CDFA sponsors represent the leaders in the development finance industry. We would like to give an extra special thank you to our national sponsors and sponsors of the 2023 National Development Finance Summit. Their financial investment allows us to continue our mission of advancing development finance knowledge, networks, and innovation, and we are truly grateful.

CDFA is thankful for all the work that its coalition partners and the larger CDFA community put into building a $2 billion proposal for its Clean Investment Accelerator for Development Finance Agencies (DFA Accelerator). Through their work and support, CDFA's DFA Accelerator stands an excellent chance at receiving funding so that it can make historic investments to reduce or avoid emissions of greenhouse gas or other pollutants in low-income and disadvantaged communities across the country.

The CDFA Bookstore now offers eBook versions of all our publications and published our new Bond Finance Reference Guide, an enhanced and thorough guidebook for professionals and students alike on all things bonds. Check it out at our online bookstore and use the Code: CDFAHolidays to get a special 20% discount on all books, valid through December 31.

CDFA's network has been energized by 88 new members this year and the growth continues! These organizations have seized the value of membership. CDFA members have full access to exceptional educational experiences, a vibrant network, and the largest collection of development finance resources in the world.

CDFA thanks Darla Garrett for her time as Chair of CDFA's Board of Directors, where she served for two years, and for her steadfast service to the industry. We also welcome David Misky as the new Board Chair as he continues to uphold CDFA's mission in his new role.

CDFA proudly announced the recipients of the 2023 CDFA Lifetime Achievement Award: Laura Canter, Executive Vice President and director of the Finance Programs Division of MassDevelopment; Price Finley, Partner at Bricker Graydon LLP, and Price Finley, Partner at Bricker Graydon LLP. These winners have made innovative and lasting contributions that have greatly impacted how development finance programs are operated, managed, and administered.

CDFA provided education, strategic planning, and economic development insights to local practitioners through numerous technical assistance site visits this year. Many thanks to the communities who hosted CDFA team members in Southern Pines, NC, Wellsville, OH, Tucson, AZ, San Diego, CA, Menominee, WI, Minneapolis, MN, and New Mexico.

CDFA announced the recipients of the 2023 CDFA Distinguished Development Finance Agency, the Great Falls Development Authority, Inc., the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, and the Tucson Industrial Development Authority. This award recognizes outstanding development finance agencies whose programs, leaders, and projects have greatly benefited their communities and honors excellence in the use of the development finance tools for economic development.

Members of the CDFA team traveled coast to coast to speak and participate in a variety of conferences, including the annual Travois Indian Country Affordable Housing & Economic Development Conference in Washington, D.C. and CohnReznick's Annual New Markets Tax Credit Summit in Miami, FL. Staff also had engagements in Washington and Lake County, OH, as well as trainings for the University of North Carolina, the University of Tennessee, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

CDFA successfully completed its Community Facilities Technical Assistance Program this year thanks to generous support from USDA Rural Development. CDFA's program included direct technical assistance to rural communities that experienced a natural disaster in 2018-2019, as well as a Rural Development Webinar Series, the creation of a Rural Development Resource Center, and an accompanying Rural Development newsletter.

CDFA partnered with King County, Washington and Southeast Nebraska Development District to establish a set of recommendations that facilitate investment in their local and regional food systems. These Strategic Food Systems Financing Plans focus on how development finance tools can be used to unlock capital for food and agriculture-related businesses, projects, and infrastructure to generate economic prosperity while advancing racial and social equity.

With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the 10-year, $18 million CDFA Equitable Capital Loan Guarantee Program aims to help participating development finance agencies deliver capital in a more equitable manner. Both the Tucson Industrial Development Authority in Tucson, AZ and the Development Finance Agency of Summit County in Summit County, OH began active lending through this program in 2023.

CDFA was excited to have 324 attendees at this year's National Summit in Philadelphia, PA! We gathered for three action-packed days, filled with two CDFA courses, dozens of breakout sessions, guest speakers like representatives from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and a keynote speaker Jodie Harris of PIDC.

Through the collaboration of 18 authors and contributors, CDFA successfully released a new edition of the Bond Finance Reference Guide that combines its two previous publications - the Intro and Advanced Bond Guides. The Bond Finance Reference Guide provides readers with a thorough understanding of this bedrock development finance tool, and serves as a complimentary text for CDFA's Intro and Advanced Bond Finance Training Courses, which deliver the premier bond finance education in the development finance industry.

CDFA's priority piece of legislation – The Modernizing Agricultural and Manufacturing Bonds Act (MAMBA) – was introduced on a bipartisan basis in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate this year. Special thanks to Representatives LaHood, Kildee, Feenstra, and Evans and Senators Brown and Ernst and their staffs for working on this important bill to reform private activity bond issuances.

CDFA once again hosted its annual Federal Policy Conference in 2023. This year's conference brought together federal agency and development finance experts to help attendees better understand the entire federal development finance spectrum. It also featured keynote speakers Ryan Berni, White House Senior Advisor, and Christopher Coes, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

We were excited to offer five of CDFA's most popular training courses this year during Virtual Summer School! Attendees learned about the fundamentals of development finance, bonds finance, seed and venture capital, infrastructure finance, and P3 finance. Thank you to all of our attendees, speakers, moderators, and staff who made this year's event a success.

CDFA added a new course to our Training Institute! The Intro Federal Finance WebCourse will take place virtually on December 13-14 and will focus on understanding, identifying, and navigating the vast array of federal support tools and how they can work in coordination with other development finance tools for programs and projects on the local level.

CDFA has welcomed nine new graduates to the prestigious Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) Program so far this year. Congratulations to John Brooks, Ravi Doshi, Brendan Barry, Lori Sallaz, Shane Shepard, James Reid, Alessandra Desiderio, Tatiana Graver, and Mitchell Smith.

Noelle Sheets has been named Director of the CDFA Foundation and assumed the organization's leadership duties. The CDFA Foundation specifically focuses on building equitable and inclusive opportunities for socially and economically disadvantaged individuals & communities working in and engaging with the development finance agency industry. As part of its mission, the CDFA Foundation manages the Scholarship and Caren S. Franzini Fellowship programs, and will be expanding the services it offers in the future.

In partnership with Lendistry and The Center by Lendistry, CDFA launched the 2023 Equitable Lending Learning Series to provide in-depth instruction to small business lenders on loan fund policies, lending processes, and other practices that remove barriers to capital and proactively advance economic justice. CDFA is grateful to its sponsors for their support and engagement in this important and popular learning series!

The CDFA-NASDA Foundation Socially Disadvantaged Farmers & Ranchers Access to Capital Toolkit is a set of best practice resources designed to provide practical assistance to communities looking to invest in socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. The toolkit addresses topics from effective revolving loan fund management to leveraging bonds, tax increment, and other forms of public and private capital in support of socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. This work is made possible by the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement 2501 Grant Program.

CDFA is grateful for our ongoing partnership with The Bank of New York Mellon on the CDFA // BNY Mellon Development Finance Webcast series. The monthly webinars cover a wide range of development finance topics, such as forecasting the bond market and financing rural broadband. Thanks to BNY Mellon's support, these webinars are free to our entire network.

CDFA partnered with the National League of Cities and the Local Infrastructure Hub to help facilitate eight webinars designed to connect small and mid-sized cities with essential resources and expert guidance to help them access federal infrastructure funding, giving them the backing they need to drive local progress, improve communities, and deliver results for residents.

CDFA hosted five webinars this year on advancing local food systems through finance. Featured discussions demonstrated how businesses and projects within the food system can be connected to development finance tools, such as bonds, tax increment finance, tax credits, and revolving loan funds, to create equitable local and regional food systems. Recorded webinars are available to view on the CDFA website.

CDFA was honored to host the 2023 class of the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship - Neyli Castillo Suarez with New Mexico Finance Authority, Olivia Barone with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Tonita McKnight with Albany Community Together, Inc., and Zaba Rashan with the City of San Diego. This year's class produced a white paper with findings on best practices, strategies, and initiatives to remove barriers and improve the availability of financing options for small businesses.

With support from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, CDFA launched the Community Facilities Program for Tribal Communities. The program includes direct technical assistance to tribal communities around the U.S., a four-part Tribal Finance Webinar Series, a Tribal Finance Project Marketplace, and a Tribal Finance Resource Center.

CDFA collaborated with Bricker Graydon LLP on the CDFA-Bricker Webinar Series: Incentives & Financing for Green and Sustainable Assets. Expert panelists shared their insights into the current landscape of public incentives and financing options for green & sustainable assets and the recent advancements in C-PACE financing.