will explore the ways in which CDFIs can engage with health organizations to create or expand healthy food financing initiatives; the potential for CDFIs to tap health-related programs to fund healthy food initiatives; and the role health organizations can play in evaluating outcomes of healthy food financing programs.
Track: Healthy Foods
Level: General
Click here for presenter bio(s).
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