Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the nation’s leading network and intermediary focused on community development investment, has been allocated its seventh Bond Guarantee Program (BGP) issuance for $173 million. This is part of $498 million issued for this round through the CDFI Fund’s Bond Guarantee Program.
OFN partnered with seven of its member organizations, including Florida Community Loan Fund, on the application to ensure that affordable capital will pass through to low-income and underinvested communities nationwide. The members include:
- Community First Fund
- Florida Community Loan Fund
- Greater Minnesota Housing Fund
- Homewise
- New Jersey Community Capital
- Nonprofit Finance Fund
- Renaissance Community Loan Fund
The BGP is a federal credit program designed to inject new and substantial capital into our nation’s most underserved communities. The seven OFN members will receive bond loans ranging from $15 million to $33 million. They will use the capital to finance rental housing, nonprofit organizations, healthcare facilities, commercial real estate, charter schools, small businesses, daycares, and other entities in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the United States.
Florida Community Loan Fund will receive a $30 million bond loan as part of the OFN partnership. In keeping with its core purpose to maximize opportunity for people and places outside of the economic mainstream, FCLF will use this funding to provide flexible commercial loans for rental housing and community facilities operated by nonprofits that provide services such as healthcare or youth and education services. This is the second bond loan through the BGP for FCLF.
Established by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program responds to a critical market need—low-cost, long-term capital to spur economic growth and jump start community revitalization. Under the program, Qualified Issuers (CDFIs or their designees) apply to the CDFI Fund for authorization to issue guaranteed bonds worth a minimum of $100 million in total. The bonds provide Eligible CDFIs with access to substantial long-term, fixed-rate capital to reignite the economies of distressed communities.
The program enables Eligible CDFIs to execute large-scale projects, including the development of housing, commercial real estate, charter schools, daycare or health care centers, and rural infrastructure projects, among other asset classes. As of July 31, 2024, more than $1.7 billion in bond proceeds has been disbursed in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
