See How One CDFI Can Change a Community!

Urgent Call to Protect the CDFI Program

Empowering Underserved Communities

As the leading voice for credit unions serving military and defense communities within the US and overseas, the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) recognizes the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) program as an essential lifeline for delivering financial services to underserved areas.

Given its critical impact, we strongly urge policymakers and stakeholders to stand with us in supporting the CDFI program and the communities empowers.

The CDFI Program: Strengthening Underserved Communities

For over 30 years, the CDFI program has served as an important resource for mission-driven lenders – including credit unions, community banks, and loan funds – to serve Americans left behind by mainstream finance.

By leveraging modest public grants, CDFIs expand access to affordable financial services in communities often neglected by larger banks, fostering economic opportunity and financial resilience.

As of January 2025, nearly 500 credit unions have earned CDFI certification, collectively serving millions of members in economically distressed areas (CDFI Coalition, 2025). These institutions are on the front lines of financial inclusion, opening branches in “banking deserts” and tailoring services for low-income neighborhoods and military families who lack access to traditional banking.

Through CDFI support, institutions are able to:

Finance small businesses and entrepreneurs that traditional banks deem “too risky,” helping local businesses launch and create jobs (CDFI Fund, 2025).
Expand affordable housing and community development by providing home mortgages and development loans, revitalizing neighborhoods, and increasing homeownership (cdfi.org.)
Deliver financial education and fair alternatives to predatory lending, empowering families to build credit and savings instead of falling prey to payday lenders (dcuc.org.)

In FY2024 alone, CDFI program awardees financed over 109,000 small businesses and funded more than 45,000 affordable housing units, channeling $24 billion of capital into underserved communities.

These aren’t just numbers – they represent real entrepreneurs launching businesses and families achieving homeownership because of CDFI-backed lending. Each success story translates to jobs created and wealth built locally, proving how CDFIs spur inclusive economic growth at the grassroots level.

Community Impact Documentary:

"The Barber of Little Rock"

The Oscar-nominated short documentary The Barber of Little Rock offers a compelling real-world example of CDFI impact on underserved communities. It follows Arlo Washington, a Little Rock barber who founded People Trust – a CDFI – in 2008 to address the lack of banking services in his neighborhood (ofn.org). Using money from his own paycheck to start the fund, Arlo began issuing small loans to low-income neighbors and fellow entrepreneurs who would otherwise have to turn to payday lenders (ofn.org; encyclopediaofarkansas.net). Thanks to the CDFI program’s support, People Trust grew into the first Black-owned community development credit union in Arkansas. It brought affordable loans and financial education to a Black neighborhood of 30,000 residents that previously did not have a single bank – while a nearby predominantly white town of just 8,000 people had fourteen banks (ofn.org).

Launched from a humble barbershop, People Trust has since provided millions of dollars in financing to help local residents buy homes or start small businesses. The Barber of Little Rock vividly shows how one determined individual – backed by the CDFI program – can ignite economic opportunity in an underinvested community (ofn.org). This success story demonstrates the powerful ripple effect CDFIs have: creating jobs, supporting minority-owned businesses, and instilling hope in areas long overlooked by traditional finance.

Please watch this video, and you will never have to ask yourself again what is the impact of a CDFI in a community.

WATCH VIDEO

DCUC’s Advocacy to Preserve CDFI Funding

DCUC is fighting vigorously to ensure the survival of the CDFI program in the face of this policy threat.

In the wake of President Trump’s March 14 executive order – which explicitly labeled the CDFI Fund “unnecessary,” mandating its elimination “to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” (dcuc.org) – we have intensified our advocacy on Capitol Hill and with regulators.

DCUC has shared its concerns with the U.S. Treasury and Congress, detailing how eliminating CDFI support would harm military families and vulnerable communities (dcuc.org). For decades, CDFI grants have enabled credit unions to open branches in underserved areas, provide emergency small-dollar loans, and invest in local economic growth – all efforts are now in jeopardy if this funding is cut.

We continue to work closely with lawmakers, the Treasury Department, and industry partners to block any rollback of the CDFI Fund and to reinforce the program’s importance at every turn.

Urgent Call to Support and Protect CDFIs

This is a pivotal moment for the CDFI program and the communities it serves. If funding is slashed, the consequences will be dire: small businesses will lose critical financing, families will be driven back toward predatory lenders, and entire neighborhoods could be starved of investment. We cannot allow that to happen.

CDFIs have always garnered broad bipartisan support. DCUC was appreciative to see Treasury Secretary Bessent's recent statement to lawmakers that the presence of CDFIs in underserved communities is “very important” to the strength of the U.S. economy (cdfi.org).

Now is the time to come together to protect CDFI funding and ensure this program continues to uplift lives and drive economic opportunity where it’s needed most. DCUC stands ready to work with you to safeguard this vital lifeline today and for future generations.

Should you or your office have any questions or desire additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202.557.8528 or by email at jstverak@dcuc.org.

Sincerely,

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