Donald Riegle: “I would also like to explain what the matching requirements of the Community Development Financial Institutions [CDFI]…”

“I would also like to explain what the matching requirements of the Community Development Financial Institutions [CDFI] Fund are and why they are important. The intent of this initiative is to establish a national network of market-responsive institutions that are specifically dedicated to community development. There are many existing institutions that have grown up from the urban and rural grassroots and been successful in promoting revitalization. One of the greatest impediments to the expansion of existing or creation of new CDFI's is the availability of investment capital. The CDFI fund is created for the purpose of providing patient capital to enable CDFI's to grow. However, it is equally important, if these institutions are to be responsive to the market, that private and other local funds be leveraged and invested in CDFI's. Thus, the fund requires CDFI's to come up with a local match from non-Federal sources. Generally speaking, CDFI's must provide one dollar in matching funds for each dollar of fund assistance.”