We need to think more broadly about the role that CDFIs play in our banking system overall, and the scale of the role they can and should be playing going forward.
Beth Bafford
Vice President of Syndications and Strategy
Calvert Impact Capital
CDFIs are coming together at an unprecedented pace to work collaboratively and solve problems at scale. One example is the Southern Opportunity and Resilience (SOAR) Fund. In the South, long-standing structural discrimination, persistent poverty, and a history of inequities coupled with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a disproportionate lack of capital, compared to funding elsewhere in the country. In this episode of the Impact Lenders Podcast, High Impact President Peter Schaeffing speaks with Beth Bafford, Vice President of Syndications and Strategy of Calvert Impact Capital, and Aisha Benson, COO of TruFund Financial Services, to discuss how the SOAR Fund was developed, how it drives small business growth in underserved Black, Latino and rural communities, and how CDFIs can help change the trajectory and overcome barriers that have been systemically built over the years.
Beth Bafford is Vice President of Syndications and Strategy. She leads Calvert Impact Capital's new business development efforts, including its services to accelerate capital flows into communities through loan structuring and syndications. She also oversees the organization's strategy, communications, and impact measurement functions.
Prior to joining Calvert Impact Capital, Beth was a consultant in McKinsey & Company's D.C. office where she focused on U.S. Health Reform strategy. She has also worked as a Special Assistant at the White House Office of Management and Budget during the drafting and passage of the Affordable Care Act, as a Regional Field Director for the 2008 Obama for America campaign, and as a Senior Associate at UBS Financial Services.
Beth is a die-hard Duke fan (go devils!), where she received both her BA in Public Policy and MBA in Social Entrepreneurship. At Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, she helped launch the CASE Initiative on Impact Investing (CASE i3), for which she currently serves on the Advisory Board. She also serves on the Board of Nonprofit Finance Fund, the Investment Committee for the Aaron and Lillie Straus Foundation, and the Advisory Board of Higher Ground Labs.
Beth Bafford is Vice President of Syndications and Strategy. She leads Calvert Impact Capital's new business development efforts, including its services to accelerate capital flows into communities through loan structuring and syndications. She also oversees the organization's strategy, communications, and impact measurement functions.
Prior to joining Calvert Impact Capital, Beth was a consultant in McKinsey & Company's D.C. office where she focused on U.S. Health Reform strategy. She has also worked as a Special Assistant at the White House Office of Management and Budget during the drafting and passage of the Affordable Care Act, as a Regional Field Director for the 2008 Obama for America campaign, and as a Senior Associate at UBS Financial Services.
Beth is a die-hard Duke fan (go devils!), where she received both her BA in Public Policy and MBA in Social Entrepreneurship. At Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, she helped launch the CASE Initiative on Impact Investing (CASE i3), for which she currently serves on the Advisory Board. She also serves on the Board of Nonprofit Finance Fund, the Investment Committee for the Aaron and Lillie Straus Foundation, and the Advisory Board of Higher Ground Labs.
Aisha Benson is responsible for directing, managing, and integrating multi-disciplined team functions related to the delivery of lending services, tax credit deployment and TA programs across TruFund's footprint. She also oversees program design and implementation, resource partner selection and management, and the coordination of outreach and business development efforts for TruFund’s programs. During her tenure, numerous multi-million-dollar capital access, guaranty and grant programs have fallen under her direct management. Prior to TruFund, Ms. Benson served as VP of Business Lending at Carver Federal Savings, and as VP of Commercial Lending at JP Morgan Chase. Aisha has 27 years’ experience deploying capital to Low Income Communities, including acquisition, construction and permanent finance projects. She has deployed $108 million in NMTCs and $175 million of capital to low-income communities, including $75 million in loans to small businesses and non-profits. Based on her vast experience, Ms. Benson serves on several key industry Boards, including Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the NMTC Coalition (Executive Committee member) and NY CDFI Coalition (founding member and Board VP). She also serves on the Advisory Boards of the Woodforest CEI-Boulos Opportunity Fund and the Community Development Entities of US Bank and Coastal Enterprises. Ms. Benson holds a B.A. in Psychology, Cum Laude from Columbia University and a certificate through a Citi/OFN Sponsored Leadership Training Program for CDFI Executives at Wharton University.
Resources Related to This Episode:
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Resources Related to This Episode:
- https://impactalpha.com/georgia-is-throttling-voters-the-souths-financial-system-is-doing-the-same-to-its-entrepreneurs/ Op-ed from Beth Bafford in Impact Alpha
- www.trufund.org TruFund website
- https://www.calvertimpactcapital.org/ Calvert Impact Capital website
- https://www.connect2capital.com/p/soar-fund/ SOAR Fund website
Tell us what you think! Visit the Contact Us page to get in touch.
