A groundbreaking report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Equity Commission features more than 60 recommendations designed to make policies affecting farming and rural America more fair. A few key recommendations include...

The Rhode Island Food Policy Council has released a first-of-its-kind resource providing a data-driven assessment of the status of Rhode Island's food system, incorporating the best available research and data, and presenting information on the...

Local and Regional Foods are a small but vitally important part of agriculture sales in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local and Regional Food Systems Resource Guide is intended to help stakeholders navigate USDA...

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...

Croatan Institute and Self-Help announce the release of a major new collaborative report that explores leading challenges faced by the Farm Credit System – the largest lender in the agricultural sector. This new report documents leading...

The 2023 Caren S. Franzini Fellowship class prepared a white paper summarizing their recent research exploring challenges that small businesses face when accessing capital. This paper presents findings on best practices, strategies, and initiatives...

CDFA and its coalition partners submitted a $2 billion Clean Investment Accelerator for Development Finance Agencies (DFAs) proposal for the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator competition under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Under this...

This playbook provides community, city, and regional leaders with a set of tools to create more just landscapes of opportunity through actionable, coordinated strategies that target the intersecting structural, relational, and market forces that...

Sovereignty and Indigenous definitions of wealth make up the core values on which Natives have built their economic and financial power. Yet, there is still the issue of economic invisibility for Native Peoples, and one of the ways to combat this is...

This report, published by The Wallace Center, outlines the initial impact of the USDA's Local Food Purchase Assistance Program (LFPA). Through partnerships with state agencies, and territory and tribal governments, this innovative new program is...

Standing at the intersection of real estate ownership and business ownership, the real estate development industry has the potential to be a powerful engine for Black and Hispanic Americans to build wealth. This report presents the findings of...

Real estate is the largest source of asset-based wealth and opportunity for American families, and yet Black and other communities of color are systematically marginalized in renting, owning, and financing real estate. In addition to facilitating...

Forest and farm producer organizations (FFPOs) from Africa, Asia, and the Americas met with potential donors and allies in Washington D.C. to discuss advantages and opportunities to invest in and strengthen the capacities of indigenous, community,...

CapShift has released “How to Invest in Sustainable and Regenerative Food and Agriculture,” a guide to understanding the complex landscape of food and agriculture investing. The food and agriculture space touches on climate change, economic...

A new report from Croatan Institute highlights how the Soil Wealth Area model can facilitate more investment in regenerative agriculture, enhance conservation, and support resilient rural economies. The report provides specific recommendations for...

To help local policymakers, leaders, advocates, researchers, and others understand policy options for communities seeking to increase access to healthy food, the Healthy Food Policy Project (HFPP) developed a framework to show how local...

Linking development finance and food systems can be a daunting undertaking for any community. Research on the current ecosystem of food systems finance has positioned CDFA to identify key strategies for the path ahead in this work. The Food Systems...

This report builds on previous publications to further examine the characteristics, financing experiences, and credit outcomes for three subsets of small business credit applicant firms: those that applied to only online lenders, those that applied...

Business Oregon is offering several free webinars about the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program in September. See Business Oregon's website for descriptions of the webinar content, registration information, and additional details...

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced approval of state plans for Colorado, Oregon, New York, and Montana under the State Small Business Credit Initiative for up to $750M in funds to expand access to capital for small businesses. 

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to invest in a diverse set of entrepreneurs and businesses in our most promising industries throughout the state. We know that an innovative economy provides higher wages and more business resilience in times of...

The comprehensive legislation would end federal cannabis prohibition by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act; empower states to create their own cannabis laws; ensure federal regulation protects public health and safety; and...

This FOA supports the administration goals laid out above by supporting the development of workforce programs and partnerships that will facilitate the continued deployment of solar energy technologies, while supporting an inclusive workforce with...

Regenerative farms rely on small-to-mid scale, aligned infrastructure to process, transport, and market their products. These middle infrastructure businesses help to improve farm income and bolster regional food economies while providing...

The Kansas City region (Metro KC) has a rich set of support resources for its entrepreneurial community. However, the region still has ample room to develop in terms of connecting entrepreneurs to the capital and support they need to launch and grow...

This program is specifically designed to boost ownership among individuals disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement. Funded by $500,000 of the city's cannabis sales tax revenues, the program seeks to train and elevate...

Subsidizing business investment in distressed neighborhoods, by itself, is a subsidy for gentrification, not a way to get residents into good jobs. What neighborhood residents need is help in accessing jobs throughout the local economy, inside and...

The BEST competitive grant program provides money for construction of new schools as well as general construction and renovation of existing school facilities. Marijuana tax revenue is one of four funding sources for the Capital Construction...

DCEO established the Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program for the purposes of providing financial assistance to social equity licensees to assist with the expenses of starting and operating a cannabis business establishment.

Launched in 2016, SEED Initiatives is supported by an ongoing $1 million in cannabis tax revenue allocation and is a vehicle for single-source monitoring, measuring, and reporting on the city’s cannabis tax revenue. The SEED Grant Fund supports...

This white paper from SPARK discusses how digital has changed the career landscape in banking and SBA lending.

Celebrate one year since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, take a look at this report for early successes from across the country to see how investments from state and local officials from NewDEAL’s network of innovative leaders are not only...

This policy example on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) is a companion to the report "A Blueprint for the Next Generation of Federal Place-Based Policy."

This policy example on the Promise Neighborhoods program is a companion to the report "A Blueprint for the Next Generation of Federal Place-Based Policy."

This report reviews the Biden administration’s key efforts and accomplishments to advance equity in its first year and outlines future policies needed to build a better and more dynamic nation that equitably respects the rights and meets the needs...

This report — the first in a series between the Urban Manufacturing Alliance (UMA) and The Century Foundation (TCF) — describes the SSBCI program and offers recommendations from the perspective of mission-based lenders and those seeking to support...

The purpose of the Affordable Housing Loan Program and Underwriting Guidelines is to describe the Department’s housing policy objectives, the range of programs available to advance these objectives, and the manner in which transactions will be...

The Housing and Services Resource Center was created for people who work in the organizations and systems that provide housing resources and homelessness services, behavioral and mental health services, independent living services and other...

Using data from the National Housing Preservation Database (NHPD), this report focuses on the challenge of preserving the federally assisted housing stock in the face of the national affordability crisis and chronic underfunding for housing programs.

The Employee Ownership Expansion Network and Ownership America gave this presentation on how the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) can be used to promote employee ownership of small businesses.

Tulsa Remote, one of the nation’s first and largest remote worker relocation initiatives, has brought more than 1,200 remote workers to the city since 2018 by offering a $10,000 grant and additional support services to eligible workers who move to...

This white paper from gener8tor discusses the importance of supporting underrepresented founders and underinvested business sectors (i.e. music, art, child care).

Small and midsize cities (SMCs) face multiple challenges including uneven economic growth, growing income inequality, and growing poverty. Uniting community development principles and economic development practice, with a focus on elevating...

The Urban Institute set out to study how innovative policies and programs from abroad could inform state and local efforts in the US to advance an inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They produced five briefs, each profiling an approach...

Many economic development organizations (EDOs) have embraced the mission to support entrepreneurial firms in their communities. EDOs engage in their entrepreneurial ecosystems, in part, by providing resources, sometimes in the form of business...

Together, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development mission area have developed this Joint Resource Guide to further our commitment to...

The RISE Miami-Dade Fund (RISE) grew from an idea proposed by a diverse coalition to an effective team delivering technical assistance, advice, and much-needed capital to Miami-Dade County’s hard-to-reach small businesses. This report demonstrates...

This report describes how three CDFIs drive economic growth in low-income and historically marginalized communities through a model defined by the EFOD Collaborative as Equitable Food Oriented Development (EFOD). EFOD is a development approach that...

This Interactive Guide from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides an interactive, step-by-step approach for users to filter through more than 90 broadband related programs compiled from 12 federal agencies...

A Playbook for Scaling Latino-Owned Businesses is designed to support the scaling and continued growth of Latino-owned businesses by offering entrepreneur support organizations, financial institutions, and other stakeholders actions they can take to...