CommunityWorks receives $875,000 from U.S. Treasury
September 20, 2018
Local community loan fund awarded grant by CDFI Fund
CommunityWorks (CW) has been awarded an $875,000 capital grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund to bolster its community development lending efforts. The CDFI Fund awarded $202.2 million to 302 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that serve low-income families and economically distressed communities across the nation. CW was one of only three organizations in South Carolina to receive this highly competitive federal grant.
CommunityWorks will use most of the funds to support its Affordable Housing Loan Program which provides loans up to $500,000 to developers and governmental entities to fund acquisition, short-term bridge financing, development, construction and preservation of affordable housing in our community. Grant funds will also be used for CW’s Express Loan Program, which provides entrepreneurs with loans up to $5,000 and an expedited processing for business owners that may not qualify for traditional financing elsewhere.
“We are honored to be selected as the recipients of the CDFI Fund. These additional funds will ensure our continued support of affordable housing and economic development and will allow us to continue our efforts to assist hard-working people in our community who will have greater access to affordable housing and stronger support systems to pursue their dreams of entrepreneurship, homeownership, and building financial stability and wealth” said Deborah McKetty, President and CEO of CommunityWorks.
About CommunityWorks
CommunityWorks was established in 2008 as a local housing trust fund through a partnership between the City of Greenville, United Way of Greenville County and Greenville County Redevelopment Authority and Hollingsworth Funds. CommunityWorks’ mission is to build a brighter future for underserved families and communities through financial education, lending, and investing. In 2011 CommunityWorks was certified by U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) which operates a community loan fund that supports local community economic development.
Since its inception, CW has generated over $157 million in local economic impact and has provided 30,000 hours of training and coaching, served 3,612 families, provided over $2.6 million loans to startups and existing small businesses, and deployed over $5.1 million in affordable housing and community loans that have created or preserved over 445 affordable housing units. For more information, visit communityworkscarolina.org.
About CDFIs
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.
