BBIF Receives Sixth Financial Assistance Award

ORLANDO, FL – February 28, 2023

BBIF is incredibly grateful to have been selected by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) to receive an award of $560,000! We were among 252 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to receive $194.1 million in Financial Assistance (FA) awards. This generous contribution will help us to substantially increase our lending and investment activities in disadvantaged and distressed neighborhoods and communities.

“This investment from the Fund allows for BBIF to continue its intentional work of funding and developing BIPOC businesses in our region,” said Inez Long, BBIF President/CEO. “With this injection of equity, BBIF’s capacity is enhanced — providing greater access to patient and flexible capital, creating jobs, and empowering underserved communities throughout Florida.”

CDFIs can apply for Financial Assistance (Base-FA) awards of up to $1 million, which can be used for lending capital, loan loss reserves, capital reserves, financial services, and development services. To qualify for Base-FA funding, CDFIs must match the award with funds from a non-federal source in order to sustain and expand their financial products and services. These awards must also help achieve at least one of the FA objectives:

  • Increase volume of products or services
  • Provide new products or services
  • Expand operations into new geographic areas
  • Service new targeted populations

To view the FY 2022 CDFI Program award book, click here.

About BBIF

Created in 1987, BBIF’s mission is to develop and promote Black business enterprises through education, training, loans, investments, and other activities and to aggressively promote an atmosphere conducive to their development. A mission-driven lender, BBIF helps communities and businesses thrive by providing loan capital and specialized financial technical assistance services. BBIF is a CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) and CDE (Community Development Enterprise) certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Community Advantage and Micro Loan lender as certified by U.S. Small Business Administration, Money Smart for Small Business collaborator certified by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and is AERIS rated triple star, A-minus. Since inception, BBIF has provided over 1,100 loans totaling $86.8 million and leveraged $378 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) community investments. BBIF’s investments have helped to create/sustain over 14,000 jobs all while maintaining a historical loan loss rate of 3.5%. Learn more at www.BBIF.com.

About the CDFI Fund

Since its creation in 1994, the CDFI Fund has awarded nearly $5.7 billion to CDFIs, community development organizations, and financial institutions through: the Bank Enterprise Award Program; the Capital Magnet Fund; the CDFI Rapid Response Program; the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, including the Healthy Food Financing Initiative; the Economic Mobility Corps; the Financial Education and Counseling Pilot Program; and the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In addition, the CDFI Fund has allocated $71 billion in tax credit allocation authority to Community Development Entities through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, and closed guaranteed bonds for more than $2.1 billion through the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.

To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, please visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov.

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