We at Community Vision, a 38-year-old community development financial institution (CDFI) based in California, strongly oppose the announced permanent reduction-in-force (RIF) that would eliminate all staff of the CDFI Fund.
For nearly thirty years, the CDFI Fund has demonstrated a rare kind of government efficiency and impact—turning every federal dollar into roughly eight dollars of private investment. It is not a partisan program; it supports economic growth in small towns, tribal nations, rural areas, and urban neighborhoods across the country. Eliminating its staff would dismantle this proven infrastructure and stall billions of dollars in community investment.
If this action is not reversed, projects already underway—affordable housing developments, small business loans, community health centers, and childcare facilities—will stall or disappear entirely. Communities that have fought for decades to rebuild after disinvestment will again be left behind. This decision would effectively shut down the CDFI Fund, a cornerstone of community development finance and an essential resource for equitable economic recovery.
Community Vision has helped under-resourced communities acquire and develop critical community assets that strengthen local economies and advance shared prosperity. To date, we’ve invested more than $616 million in financing, leveraged over $3.3 billion, and distributed more than $39 million in grants to advance community ownership of community assets across California.
Eliminating the Fund’s staff would:
- Halt essential programs and funding streams disrupting hundreds of pending projects nationwide;
- Jeopardize access to affordable lending for nonprofits, affordable housing developers, and small business ; and
- Undermine decades of bipartisan work to build equitable financial systems that respond to community needs.
We urge the Administration and Congress to preserve jobs at the CDFI Fund and reaffirm the federal government’s commitment to community-based economic development.
Communities across California—and across the nation—cannot afford this loss. The CDFI Fund is not a bureaucratic luxury; it is the backbone of equitable growth and opportunity for millions of Americans.
