A history of CDFI certifications and awards

Learn about the history of CDFI Certification and the fund's various Awards, including how they can help your credit union grow Field of Membership.

Introduction to CDFI

Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Certification is a designation given by the CDFI Fund to special organizations that provide financial services to low-income communities and to people who lack access to financing. Certification as a CDFI makes an organization eligible to apply for awards offered by the CDFI Fund’s variety of programs. To learn more about CDFI Certification, check out our recent article comparing CDFI Certification and CDE Certification.

About the CDFI Data

The data on CDFI certifications and awards come from two sources, the first of which is a dataset which contains a list of all CDFIs for each year from 2013 to 2020. The second dataset comes from the CDFI Fund’s Searchable Award Database which allows one to find organizations that have received awards from 1996 to present.

 

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