Encyclopedia > Community Development Financial Institution Fund
'<nowiki><nowiki><nowiki><math>The '''Community Development Financial Institutions Fund''', or ''CDFI Fund'', promotes economic revitalization in distressed communities throughout the [[United States]] by providing financial assistance and information to community development financial institutions (CDFI). An agency of the [[United States Department of the Treasury]], it was established through the [[Reigle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994]]. Financial institutions, which may include [[banks]], [[credit unions]], loan funds, and community development venture capital funds, can apply to the CDFI Fund for formal certification as a CDFI. As of [[September 1]], [[2005]], there were currently 747 certified CDFIs in the U.S. </math></nowiki></nowiki></nowiki>' The CDFI Fund offers a variety of financial programs to provide capital to CDFIs, such as the Financial Assistance Program, Technical Assistance Program, Bank Enterprise Award Program, and the New Markets Tax Credit Program.
A communitydevelopmentfinancialinstitution, or CDFI, is a unique entity established to provide credit, financial services, and other services to underserved markets or populations.
A CDFI may take one of several different forms: communitydevelopment bank, communitydevelopment credit union, communitydevelopment loan fund (including microloan funds), or communitydevelopment venture capital company.
While the CDFI Fund and its certifications are limited to the U.S., CDFIs exist around the world, such as Grameen Bank in Bangladesh or the recently created Fair Finance Consortium in the UK, a collaboration of 11 CFDIs focused on improving access to alternative forms of finance within disadvantaged areas.
CommunityDevelopment, informally called community building, is a broad term applied to the practices and academic disciplines of civic leaders, activists, involved citizens and professionals to improve various aspects of local communities.
Communitydevelopment practitioners are involved in organizing meetings and conducting searches within a community to identify problems, identify assets, locate resources, analyse local power structures, assess human needs, and investigate other concerns that comprise the community's character.
Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community between individuals within a regional area (such as a neighbourhood) or with a common interest.
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