Opportunity Finance Network awards $600,000 to support loans to underserved minority-owned businesses
MIAMI, FL, AUGUST 2021—The Community Fund of North Miami Dade (CFNMD) has received a $600,000 award from Opportunity Finance Network’s (OFN) Finance Justice Fund to support more minority-owned small businesses across South Florida. The contribution will allow the CFNMD to provide more technical assistance and make loans to startup and existing enterprises in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The Finance Justice Fund, launched by OFN in 2020, is a new socially responsible investment that aims to bring $1 billion in capital from corporate and philanthropic partners to the individuals and communities most underserved and underestimated by mainstream finance in America. The goal of the fund is to drive affordable, responsible capital to Black, Latinx, Indigenous and rural communities.
“Congratulations to the Community Fund of North Miami Dade for its Finance Justice Fund award. This capital will help address long-standing issues of disinvestment, the racial wealth gap, and persistent poverty in our country,” said OFN President and CEO Lisa Mensah. “CDFIs, like the Community Fund of North Miami Dade, and Finance Justice Fund partners and investors are helping to advance social, economic, and racial justice one loan at a time.”
As a certified Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI), the CFNMD is a mission-based lender focused on providing financial and educational resources to small and microbusinesses owned by women and people of color. The organization regularly offers free workshops and seminars to help entrepreneurs with foundational business concepts. Additional business counseling and support is available to businesses that are working to access capital through the CFNMD, as well.
“We’re proud to be the recipient of a Finance Justice Fund award, and we’re grateful to OFN for their support,” said CFNMD Director Lia Yaffar. “Socially responsible investments like these allow us to support entrepreneurs and small businesses in communities of color, which create more opportunities for historically under resourced communities to thrive.”
The CFNMD, first established in 2002, expanded and refocused its lending efforts in 2017, shifting from affordable housing to small business development. Since then, the organization has provided over $1 million in loan funding to more than 25 businesses in industries including food and beverage, marketing, cleaning services, healthcare, printing, manufacturing, retail, automotive maintenance, arts production, haircare and maritime leisure and transit industries.
In addition to providing access to capital and loan application assistance, the CFNMD also provides technical assistance and business education to more than 600 aspiring and established entrepreneurs each year through a series of free workshops and individualized support.
To learn more about the CFNMD, including available loan opportunities, upcoming events and other business resources, visit their website at CFNMD.org. More information about the Finance Justice Fund, including a full list of Fund partners and awardees, can be found on the Fund page on OFN.org.
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About the Community Fund of North Miami-Dade
Established in January 2002, The Community Fund of North Miami (CFNMD) is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), providing small businesses and entrepreneurs in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties within South Florida, with the support and resources they need through technical assistance, one on one counseling, and small business loans. As a subsidiary of the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation, the CFNMD’s mission is to utilize resources derived from the public and private sectors to assist the poor, distressed and underprivileged through a program of lending and investing in housing, real estate development projects, small/micro businesses and other commercial enterprises.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Elizabeth Burrows, Opa-locka Community Development Corporation
T: 305-687-3545 x229