Top 10 US Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs)

LIIF has deployed $4+ billion since 1984, primarily in California and the US South, financing affordable childcare centers, affordable housing, schools, and health clinics for low-income families. LIIF's Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund combines New Markets Tax Credits with social impact bonds to finance community health infrastructure in medically underserved areas. In 2025, LIIF closed a $500 million Social Bond issuance — the largest CDFI bond offering in history — demonstrating growing mainstream capital market appetite for impact lending.

Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)

Reinvestment Fund has deployed $2.7+ billion in the Philadelphia and Baltimore metro areas and beyond, financing supermarkets in food deserts, affordable housing, charter schools, and community health centers for 30+ years. Its PolicyMap data platform, used by government agencies and researchers nationwide, quantifies community need to drive capital allocation decisions. In 2025-2026, Reinvestment Fund managed $350 million in Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) loans on behalf of the US Treasury, bringing 150+ new grocery stores to underserved communities.

Reinvestment Fund

Enterprise Community Loan Fund has deployed $4.5+ billion in affordable housing CDFI lending across the US, operating as the lending arm of Enterprise Community Partners — America's largest affordable housing intermediary. Enterprise has helped finance 900,000+ affordable homes since 1982 using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, and conventional loans. In 2025-2026, Enterprise's Climate-Resilient Housing initiative committed $1 billion to retrofitting affordable housing with solar, energy storage, and flood-resistant construction in climate-vulnerable communities.

Enterprise Community Loan Fund

Southern Bancorp is a $2.3+ billion CDFI bank focused on the rural Arkansas and Mississippi Delta — some of the most economically distressed counties in America — providing mortgages, small business loans, and asset-building services to communities left behind by mainstream finance. It has financed $2+ billion in community development loans since 1986 and operates 55 branches in communities where it is often the only bank. In 2025, Southern Bancorp received $100 million in CDFI Fund grants — the largest single award in CDFI Fund history — to expand lending in the Arkansas Delta.

Southern Bancorp

IFF is a Chicago-based CDFI with $1.2+ billion in assets that specializes in financing nonprofit facilities — health clinics, social service agencies, schools, and community centers — in the Midwest and beyond. IFF has financed 700+ nonprofit facilities serving 2+ million people annually in low-income communities, providing below-market loans that enable organizations to buy rather than rent their spaces. In 2025-2026, IFF's Nonprofit Real Estate Development program expanded into Detroit, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis, financing $200M in community facilities.

IFF (Illinois Facilities Fund)

Nonprofit Finance Fund has deployed $1.2+ billion in capital to 6,000+ nonprofits across the US, providing both financing and financial management consulting to human service organizations, arts institutions, and community health centers. NFF's annual State of the Nonprofit Sector survey is the definitive benchmarking tool for nonprofit financial health, informing funders and policymakers nationwide. In 2025, NFF launched a $50 million Thriving Communities Fund to provide low-interest working capital loans to nonprofits facing government contract payment delays.

Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF)

ShoreBank was America's first community development bank, founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1973 by Ronald Grzywinski and Mary Houghton on the radical premise that a bank could profitably serve low-income communities while generating social returns. It inspired the entire CDFI movement and the 1994 CDFI Fund legislation, and was replicated in dozens of countries worldwide. ShoreBank's closure in 2010 during the financial crisis — despite a $150 million government-organized rescue attempt — remains the most painful cautionary tale of CDFI fragility under macroeconomic stress.

ShoreBank (Historic Pioneer)

National Community Investment Fund is a unique CDFI that provides equity capital — not loans — to minority-owned and community development banks, enabling them to expand lending capacity in underserved markets. NCIF has invested in 50+ mission-driven financial institutions managing $35+ billion in community assets. In 2025-2026, NCIF's MDI (Minority Depository Institution) Support Fund deployed $200 million in equity and technical assistance to Black-owned banks recovering from the post-pandemic commercial real estate correction.

National Community Investment Fund (NCIF)

Coastal Federal Credit Union in Raleigh, NC ($4+ billion in assets) exemplifies how a mainstream credit union can operate as a de facto CDFI, providing mortgages, auto loans, and financial education to underserved communities across North Carolina. Coastal's partnerships with NC State and Research Triangle Park employers have built a membership base that cross-subsidizes below-market lending in low-income communities. In 2025-2026, Coastal's CommunityConnect program provided free credit-building products to 50,000+ thin-file members who previously had no credit score.

Coastal Federal Credit Union

LIIF has deployed $4+ billion since 1984, primarily in California and the US South, financing affordable childcare centers, affordable housing, schools, and health clinics for low-income families. LIIF's Healthy Neighborhoods Equity Fund combines New Markets Tax Credits with social impact bonds to finance community health infrastructure in medically underserved areas. In 2025, LIIF closed a $500 million Social Bond issuance — the largest CDFI bond offering in history — demonstrating growing mainstream capital market appetite for impact lending.

Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF)

Reinvestment Fund has deployed $2.7+ billion in the Philadelphia and Baltimore metro areas and beyond, financing supermarkets in food deserts, affordable housing, charter schools, and community health centers for 30+ years. Its PolicyMap data platform, used by government agencies and researchers nationwide, quantifies community need to drive capital allocation decisions. In 2025-2026, Reinvestment Fund managed $350 million in Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) loans on behalf of the US Treasury, bringing 150+ new grocery stores to underserved communities.

Reinvestment Fund

Enterprise Community Loan Fund has deployed $4.5+ billion in affordable housing CDFI lending across the US, operating as the lending arm of Enterprise Community Partners — America's largest affordable housing intermediary. Enterprise has helped finance 900,000+ affordable homes since 1982 using Low Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, and conventional loans. In 2025-2026, Enterprise's Climate-Resilient Housing initiative committed $1 billion to retrofitting affordable housing with solar, energy storage, and flood-resistant construction in climate-vulnerable communities.

Enterprise Community Loan Fund

Southern Bancorp is a $2.3+ billion CDFI bank focused on the rural Arkansas and Mississippi Delta — some of the most economically distressed counties in America — providing mortgages, small business loans, and asset-building services to communities left behind by mainstream finance. It has financed $2+ billion in community development loans since 1986 and operates 55 branches in communities where it is often the only bank. In 2025, Southern Bancorp received $100 million in CDFI Fund grants — the largest single award in CDFI Fund history — to expand lending in the Arkansas Delta.

Southern Bancorp

IFF is a Chicago-based CDFI with $1.2+ billion in assets that specializes in financing nonprofit facilities — health clinics, social service agencies, schools, and community centers — in the Midwest and beyond. IFF has financed 700+ nonprofit facilities serving 2+ million people annually in low-income communities, providing below-market loans that enable organizations to buy rather than rent their spaces. In 2025-2026, IFF's Nonprofit Real Estate Development program expanded into Detroit, Milwaukee, and Indianapolis, financing $200M in community facilities.

IFF (Illinois Facilities Fund)

Nonprofit Finance Fund has deployed $1.2+ billion in capital to 6,000+ nonprofits across the US, providing both financing and financial management consulting to human service organizations, arts institutions, and community health centers. NFF's annual State of the Nonprofit Sector survey is the definitive benchmarking tool for nonprofit financial health, informing funders and policymakers nationwide. In 2025, NFF launched a $50 million Thriving Communities Fund to provide low-interest working capital loans to nonprofits facing government contract payment delays.

Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF)

ShoreBank was America's first community development bank, founded on the South Side of Chicago in 1973 by Ronald Grzywinski and Mary Houghton on the radical premise that a bank could profitably serve low-income communities while generating social returns. It inspired the entire CDFI movement and the 1994 CDFI Fund legislation, and was replicated in dozens of countries worldwide. ShoreBank's closure in 2010 during the financial crisis — despite a $150 million government-organized rescue attempt — remains the most painful cautionary tale of CDFI fragility under macroeconomic stress.

ShoreBank (Historic Pioneer)

National Community Investment Fund is a unique CDFI that provides equity capital — not loans — to minority-owned and community development banks, enabling them to expand lending capacity in underserved markets. NCIF has invested in 50+ mission-driven financial institutions managing $35+ billion in community assets. In 2025-2026, NCIF's MDI (Minority Depository Institution) Support Fund deployed $200 million in equity and technical assistance to Black-owned banks recovering from the post-pandemic commercial real estate correction.

National Community Investment Fund (NCIF)

Coastal Federal Credit Union in Raleigh, NC ($4+ billion in assets) exemplifies how a mainstream credit union can operate as a de facto CDFI, providing mortgages, auto loans, and financial education to underserved communities across North Carolina. Coastal's partnerships with NC State and Research Triangle Park employers have built a membership base that cross-subsidizes below-market lending in low-income communities. In 2025-2026, Coastal's CommunityConnect program provided free credit-building products to 50,000+ thin-file members who previously had no credit score.

Coastal Federal Credit Union