The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance has long called for robust support for the community lenders that serve as the backbone of the community investing ecosystem. Especially in light of the COVID-19 crisis, these community development financial institutions (CDFI) and minority depository institutions (MDI) were critical in flowing capital to the small business owners and community members who needed it the most.

That is why we applauded the historic Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) providing $9 billion to support depository CDFIs and MDIs in expanding their lending to the most underserved communities.

This week, we celebrate the Treasury Department’s announcement that the CDFI Fund has awarded over $1.73 billion in grants to 603 CDFIs through the Equitable Recovery Program (ERP).

The ERP is the CDFI Fund’s largest grant program to date, and the Alliance will continue to call on government to prioritize consistent levels of funding and bold policy solutions to support the CDFI and MDI industry and the communities they serve.

In particular, small businesses in historically underinvested communities continue to face significant challenges accessing adequate capital. The Alliance is encouraged that supporting emerging entrepreneurs is a priority of the Administration and calls for further efforts to ensure programs aimed at supporting small business - especially minority, woman and employee owned businesses - are scaled to meet ongoing needs.