Comprehensive Community Revitalization: Strategies for Asset Building	.
Moustafa Mourad and Howard Ways	Author Info

Abstract

Mobilizing Community Assets

Asset-building, as an approach to development, brings together the three disciplines of neighborhood planning, community organizing, and economic development, and attempts to mold them into a single methodology for community revitalization.

The first principle of an Asset-building strategy is to begin by identifying what already is present in a community, (residents' skills, neighborhood associations, and institutions), not what is absent or is problematic. An asset-based approach to development also implies a certain "internal" focus, as the strategy concentrates first on the agenda-building capacity of local participants. The asset-based approach is "relationship-driven", as one of its central challenges is the ability to build and rebuild the relationship among residents and institutions. This is not a new approach. Traditionally, neighborhood have always been "relationship driven". Neighbors have a long tradition of trading services and many churches volunteer their membership for affordable housing construction, and other community development activities.

A Capacity-Focused Approach to Development

• "Capacity-Focused Development" means basing policies and initiatives on the capacities, skills and assets of lower-income households and their neighborhood.

• Historic evidence suggests that development - in its larger sense- takes place only when residents are committed to investing themselves and their resources in the effort.

• The prospect of outside help is increasingly bleak. Large-scale employers are not likely to locate in inner-city neighborhoods because of the lack of appropriate infrastructure. In addition, federal funds are very scarce. The only realistic choice is to begin the development process from within.

It is important to note that the focus on existing assets in poor communities does not imply that they no longer need additional resources. Rather, the approach simply suggests that the likelihood of attracting resources increases dramatically when local communities are mobilized and invested in the revitalization process. The assets in a low-income community, while essential to a revitalization effort, are often not sufficient to address all issues. However, a mobilized community is in a better position to define the agenda for which implementation resources are to be used.

Mapping Community Assets

• The primary purpose of the "Asset Map" is to provide the community with an understanding of its potential for revitalization, the key to which is the process of assembling the "mapped" skills and capacities into new combinations and structures, designed to enhance and multiply their effectiveness.

• Asset mapping is the process of identifying the resources, skills, and capacities of individuals and organizations in a particular community.

• Even the poorest communities are places where individuals and organizations represent resources upon which to build.

Three "Tiers" of Community Assets:

• Primary: The most easily accessible assets are typically those that are located within the community, and are owned by neighborhood residents, (individual businesses, neighborhood organizations)

• Secondary: The next "tier" of assets available are those that are located inside the neighborhood but controlled elsewhere, (hospitals, universities, etc.)

• An "Outside" Tier: The least accessible assets will be those that are "outside" the community, both location and ownership wise, ()capital improvement expenditures, federal allocations, national corporations)

What Assets to Map?

The components of the neighborhood inventory generally fall in three broad categories, Individuals, associations, and institutions. These categories provide the framework within which assets-building can take place, more specifically:

• Skills and capacities of community residents, household by household.

• Inventory of neighborhood organizations and citizen associations, (religious, cultural, athletic, recreational, ...).

• "Formal" institutions located inside and outside the community, (private businesses, schools, parks, police station, library, hospital, .....).

Mapping Individual Capacities

Households of poor neighborhoods are rarely perceived of as "assets". Instead, they are often seen as recipients of social services and clients of programs. Consequently the bulk of the survey work done among inner-city residents tends to focus on their "needs", (as in countless "Needs Assessment" documents). In contrast, an asset-building approach to community development begins by focusing on the potential opportunities for development, not the deficiencies.

Individual Capacity & The Development of Local Economy:

The primary goal of an asset-building approach to neighborhood revitalization is to create a local economy where resources (monetary as well as social) are circulated within the local community, magnifying their impact and making economic growth possible. Neighborhood residents can assume many roles in the local economy:

• Owners of large or small businesses.
• Employees of existing businesses.
• Investors in local projects.
• Volunteers in community and associational activities.

Four key aspects of individual capacities are:

• Skills and Experience: The starting point of an asset-building initiative is to identify the range of skills, knowledge and experience of neighborhood residents. This inventory of "capacities" provides the foundation of the asset-building approach to community revitalization. In particular, the resident inventory should include:

• General skills and abilities.
• Employment history.
• Teaching skills.
• Entrepreneurial; interests and experience.

• Personal Income and Expenditure Patterns: Contrary to the conventional assumption that inner city neighborhoods are poor markets, some studies suggest that the issue is not the lack of income, but rather its use and expenditure patterns. If the local economy is to flourish, residents' income should be spent in ways that support neighborhood activities, An inventory of income, savings, and expenditure patterns is consequently basic to understanding the potential of the neighborhood economy.

• Local Neighborhood Businesses: Small businesses, owned and operated by neighborhood residents, are centers of community life. Any asset-building initiative must reintegrate the resources of such entrepreneurs into the development process. The key questions to ask are:

• What businesses are located within the community's boundaries?
• How many employees does each business have?
• Do these businesses employ local residents? If not, why?
• Do the businesses have connections to the community, (participation in neighborhood activities)?
• What connections do the businesses have to other institutions, in terms of local purchasing and investments?

• Home-Based Enterprises: Many low-income neighborhoods have an informal network of businesses that are operated from individual homes. An understanding of these businesses makes possible the development of technical assistance required to increase their profitability, as well as the number of households they support.

Resident surveys are a good mechanism of collecting information on capacities, income and expenditure patterns. There are any number of ways of conducting surveys, among them:

• Door to door; speaking to residents at home.
• Setting up a table at the local school to interview parents as they drop their kids off.
• Sending representatives to regular meetings of alternative community organizations to interview the membership.

Mapping Neighborhood Associations

An inventory of resident-controlled associations and organizations may include:

• Neighborhood Organizations: Many neighborhoods have a wide variety of clubs and associations. These may include block associations, neighborhood councils, and athletic clubs. Such associations represent the social infrastructure of a "working" neighborhood. Assembling an inventory of these groups, their membership, and the activities they support makes possible the development of a strategy where they become a part of a wider asset -building initiative.

• Business Associations: In many inner-city neighborhoods, the business community is not organized, or the business owners lack directions about potential partnerships for community revitalization. Connecting local businesses with each other makes possible the expansion of their vision beyond their immediate self-interest.

• Neighborhood Communications Outlets: Community newspapers or newsletters are valuable resources, particularly if they are owned by neighborhood residents. The same is also true of community bulletin boards and neighborhood "centers" (stores, barber shops, etc.) where flyers nay be dropped.

• Religious Institutions: Churches and other religious institutions have been involved in community development efforts for decades. The most "tangible" asset such institutions represent is their ability to call upon their membership as well as on other related "outside" organizations for supporting a wide range of activities.

Mapping Local Institutions

Although "institutions" are largely controlled and "run" from outside the local community, they still represent appreciable assets that can be recaptured for and channeled towards community revitalization. Such institutions may include:

• Universities and Community Colleges: In many cities, universities and community colleges are located in older neighborhoods. In the past universities tended to function in a vacuum, detached from community life. This however, is changing rapidly, as many universities all over the US are increasingly aware that their success is interwoven with the fate of the surrounding community.

• Hospitals: Hospitals represent an enormous resource for both employment and services. In addition, city hospitals in particular tend to be located in older, low-income neighborhoods.

• Social Service Agencies: Although social service agencies are typically dedicated to delivering individual service to clients, many are becoming increasingly involved in economic development and employment-oriented activities.

• Public Schools, Libraries, Police and Fire Departments: All these public institutions are in a position to act as great resources for neighborhood revitalization efforts. They should not only be "mapped" as part of the community's inventory of assets, but representatives of each institution should be present at all planning stages of the asset-building initiative.

• Vacant Lots: Vacant lots in inner-city neighborhoods are often perceived as "blight". They can, however be turned into assets in the form of new affordable housing or community gardens and tot-lots.

• Neighborhood Parks: In many inner city neighborhoods, parks are considered dangerous, uninviting places. Organized residents can restore these parks and create youth employment programs at the same time.

From Asset-Mapping To Asset-Builiding

Mapping the capacities and skills of local households makes the articulation of an economic development strategy possible. Strategies may take many forms, such as:

• Encouraging the development of small business by local residents.
• Inviting employers to hire from within the households whose skills and capacities have been mapped.
• Developing a service that matches individuals with jobs appropriate to their "mapped" skills.
• Linking employers, educational institutions, and community residents in a training effort designed to translate existing skills and capacities into jobs.
• Organizing residents with a particular skill (child care, care for the elderly) into a "company" to sell their services.
• Having tenant groups gain control of public housing projects, and consequently being able to employ residents to carry out maintenance jobs.
• Mobilizing community youth to renovate a small neighborhood park.

Different communities will develop different asset-building strategies. However, three essential questions are fundamental to the process:

• One alternative is bringing together different neighborhood organizations and institutions under an "umbrella" association that is equipped to address different issues at the same time.

• A second alternative is an already existing CDC. Traditionally, CDCs tend to focus on affordable housing provision, however many CDCs board of directors are mow willing to broaden its menu of activities to address different neighborhood issues.

2. What is an appropriate nature for a participatory neighborhood-wide process revolving around asset-building?

Generally, neighborhood revitalization efforts that have a broad base of support have a greater potential for implementation and long-term success. Therefore:

• The asset map should identify the initial list of potential participants in the asset-building process.

• The process should be designed to incorporate as many "partners" as possible from both inside and outside the immediate neighborhood.

3. How can the neighborhood community develop asset-building that will lead to leveraging and attracting "outside" resources?

• No single community can be completely "self-reliant". However, the goal of asset-building is for residents, businesses and institutions to become "interconnected" with each other and the mainstream economy.

• Relationship between the local community and banks, corporations, and other neighborhood are critical in identifying new opportunities for growth.

The Final Product: A Healthy Local Economy

The key to revitalization is mobilizing whatever assets exist among residents and within the community. The end product of an asset building effort is a healthy local economy characterized by the re-circulation of money, high rate of employment among residents, ownership of local businesses by residents, patronization of local businesses by neighborhood households, and an active connected community.

An Asset-Building "Tool Kit"

Introduction:

Capital is like topsoil. In the absence of fertile ground, little will grow. Where abundant topsoil exists, plants are resilient and varied. Capital has the same effect. In affluent communities, the availability of capital encourages new businesses and supports large and growing enterprises.

Consumers have access to loans and credit cards at competitive rates, and branch offices of banks and savings and loans offer a full array of banking services. In contrast, in low-income communities, the absence of capital deters entrepreneurs and limits the expansion of existing neighborhood businesses. Consumers are forced to pay loan sharks and "check-cashers" exorbitant rates for personal loans and limited banking services. And, as these transactions are not recognized by credit rating agencies, consumers cannot build credit histories accepted by "traditional" credit sources.

• So the question is: how can low-income communities increase access to capital?

One method is to identify the capital that continuously flows through even the poorest communities and retain it in community-based institutions such as individual development account pools (IDAs) and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) like community development credit unions and community loan funds. These institutions can help to revitalize communities just as soil conservation tools revitalized farms in the aftermath of the dust-bowls of the 1930's, keeping acres of topsoil from blowing away overnight.

Similarly, IDAs and CDFIs can keep thousands of dollars of capital from flowing out of low-income communities, aggregating and leveraging even small individual pools of capital, thereby providing resources to enrich the barren landscapes familiar to any inner-city resident.

Sources Of Capital

• Individual: Savings accounts are a traditional means of enabling individuals to accumulate assets over time. Unfortunately, many low-income neighborhoods are devoid of savings institutions. As a result residents of these neighborhoods are forced to cash pay or income maintenance checks. And cash on hand is extraordinarily difficult to save. Access to IDAs and conventional savings accounts encourages low-income individuals to save. Ways of establishing IDA pools and savings institutions are discussed in more detail below.

• Community: Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs) are federally-insured depository institutions that have been established in low-income neighborhoods by community-based nonprofit and religious organizations across the country. CDCUs allow poor neighborhoods and other groups of affiliated low-income individuals to save money in institutions that are controlled by and sensitive to the needs of low-income individuals. CDCUs allow individual savings to accumulate, creating a source of capital for personal, small business and mortgage loans.

• Regional: Regional sources of capital are available to most low-income neighborhoods in the form of grants or loans from regional foundations and businesses and municipal, state and federal government sources. By establishing community development financial institutions (CDFIs) like housing and microenterprise loan funds, communities can capture regional capital at a local level. CDFIs can both recirculate funds within neighborhoods and bring decisions about the allocation of capital to a local level.

Taken together these tools allow neighborhoods to build assets in an integrated and comprehensive way, conserving the capital that passes through low-income communities and attracting additional external resources.

Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)

WHAT ARE IDAs?

• IDAs are savings accounts for low-income individuals in which earned income is matched by public and/or private sources.

• IDAs can be used only for certain expenses, typically:

• Downpayments for homes.
• Tuition.
• Start-up capital for small businesses.

Most IDA programs include mandatory economic literacy courses, teaching participants skills in money management, budgeting and credit. While IDAs can be used for any population or purpose, IDAs are primarily an asset-building tool for the poor. As such, IDAs offer a vital supplement to federal policy that currently extends multiple incentives to affluent households to save or accumulate assets, including mortgage interest deductions, individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k) accounts.

• IDAs encourage low-income individuals to accumulate assets, perhaps the most critical step to moving out of poverty.
• IDAs stimulate savings in a number of ways:

• They provide a mechanism for savings in communities that often have no savings institutions but only "check cashers" or some other means of converting earned income directly into cash.
• They offer a savings match of anywhere from 1:1 to 1:9, or higher.
• IDA economic literacy courses teach the benefits of savings.
• IDAs also limit the use of savings to purposes intended to assist individuals in more comprehensive asset accumulation.

Some IDA programs limit the use of IDA accounts to home purchase downpayments or another specific purpose; others allow withdrawals for either downpayments, tuition or business seed capital; but all programs are structured on the precept that IDA capital is a means to additional assets not an end in itself.

There are three phases to the operation of an IDA account: outreach and orientation; savings and training; and withdrawals.

1. Outreach and Orientation. Prospective participants attend IDA marketing and outreach sessions at which IDA methodology and rationale are presented. Prospective participants apply for enrollment in the IDA program. After acceptance, program participants sign an IDA program contract outlining rights and responsibilities of participant and program administrator.

2. Savings and Training: The second phase has two aspects which should occur simultaneously:

• Second Phase: Savings. Program participants establish IDA accounts. Participants make monthly deposits; match sources deposit match share into participants' accounts according to a schedule delineated in the IDA program contract; participants receive monthly statements showing earned savings and match amounts.

• Second Phase: Training. Program participants receive training in savings, budgeting and economic literacy. Participants also have access to credit counseling as needed to clear particular credit problems and to address more general credit issues.

3. Withdrawals. Program participants accumulate funds sufficient to meet immediate savings goals and submit withdrawal requests to the IDA program administrator. Program administrator approves requests and cuts checks directly to third party vendor.

ROLE OF NONPROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

The nonprofit community-based organization has three primary roles in an IDA program:

• Design and feasibility.
• Training and support for program participants.
• Programmatic oversight and technical assistance to institutional partners.

These roles may, and should in many instances, be taken on by more than one nonprofit organization; however, it is essential that community-based organizations take either a lead or a significant support role in each of these areas.

In designing an IDA program and assessing its feasibility, the first task involves defining program objectives:

• Who is it you want to serve? Everyone in your neighborhood? Single mothers? Youth?

• What asset do you want participants to obtain? Homes? Education? Small businesses? Other assets?

• What training, counseling or technical assistance do participants need?

Having defined these basic program parameters, three question in the feasibility analysis should be answered:

• How much money is required for the intended end use?

If homeownership is the goal, what amount is required for downpayment and closing costs and for a sensible reserve (two months PITI, for instance).

• How much can participants save on a monthly basis?

• What are the match sources and how much can these sources commit?

• Given the amount of money required for the end use, do participant savings plus match funds add up to the final capital requirements in a reasonable time period?

• What operating funds exist to provide the training or counseling participants require?

Other design issues include:

• Matching funds: should the match be high or low, or should the program have a sliding scale based on household income or IDA end use? A low match may prolong the accumulation period to the point of discouragement. On the other hand, a high match may prompt participants to borrower money to augment earned-income amounts so that they can obtain the higher match amounts. Obviously, a savings-focused program would try to avoid this.

• Accumulation period: should the period be long or short? A long period can provide for more intensive training; as noted above, however, it can also discourage participants.

• Deposit floors or ceilings. Monthly deposit ceilings prevent large lump-sum deposit dissuading participants from borrowing to supplement earned-income amounts.

• Participant numbers: how many accounts should your program allow? How many participants can your organization or your institutional partners accommodate? How large is your pool of match funds?

• Emergency uses: under what conditions should participants be allowed to withdraw funds from IDA accounts? What circumstances would permit withdrawal of match funds for non-asset-building activities, if any?

• Credit Counseling: will your organization or some other nonprofit organization provide this service? Will counseling involve credit repair, budgeting and development of a savings plan, or just one aspect of this?

• Economic Literacy: what courses will your curriculum offer? Will your organization or some other nonprofit organization provide this service?

• Training: what will the program offer? Will your organization or some other nonprofit organization provide this service?
• Technical assistance: what will the program offer? One-on-one or group assistance? Will your organization or some other nonprofit organization provide this service?

• Bank account or nonprofit account? The nonprofit organization can hold and manage the IDA accounts, reducing the complications of securing a banking relationship and coordinating joint statements, among other issues. However, the absence of a concrete connection between IDA participant and banking institution denies the participant the learning experiences of having a conventional bank account, a vital component of many economic literacy curricula.

• Finding an insured depository institution. This is not always easy: many banks do not want the hassle of opening many small accounts or of establishing a management system that integrates the nonprofit organization and match funding sources. Items to look for in a bank partner include:

• Proximity: many low-income individuals do not have cars, making walking distance and proximity to public transportation key issues.
• Corporate culture: will the bank or credit union make program participants feel welcome? If not, participants are unlikely to explore the full range of services the institution may have available.
• Flexibility: your IDA program is certain encounter some unexpected conditions initially, and after the program is established, it will evolve in unexpected ways. Can your bank accommodate changes?
• Other issues: these include interest rate and service charges most significantly, but also reporting frequency and investment and other services.

• Asset accumulation waivers. Many current income supplement programs penalize households that accumulate assets in excess of certain limits, often in the range of $1,000. Over 30 states have received waivers for IDA participants; and it is critical to obtain waivers from federal, state and local agencies before implementing a program.

• Management information systems. Consider a system that allows you to track account activity, including end uses of IDA account funds, to allocate match funds, to compile and sort program activity for evaluation purposes and to issue monthly statements, showing earned savings and interest and match funds and interest.

• Withdrawals. Signatures of both the nonprofit and the participant should be required. Some programs also require a waiting period between withdrawal request and disbursement to allow the participant an opportunity to reconsider the use.

The primary resource for IDAs is:

The Corporation for Enterprise Development

777 North Capitol Street, NE., Suite 410

Washington, DC 20002

Telephone: 202-408-9788

Facsimile: 202-408-9793

Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs)

In many, if not most, low income communities, community residents have few options when it come to banking services. Financial institutions in the neighborhood may consist of a "check casher" or a branch of a distant city-wide or large regional bank. Typically no institution exists that is responsive to community needs or that allows community dollars to re-circulate through the neighborhood as personal credit or business or mortgage loans. In fact, regional banks are much more likely to make loans to businesses or households in affluent neighborhoods from deposits obtained in a low-income area than they are to lend in that low income area. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has redressed a portion this inequity. Obviously, substantial work remains.

• CDCUs are non-profit, government-regulated, financial cooperatives with a primary mission of serving low-income people.

• CDCU members must be linked by a common-bond, but that bond can range from residency in a particular neighborhood to a shared place of employment or worship.

• CDCUs offer savings and checking account services, backed by deposit insurance of up to $100,000 per account through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, a federal government agency.

• CDCUs can also offer a full range of banking services, including personal, housing and business loans.

It is important to recognize that, as regulated institutions, CDCUs are subject to many regulations, including annual examinations by the National Credit Union Administration.

• CDCUs allow low-income individuals to pool their assets in financial institutions committed and responsive to their needs.

• CDCUs provide services within particular neighborhoods, in many cases precisely those neighborhoods that "conventional" banking institutions have abandoned.

• CDCUs enable communities to retain the capital generated by community residents and to re-circulate it, providing resources to neighborhood businesses and households.

• Because CDCUs are owned by their members, they offer to communities the benefits of ownership, allowing credit union members to set policies and elect officers and ensuring that decisions regarding the allocation of capital are made within the community level.

HOW CAN A NEIGHBORHOOD ORGANIZE A CDCU?

The actual organization process is not particularly complicated. Two immediate tasks are:

• Obtaining approximately 1,000 to 1,500 non-binding pledges from potential members .
• Developing a business plan.

Both can be accomplished by a well-organized steering committee with funds to cover the leafleting and mailing costs of a pledge campaign.

Capitalization is another matter. While CDCUs do not have the initial capitalization requirements of community banks - $7 to $10 million- a CDCU may need to raise as much as $2 to $3 million in deposits in order to be self-sustaining. With a strong sponsor or initial grant support, a CDCU can accumulate this kind of deposit base over time, depending, of course, on its market.

In an effort to reduce initial costs, some CDCUs rely on volunteer labor from their boards of directors and supervisory committees.

A committed, well-organized steering committee can obtain a CDCU charter in anywhere from 9 to 18 months.

The more people the better. The organizing work will go far more quickly with a steering committee of 30, although 10 to 12 could also complete the job, as long as they had a cadre of enthusiastic volunteers for tasks like leafleting. The application itself will require presenting candidates for the following posts to the regulators:

• Approximately 7 Subscribers: subscribers act as the incorporators of the CDCU, with no responsibilities after incorporation.

• 5 to 15 members of a Board of Directors.

• 3 to 5 members of a Supervisory Committee: the committee is charged with oversight responsibilities, including commissioning the CDCU's annual audit.

• 3 or more members of a Credit or Loan Committee: this committee is optional but recommended.

As with any organizing efforts, knowledge of the neighborhood or proposed constituents is essential. Organizers and pledge campaign workers should inspire the trust of potential credit union members.

The most involved and technical part of the actual application is the business plan, which requires some budgeting and financial projection expertise. If the steering committee needs assistance with this part of the application, consultants are available, including the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, a nonprofit membership organization serving credit unions in low-income communities.

There are three basic charter requirements:

1. An appropriate common bond.
2. Subscribers who are of "good character" and who represent the proposed membership.
3. Economic advisability; i.e., the CDCU must be economically viable, and its management, services, lending policies and other organizational elements must adhere to the mission of the credit union system.

The primary resource for CDCUs is:

National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions

120 Wall Street, 10^th Floor

New York, New York 10005

Telephone: 212-809-1850

Facsimile: 212-809-3274

A Cdcu Organizing Checklist

(Adapted from the Organizing Credit Unions: A Manual published by the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions)

• Organize a Steering Committee
• Train the Steering Committee
• Develop organizing budget
• Seek funds (if necessary)
• Seek technical assistance (if necessary)
• Establish Field of Membership (who will your members be and what is the common bond)
• Establish service strategy (what products and services will the credit union offer)
• Make initial contact with regulators
• to obtain preliminary Field of Membership ruling
• to obtain preliminary low-income designation
• Create publicity/outreach material
• Create pledge form

Phase II: Pledge Drive: membership and resources

Membership:

• Plan outreach strategy
• Recruit volunteers
• Train "speakers' bureau"
• Target key groups/organize community meetings/publicize

• Make formal presentations and submit proposals.
• Make initial contacts
• Identify in-kind resources
• Collect pledges

• Compile pledges
• Prepare the business plan
• Recruit and screen Subscribers, Board of Directors and committee personnel
• Secure Resource commitments
• Contact regulators

• Complete and submit application/charter forms to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)
• Wait
• Meet with NCUA regulator to review questions
• Make revisions as necessary
• Open doors

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (CDFIs)

• CDFIs are nonprofit and for-profit financial institutions that have community development as a primary mission.

• CDFIs include:

• Community capital banks.
• Community development credit unions.
• Community development loan funds.
• Micro-enterprise development loan funds and venture capital funds.

• CDFIs provide capital to communities, businesses and individuals who lack access to credit. Many also offer technical assistance to borrowers both to build the capacity of borrowers and to increase the probability of loan repayments.

• CDFIs promote community control of regional sources of capital.

• CDFIs pool grant and loan funds from a variety of sources, including foundations and corporations and municipal, state and federal government sources, and lend it to individuals, neighborhood businesses and nonprofit community development organizations.

• Most CDFIs are community-controlled, permitting them to make decisions about loans and credit at a local level. Community knowledge also allows CDFIs to make loans that remote conventional lenders might shun. In fact, in many instances, conventional lenders have started to offer certain types of loans or to lend in certain neighborhoods after seeing the successes of CDFIs.

• CDFIs have loss rates that are equal to or below their peer depository or lending institutions.

Association for Enterprise Opportunity

70 East Lake Street, Suite 520

Chicago, Illinois 60601

Telephone: 312-357-0177

Facsimile: 312-357-0180

Community Development Venture Capital Alliance

c/o Northeast Ventures

700 Lonsdale Building

Duluth, Minnesota 55082

Telephone: 218-722-0861

Facsimile: 218-725-6800

National Association of Community Development Loan Funds

924 Cherry Street, 2^nd Floor

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

Telephone: 215-923-4754

Facsimile: 215-923-4755

National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions

120 Wall Street, 10^th Floor

New York, New York 10005

Telephone: 212-809-1850

Facsimile: 212-809-3274

Moustafa Mourad, Director of Planning
Design and Development Division
The Enterprise Foundation

Howard Ways, Program Director,
Planning, Design and Development Division
The Enterprise Foundation

To learn more about The Enterprise Foundation and its Asset-building initiative, log on our website at www.enterprisefoundation.org or call (410) 964-1230.