CDFIs and Universities

Learn more about how CDFIs and universities can work together

to provide opportunity for all.

Overview

The community development financial institution (CDFI) industry aligns capital with justice. It’s led by mission-driven organizations across the country working in low-income, low-wealth, and other communities underserved by mainstream finance. This is a growing movement, with countless opportunities for students, professors, and administrators to get involved. We invite you to join us!

Explore the tabs at the right to learn more about entry-level careers in the industry, download an outreach packet for university communities to bring the movement to campus, and find additional resources to learn more about how universities work with the CDFI industry.

Careers

Interested in working in the CDFI Industry? CDFIs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, and are constantly on the lookout for passionate and talented individuals from a variety of majors who are committed to their mission.

Learn more about CDFI career opportunities for students below.

Entry Level Positions

Here are some areas where students can potentially get involved:

Lending and Investing

Areas of Study: Business, Accounting, Finance, Real Estate

Description:

Lending and investing is the main function of CDFIs. While titles vary by CDFI, employees in this field usually begin as loan administrators and work their way up to junior and senior loan officers, followed by loan managers. Loan administrators maintain loan documents and files, including closing documents, while loan officers source and underwrite loans and interact with borrowers. Sometimes, a separate group of people working in asset management are responsible for ensuring compliance and collecting information after a loan has been issued, but sometimes loan officers do this as well. Working in lending and investing for a CDFI is a great opportunity for students who want to have an impact on local communities often overlooked by traditional financial institutions.

Entry Level Responsibilities

Support credit loan portfolio management and perform annual credit reviews of borrowers
Assist with loan underwritings, including analyses, calculations, and background materials on financial borrowers
Monitor and report on borrowers’ compliance with loan agreement covenants
Schedule loan committee meetings, compile/distribute loan committee packages, and take meeting minutes
Maintain loan files

Technical Assistance and Consulting to Borrowers

Areas of Study: Business, Social Science coursework helpful

Description

One of the things that makes CDFIs unique is that they help their borrowers succeed by offering technical assistance and consulting services. This could include assistance with anything from developing project funds sources and teaching financial literacy skills to developing marketing plans. Sometimes technical assistance and consulting is outsourced to other organizations and sometimes it is provided by loan officers, but often these positions are separate positions at the CDFI. This is an excellent opportunity to put business skills to practical use in creative ways by helping borrowers succeed.

Entry Level Responsibilities

Determine clients' goals and needs and work with clients to develop a plan of action
Provide timely data reporting and documentation
Help clients with market research, promotion, advertising and sales, sales forecasting, and market feasibility studies
Assist clients with business plan design, including budgeting, general accounting, break-even analysis, and financial projections
Provide ongoing assistance to a portfolio of clients

Development and Capitalization

Areas of Study: Social Sciences, Humanities, Business

Description

Working in development and capitalization is crucial to ensuring the success of the CDFI by raising the necessary funds to keep operations sustainable. People who work in development and capitalization raise grants for operating expenses and raise debt and equity capital in order for the CDFI to make loans. Entry-level positions in this field are often responsible for grants management, such as conducting research on potential funders, filling out applications, and filing reports with funders and investors. Higher-level positions involve more direct contact with funders and investors. Ultimately, working in development and capitalization is a great opportunity for anyone with strong writing, research, and analytical skills.

Entry Level Responsibilities

Prepare and organize materials for proposals
Draft proposals and grant application narratives
Coordinate submission of proposals, funder/investor reports, and other documents requested by funders and investors
Monitor users of grant funds and progress of grant-funded programs, including tracking deliverables
Anticipate and manage the timely completion and submission of all funder and investor reports
Participate and assist in coordinating meetings and conference calls with funders

Advocacy and Research

Areas of Study: Government and Public Policy

Description

Some CDFIs have separate staff or departments to conduct advocacy work and research. These staff work with government on the local, state, and federal levels to develop and build support for legislation benefitting the CDFI industry. Those that work in research may also produce studies on topics relevant to CDFIs or publish papers on important issues in the industry. While CDFIs often do not have resources to have a large advocacy staff, more and more CDFIs are hiring individuals devoted to this activity. These jobs provide great opportunities for those with strong analytical and data skills or an interest in public policy.

Entry Level Responsibilities

Draft comment letters and correspondence with legislators
Conduct background research on various policy topics
Coordinate cleaning of survey data and tracking of survey responses as well as assist with developing data cleaning process
Analyze data and produce tables, charts and figures for reports

Marketing and Communications

Areas of Study: Business, Humanities, Social Sciences

Description

The Marketing and Communications department of a CDFI is responsible for communicating the mission and messages of a CDFI to various audiences including borrowers, funders and investors, and other key stakeholders. Depending on one’s interest and skills, working in marketing and communications could involve drafting press releases and conducting interviews, writing borrower success stories, maintaining a social media presence, or designing and updating a CDFI’s website to make it more user-friendly. Anyone with strong written and verbal communication skills and creativity can be successful in marketing and communications.

Entry Level Responsibilities

Write, edit, and proofread materials for all internal and external communications
Anticipate, design, manage, and implement multiple project plans
Liaise with communications staff of outside partners and public relations firms
Maintain up-to-date knowledge and expertise on emerging social media strategies
Regularly update company website and ensure website functionality
Manage regular reporting and tracking of data using analytic tools such as Google Analytics

Finance, IT, and Administration

Areas of Study: Varies by position — many opportunities available

Description

People who work in finance, IT, and administration are the backbone of any successful CDFI. Those in finance are responsible for completing the necessary financial statements for CDFIs. Students who are interested in accounting or finance may be interested in this field and could work as bookkeepers, or progress to controllers, accounting managers, or even CFOs. In addition, CDFIs need office managers, human resources officers, information technology workers, and all other necessary back-office functions to make the general operations of a CDFI run smoothly.

Entry Level Responsibilities – Operations

General Operations Management
IT/Helpdesk
Salesforce System Administration
Support for Business Lines
Human Resources Support

Entry Level Responsibilities – Accounting

Maintain accounting files, including filing of general ledger transactions, accounts payable and receivable documentation
Key daily worksheets to the general ledger system for cash receipts and disbursements.
Produce timely and accurate financial transaction reports for review
Assist with weekly accounts payable processing including keying invoices to the general ledger system, copying checks, and preparing for mailing

CDFI Industry Jobs and Internships

CDFI OUTREACH PACKET: A GUIDE FOR UNIVERSITIES

The CDFI Outreach Packet contains a series of documents and tools that students, professors, career counselors, and university administrators can use to raise awareness about the CDFI industry at their universities.

partnerships

Some universities and educational institutions have already partnered and collaborated with CDFIs. You can find some additional resources about those collaborations below.

Fundamentals of the Opportunity Finance Industry Course

Led by OFN in partnership with University of New Hampshire's Carsey School of Public Policy, the Fundamentals of the Opportunity Finance Industry course was designed for practitioners interested in expanding their knowledge about CDFI industry basics. The goal of the certificate course is to develop the knowledge and capacity of community development finance professionals so they can help expand their organizations’ capacity and impact.

The Carsey School also offers eligible employees of OFN and OFN member CDFIs and allies a $2,500 Education Award to pursue its Master in Community Development Policy and Practice degree program.

Bridging the Talent Divide: Creating a Pathway to the Opportunity Finance Industry for College and University Students

New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business and OFN collaborated to design and implement an innovative talent development program, titled the Opportunity Finance Program, for undergraduate business students who are interested in learning about careers in the CDFI industry. This paper discusses the program structure and lessons learned.

Partnerships for Community Impact: Higher Education and CDFIs working together

OFN partnered with The Jessie Ball duPont Fund to encourage colleges and universities to explore innovative investments in their communities, using the financial resources of higher education and the lending expertise of CDFIs.