Reflecting on Black History Month

​Peter Schaeffing, President
​During Black History Month, we appreciate the progress made and the long journey ahead toward racial equity and the destruction of structural racism. Being involved in lending, we have a front-row seat to some of the hallmarks of structural racism. The concept of CDFIs originated in large part due to the economic exclusion of minorities from mainstream financial institutions and, through the pernicious and institutionalized practice of redlining, particularly from the mortgage market. In the present day, many of our clients now have successful programs supporting BIPOC developers as a direct response to the same issues. The necessity of these programs is, indeed, the legacy of redlining—for many Black developers, their network of family and friends have been blocked from building up the wealth and available capital needed to kickstart a career in real estate development. We commend our many clients, past and present, who recognize that need and are pursuing it rigorously—from Philadelphia Accelerator Fund, to the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund, to Capital Impact Partners, Low Income Investment Fund, and LISC Fund Management.  There is much work to be done, and many of our clients are boldly leading the way.
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We hope that this month offers the opportunity for our staff, clients, and partners to reflect on where we are, think about—and really deeply contemplate—how recently segregation and assassinations of Civil Rights leaders were the news of the day, and consider how we can aggressively move the ball forward now. My hope is that by the time I retire, we are not still working on programs supporting BIPOC developers—because by then, the need will have been met by the mainstream capital markets. For that to happen, we can’t lose our focus on this critical issue today, even as more years separate us from the jolt of action and infusions of capital that resulted from the tragic murder of George Floyd. We have to keep doing whatever we can to support projects by Black developers who are motivated by mission and who lack only the capital to impact our lowest-income and most under-resourced communities in a way that will reverberate for generations. We pledge to continue to do what we can to support this important work.