Lender Life CREDIT TRENDS OPPORTUNITIES EXPERT IDEAS Teaching money smarts-CDFI-certified banks must offer educational services to their communities. CDFI LENDING The value of CDFI funding CDFI-certifi ed institutions use government and private funding to help underserved individuals and small businesses achieve their dreams. We talk to some of the community banks about how-and why-it works. By Susan Thomas Springer F rom a poultry farm in Mississippi to a Native American arts organization in South Dakota, the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund makes loans available in communities where access to capital is scarce. CDFI, an arm of the U.S. Department of Treasury, was founded in 1994 to provide economic opportunity to underserved people. The CDFI Fund awards loans to institutions dedicated to promoting development in communities where individuals, businesses and nonprofi ts have diffi culty fi nding traditional fi nancing. The loans can help a family to afford their fi rst home, a minority business owner to start a company or a nonprofi t to open a health center. To date, the fund has distributed more than $2.3 billion through certifi ed institutions around the country. There are more than 1,000 CDFIs across America that leverage federal dollars by independentbanker.org ICBA IndependentBanker 89http://www.qmags.com/clickthrough.asp?url=www.independentbanker.org&id=20329&adid=P89E1