The Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund was featured in a recent Impact Investing Alliance (the Alliance) report titled Impact in Place. The Alliance strives to create and promote better understanding of capital sources within the impact investing community. The report illustrates the disproportionately negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on historically underinvested communities. However, the report also highlights several collaborations working to reverse […]
Category: News
CRF Receives a $1.83 Million Rapid Response Program Grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury’s CDFI Fund
CRF has been awarded a $1.82 million Rapid Response Program grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury CDFI Fund. The grant will help CRF quickly respond to the economic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in underinvested communities. “Many businesses are still feeling the impact of the COVID-19 economic crisis, particularly businesses in […]
CRF Welcomes Gary Cunningham to Board of Trustees
MINNEAPOLIS – June 28, 2021 Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), a national nonprofit organization with a mission to improve lives and strengthen communities through innovative financial solutions, is excited to welcome Gary Cunningham, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, as the newest member to its Board of Trustees. Cunningham holds extensive community development experience, with […]
Kinfe Argaw Named 2021 Notable BIPOC Executive by Twin Cities Business Magazine
Congratulations to Kinfe Argaw, credit manager at Community Reinvestment Fund, USA (CRF), for being named a 2021 Notable BIPOC Executive by Twin Cities Business Magazine! Kinfe has been an instrumental part of CRF’s lending activities since he joined the team in 2018. His efforts have increased CRF’s ability to deploy capital to more small businesses across […]
Celebrate Juneteenth by Supporting Black-Owned Businesses
Juneteenth honors the end of slavery in the United States and is a celebration of culture, history and pride for Black communities across the country. At CRF, we are celebrating Juneteenth by highlighting the tremendous contributions that Black-owned businesses have made on our country. As of the 2020 census, there are approximately 124,551 Black-owned businesses in the United States making an economic […]
It’s Pride Month: Let’s Stand with Trans!
June is Pride Month in the US. It’s the perfect time to embrace our LGBTQIA friends and communities. We were delighted to speak with Roz Keith, the founder of Stand with Trans an organization dedicated to developing programs educational events, and support groups to serve transgender youth. Their mission is to provide the tools transgender youth need to […]
Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month: How Asian-Owned Businesses are Transforming Communities
May is Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, a month to celebrate the history, culture, and traditions of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month started between 1978 and 1979, when Congress designated the first ten days of May as Asian/Pacific American Heritage Week. The celebration was expanded to a month in 1990. Today, Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month is celebrated across […]
MinnPost Community Voices Features CRF’s Anisha Murphy
CRF’s Director of Community Advancement, Anisha Murphy, Esq., wrote a compelling opinion piece for MinnPost in the wake of the Derek Chauvin murder conviction. The article pinpoints the role economic racism plays in driving social and institutional racism. We need a financial system that priorities equity and access to capital for BIPOC-owned businesses. We can do this by […]
This Mother’s Day Celebrate Mom-Owned Businesses and the Women Behind Them
Mother’s Day is a great time to remember and celebrate moms—both our own mothers, and others around the world. Moms who run their own businesses bring a compassionate, caring, and practical approach to what they do—balancing the needs of theirs and other children with running a successful organization that helps their customers and communities. Mom-owned […]
