Here's why community capital institutions could be the key to recovery

Financial first responders

Why It Matters

The United States puts more than $1 billion per year into a fund for community development financial institutions (CDFIs), and mandates that big banks make investments into low-income neighbourhoods, which they do by lending to CDFIs. Canada doesnโ€™t have similar institutions that could classify as CDFIs, but if we did, hundreds of millions of dollars could be catalyzed to support communitiesโ€™ recovery and regeneration.

As we continue to navigate through an incredibly challenging moment in time across North America and around the world, there is a critical need to maintain, improve, and launch systemic responses โ€” like wage subsidies, income support programs, rent abatement programs, and sector stabilization funds. Weโ€™ll also need to renew our collective social contract, as the crisis has revealed the stark nature of long-standing issues that must be addressed, from precarious work to incredible inequality.

Additionally, there is a need to unleash the power and potential of social enterprise and impact investing as a part of a comprehensive response to the social and economic impacts of COVID-19. As a movement, we need to lean in at this time.

In the United States and Canada, both

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