Health Impact Investing in Georgia

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) has announced eight recipients of the Building the Capacity of CDFIs Program in Georgia program developed with support from Healthcare Georgia Foundation.  Administered by OFN, the program awards capital and technical assistance grants to eight community development financial institutions (CDFIs)  that provide financial and development services to improve the health and well-being of rural Georgians. CDFIs finance the social factors that impact health such as affordable housing, small business and microloans, transportation and transit development, healthy food options, and technology access.

CDFIs finance the social factors that impact health such as affordable housing, microloans, transportation, and healthy food options.

“We’re proud to work with OFN on a program that aligns so well with the Foundation’s mission of advancing the health of all Georgians,” said Gary D. Nelson, PhD, President. “We believe that healthy communities support the health of the individual, and CDFIs, by definition, play a vital part in the development of that ecosystem by deploying capital in areas of particular need across the state: underserved rural areas and areas of persistent poverty.

“This program highlights the critical role CDFIs play in bringing health-related investment capital into underserved communities,” said Ginger McNally, Senior Vice President of Strategic Consulting at OFN. “We applaud Healthcare Georgia Foundation for their generous commitment to improving outcomes for all Georgians through the support of the Building the Capacity of CDFIs in Georgia.”

Above: Healthcare Georgia Foundation President Gary D. Nelson, PhD (far left, first row) with CDFI Grantee Representatives at the Foundation on January 20, 2018.

The CDFIs that received the OFN grants are:

• Albany Community Together (ACT!) – Albany, GA: To provide workshops in rural areas to strengthen credit readiness
• Carver Financial Corporation/Carver State Bank – Savannah, GA: To develop a strategic plan for Catalyst Development Corporation, a nonprofit affiliate
• Community Health Center Capital Fund, Inc., – Boston, MA: To complete Performance Evaluation Profiles for Federally Qualified Health Centers in Georgia
• Georgia Cities Foundation – Atlanta, GA: To develop Georgia Placemaking Collaborative pilot program
• LiftFund – San Antonio, TX: To implement marketing and expansion in Georgia
• National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions – New York, NY: To expand financial education into rural areas, in partnership with Peach State FCU
• Neighborhood Lending Partners – Tampa, FL: To support expansion into Georgia
• Southwest Georgia United Empowerment Zone, Inc., Cordele, GA: To develop sustainability and strengthen lending technology

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the national network of community development financial institutions (CDFIs), strives to ensure low-income and other under-resourced communities have access to affordable, responsible financial products and services. Members of OFN are CDFIsthat deliver responsible lending to help low-income communities join the economic mainstream. Through 2015, OFN’s network originated $48 billion in financing in rural, urban, and Native communities. This financing has helped create or maintain more than 1, 044, 000 jobs, start or expand nearly 191,000 businesses and microenterprises, and support the development or rehabilitation of nearly 1.5 million housing units and 9,800 community facility projects. For more information, visit ofn.org.