Four Community Vision staffers just returned from San Antonio, where they participated in the annual conference of the Opportunity Finance Network, the 200-member national association of CDFIs. Over a thousand people from CDFIs, religious, bank and foundation investors, government agencies, and community development leaders from across the country attended the conference.
Community Vision was an active presence at the conference; Community Vision’s Business Systems Analyst, Guy Baldwin, was a featured panelist at a well-attended session on how to use the Salesforce database product to enhance operations and impact evaluation. Led by Guy’s efforts, Community Vision has become one of the country’s most advanced users of Salesforce, the industry leader based in San Francisco.
Community Vision President Mary Rogier played a key role, introducing Juliana Eades of the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund as the recipient of the prestigious Ned Gramlich award. Mary was also elected as Vice-Chair of the OFN Board of Directors, on which she is serving her second three-year term.
Lending Director Ross Culverwell and Resource Development Director Sherry Simmons also attended the conference, where they participated in training sessions and compared notes at this premier industry event. We were happy to cheer on our California lending partners Opportunity Fund and Clearinghouse CDFI, both of which won awards for their innovative programs.
If you would like to learn more about the conference, OFN’s other activities, or the CDFI industry, OFN’s website and Facebook page presents great information about the impact of CDFIs all over the country. Go to www.opportunityfinance.net to learn more.
