NEW YORK–Inclusiv, which began its life as the National Association of Community Development Credit Unions, is calling on the Trump Administration to rethink its plans to all but shut down the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
As The CU Daily has reported more extensively than any other news source, an executive order signed by President Trump on March 14 has listed seven federal programs to be reduced in size by the “maximum extent allowed by law.” In the case of the CDFI Fund, the Treasury Department has until Friday to provide its plans for doing so.
Approximately 495 U.S. CUs are CDFIs, and $324 million had already been allocated for the program at the time the executive order was issued.
‘Critical Investments Needed’
“President Trump’s latest Executive Order: Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy, threatens the elimination of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund known as the CDFI Fund, at a time when these critical investments are needed the most to support American families and their communities,” Inclusiv said in a letter to Treasury.
The organization noted the CDFI Fund was established in 1994 as a “bipartisan initiative to promote access to capital and local economic growth in communities with unmet needs across the country,” which it does through monetary grants and awards designed to expand affordable housing, promote homeownership, strengthen small business, create jobs and build consumer financial security.
‘Squeezing Budgets’
“With rising costs squeezing family budgets, we need more capital not less, going to strengthen local economies, expanding housing and small business, creating jobs, and building household savings,” Inclusiv President/CEO Cathie Mahon said in a statement. “That’s what CDFIs do. They are the fabric of our local economies. The Fund is an essential partner and catalyst for continuing to strengthen economic activity.”
In its statement, Inclusiv said CDFIs have earned bipartisan support because they have “proven themselves” as one of the federal government’s best market-based strategies.
“Since the creation of the Fund, CDFI institutions have leveraged at least $8 in private sector investment for every $1 in public funding received,” Inclusiv said. “This past week, Congress passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, a law directing a continuation of the FY24 level of $324 million in appropriations for the CDFI Fund and $500 million in CDFI Bond Guarantee Authority for FY 2025.”
‘Active Discussion’
Inclusiv said it has been in active discussion with leaders across the CDFI sectors and with system partners to actively voice support for the Fund. As the CU Daily has reported, America’s Credit Unions, the Defense CU Council, numerous state leagues and Credit Union Strategic Planning have all been active in responding to the executive order.
“We are encouraging credit unions and system partners to take action by reaching out to their congressional representatives and senators and make sure they know what the CDFI Fund means for local communities,” Inclusiv said.
