President and CEO Daniel Betancourt appointed Chair of Federal Reserve Board Community Advisory Council

Lancaster, PA – The Federal Reserve Board announced the appointment of Daniel Betancourt, President and CEO of Community First Fund, as the Chair of the Federal Reserve Board’s Community Advisory Council (CAC).  Betancourt was appointed to the CAC in 2020 and most recently served as the council’s Vice Chair.  The board also selected four new members to serve three-year terms.

Since its inception in 2015, the CAC continues to bring together diverse perspectives on the economic circumstances and financial services needs of consumers and communities, with a particular focus on the concerns of low- and moderate-income populations.  Members of the CAC include experts and representatives of consumer, workforce, and community development organizations.

Betancourt has served as President and CEO of Community First Fund since 1999.  Under his leadership, Community First Fund has grown into a revered regional Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), attracting multi-million-dollar investments with nearly $230 million under management.  In 2022, Community First Fund launched its federally chartered credit union for which Betancourt also serves as President and CEO.

With more than 30 years of experience in small business and economic development lending, Betancourt’s leadership extends beyond the Community First Fund Family of Companies.  He is a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s President’s Council.  He serves on the board of directors for the Expanding Black Business Credit Initiative, Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Impact Services of Philadelphia, and Elizabethtown College.  As Chair of the Pennsylvania CDFI Network, Betancourt’s leadership was instrumental in the development of the COVID-19 Relief Pennsylvania Statewide Small Business Assistance program.

You can read the Federal Reserve’s press release about the announcement here.

Community First Fund Receives $2.25 Million Grant From Truist Foundation

Philadelphia, PA – Truist Foundation today announced a $2.25 million commitment to Community First Fund, a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), dedicated to aligning capital with social justice for low-income communities and low-wealth individuals. The grant will help launch Community First Fund’s Economic Justice Fund (EJFund) that will support lending activities to Black and Latine entrepreneurs across Community First Fund’s service footprint in Eastern and Central Pennsylvania, including in the greater Philadelphia region.

Truist Chairman and CEO, Bill Rogers and President of Truist Foundation, Lynette Bell joined Community First Fund’s Senior Executive Vice President, Joan M. Brodhead, Chair, Board of Directors, Jonathan Bowser, and Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer Dragan Dodik, to formally announce the grant and discuss the future of Community First Fund’s EJFund. Community First Fund is embarking on a campaign to grow this fund to $50 million over the next five years.

“The Truist Foundation supports intermediaries which provide capital at favorable rates and terms for small business owners and individuals in historically excluded communities,” said Lynette Bell. “The work of Community First Fund provides essential financial and technical assistance to help diverse entrepreneurs scale their businesses across Greater Philadelphia.”

The $2.25 million grant is part of Truist’s recent $120 million commitment to strengthen and support small businesses nationally, with a focus on women and diverse business owners. Community First Fund’s work to create financial equity through wealth building opportunities for individuals, families, and business owners, especially Black and Latine individuals, women, and immigrants embodies Truist’s commitment to these communities.

The work of Community First Fund is centered around creating sustainable prosperity for low-wealth communities and individuals by providing loans and investments to small businesses, and real estate financing to non-profit developers and entrepreneurs for commercial and affordable housing projects.

“The Truist Foundation grant of $2.25 million helps us close the opportunity gap for small business owners and entrepreneurs to start, grow and expand their businesses, create jobs, advance economic mobility and increase financial stability in their community,” said Community First Fund President and CEO, Daniel Betancourt.

Truist’s commitment to Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia region goes beyond its partnership with Community First Fund; Truist contributed over half a million dollars in grants while its employees completed 4,434 volunteer hours in the Philadelphia region in 2021.

“This grant and partnership with Community First Fund underscores our commitment to supporting entrepreneurs throughout Pennsylvania,” said Travis Rhodes, Delaware Valley and Lehigh Valley regional president for Truist. “Small businesses are the bedrock of Philadelphia’s economy, and the work of Community First Fund is creating opportunities for more individuals while supporting employees, families and neighborhoods throughout the greater Philadelphia region.”

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About Truist Foundation

The Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. The Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at Truist.com/Purpose/Truist-Foundation.

About Community First Fund

Community First Fund is a private, independent non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) whose mission is to provide capital in places where it is not usually available. We seek to create positive change in the community by providing entrepreneurs, commercial real estate and affordable housing developers as well as nonprofits with access to loans for projects that generate jobs, create housing opportunities, essential community facilities, and that help to revitalize communities. www.communityfirstfund.org

Wells Fargo Announces $8.35 Million in New Relief Aid to Help Pennsylvania Small Businesses Impacted by Covid-19 and Civil Unrest

Philadelphia (April 29, 2021) – Wells Fargo has selected Community First Fund, The Enterprise Center, Entrepreneur Works, The Reinvestment Fund, and Women’s Opportunity Resource Center  to receive grants from its Open for Business Fund (OFB), a nationwide small business recovery effort. The $8.35 million in new funding to these organizations will help underserved small businesses stay open, preserve jobs through short- and long-term COVID-19 resiliency efforts, and support businesses impacted by the civil unrest that took place last summer. The grants were announced today at a small business roundtable in Philadelphia hosted by Wells Fargo and The Hill.

With this announcement, Wells Fargo has committed a total of $10.85 million in 2021 to organizations serving small businesses in Pennsylvania, with the majority of funding going to organizations that serve small businesses in the City of Philadelphia.

Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund is as an approximately $420 million small business recovery effort across the U.S. to help entrepreneurs recover and rebuild. The initiative focuses on increasing access to capital, technical expertise, and long-term resiliency programs especially for racially and ethnically diverse small business owners who have been hard hit by COVID-19. Through March 31, the fund is already projected to reach 22,000 small businesses helping entrepreneurs keep roughly 66,000 jobs.

“Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund is another avenue of support and enlists the expertise of our CDFI partners to urgently help diverse entrepreneurs recover and preserve the jobs they provide in their communities,” said Stephen Briggs, vice president of Social Impact and Sustainability. “The funding will provide much needed access to capital with increased equity in resources and technical assistance for local businesses who are the backbone of our local economies and neighborhoods.”

“We are incredibly fortunate to receive this generous donation from Wells Fargo, which will allow us to provide small businesses in our region with much-needed financing to help them recover and rebuild,” said Daniel Betancourt, President and CEO of Community First Fund. “This partnership with Wells Fargo will drive our efforts to support local entrepreneurs and help our communities bounce back from the pandemic.”

Community First will be using the award from Wells Fargo to launch their new “Rebuilding Communities Loan Fund”. This program will initially target existing small business clients that incurred losses during the pandemic. These struggling entrepreneurs will now have access to low cost capital to rebuild their businesses. Lending efforts will be focused on businesses that add to the vibrancy of their communities such as restaurants, retail stores, childcare centers, barbershops/salons, grocery stores, and bodegas.

“We at The Enterprise Center believe in leading equitable economic growth by investing in minority entrepreneurs and distressed communities,” said Ian Lawrence, Senior Director at The Enterprise Center. “Thanks to Wells Fargo’s generous support, we will create a new model for community development that is grounded in our existing commercial corridor revitalization strategy, igniting further investment in Black and brown business owners.”

“We are delighted to partner with Wells Fargo to invest in our local small businesses, who have been especially hard hit this past year by COVID-19 and the economic crisis that ensued,” said Leslie Benoliel, president and CEO of Entrepreneur Works. “We are grateful for this award, which provides funding for Entrepreneur Works to launch a new flexible, low-cost financial product that small businesses can use to jumpstart their businesses as the economy rebounds. This new opportunity strengthens our commitment to channel more resources to struggling neighborhood businesses and drive a more equitable economic recovery in the Philadelphia region.”

Entrepreneur Works is using the Wells Fargo Open for Business grant award to launch a new financial product that small businesses can use to jumpstart their businesses as the economy recovers. This new loan product, called the “Rebound Loan”, will provide low cost, flexible capital to small businesses for costs associated with reopening and rebuilding, and to refinance high interest debt incurred because of COVID-19.  Half the loan will be forgiven upon the borrower’s meeting certain repayment and reporting conditions, thus giving the business owner the opportunity to increase equity in their business and enhance longer term sustainability. Entrepreneur Works will prioritize providing capital to Black-owned businesses that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

“We applaud Wells Fargo for its partnership with CDFIs to support small businesses as they recover and stabilize,” said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. “For Reinvestment Fund, this award will be critical to extending the reach of stabilization programs in Philadelphia and New Jersey that are supporting businesses and nonprofits providing early care and education, food assistance, and food retail to communities in need. Many of these businesses are owned by women and/or people of color and these funds will help these entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses and provide much needed essential goods and services to their communities.”

“It’s an honor for the Women’s Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) to be selected to partner with Wells Fargo in its Open for Business Initiative,” says Lynne Cutler, Founder and President of WORC. “This funding enables us to provide direct grants and low-cost loans to help Philadelphia area businesses recover from the pandemic and address some of the social and economic disparities that they have experienced.”

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About Community First Fund

Community First Fund is certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) serving the low-income communities of central and eastern Pennsylvania. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization provides loan capital to businesses, real estate developers, and community support organizations throughout the region. Since 1992, Community First has made more than 5,600 loans, grants and investments totaling over $355 million to businesses, affordable housing and community-based developers, and community-based programs and initiatives. To learn more about Community First Fund visit www.communityfirstfund.org.

 About The Enterprise Center

The Enterprise Center has a rich and diverse practice supporting minority entrepreneurs and under-resourced communities spanning more than three decades. Clients and partners trust The

Enterprise Center to advise and deliver on transformative economic development connected to minority business growth cycles and community wealth-building initiatives. Learn more about The Enterprise Center here.

About Entrepreneur Works

Entrepreneur Works is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating pathways of opportunity for talented, yet underserved entrepreneurs. Across the Philadelphia region, Entrepreneur Works’ clients start and grow small businesses, create jobs for themselves and their communities, and strengthen the local economy. Entrepreneur Works offers access to affordable loans, business training, and one-on-one guidance to hundreds of entrepreneurs each year, empowering small business owners from all walks of life to prosper and build sustainable communities. As a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Entrepreneur Works offers up to $50,000 in flexible lending capital to entrepreneurs, who are ineligible for traditional financing, so that they can launch or expand their businesses, while providing them with the opportunity to build personal and business wealth. Since 1998, Entrepreneur Works has served more than 6,000 clients, advanced 488 loans, and invested more than $2.1 million into neighborhood businesses. Over 80% of Entrepreneur Works’ clients identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) (primarily African American), over 66% reside in low to moderate income (LMI) households, and over 60% are women. Visit www.myentrepreneurworks.org to learn more.

 About the Reinvestment Fund

Reinvestment Fund is a mission-driven financial institution committed to making communities work for all people. We bring financial and analytical tools to partnerships that work to ensure that everyone has access to essential opportunities: affordable places to live, access to nutritious food and health care, schools where their children can flourish, and strong, local businesses that support jobs. We use data to understand markets, communities, and impediments to opportunity—and how investment and policy decisions can have the most powerful impact. Since our inception in 1985, Reinvestment Fund has provided over $2.4 billion in financing to strengthen neighborhoods, scale social enterprises, and build resilient communities. Learn more at reinvestment.com.

About the Women’s Opportunity Resource Center

Founded in 1993, Women’s Opportunities Resource Center (WORC) promotes social and economic self-sufficiency for disadvantaged individuals—primarily women—through self-employment training, savings programs, and access to business and financial resources. WORC’s innovative self-help strategies empower individuals to permanently break out of the cycle of dependency, in turn combating entrenched poverty in underserved communities.

WORC is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and an SBA Microlender. WORC won the 2001 Presidential Award for Excellence in Microenterprise Development – Poverty Alleviation, and the 2019 Greater Philadelphia Social Innovation Award for Small Business Development. WORC’s subsidiary, the Economic Opportunities Fund (EOF), is also a certified CDFI that provides financial services to low-income underserved populations with a focus on women, African-Americans, and immigrants/refugees in the 5-County Greater Philadelphia area.

For over 25 years, WORC has enabled low-income families to achieve financial self-sufficiency. We are the only agency in the region to focus on building not just income but assets & wealth. We achieve this by integrating programs in three major areas -business lending, self-employment training & incentive saving into an overall asset-building approach. Since our founding we have distributed nearly 1,000 business loans totaling over $6 million for business startup, expansion, or commercial real estate acquisition; trained close to 4,000 low-income, underemployed, dislocated, and mature workers how to start and run a business; and enabled over 1,600 families to save $3.5 million and receive match of $3.4 million toward purchase of first home, education, or business launch. In spring of 2020 WORC was approved as an administrator of the SBA Paycheck Protection Program, through which it has already disbursed 82 loans totaling $962K enabling microenterprises to sustain themselves through the COVID-19 crisis. 

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo is a community-based financial services company. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,200 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com). Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Community First Fund Receives $10 Million Donation from Philanthropist Mackenzie Scott

Lancaster, PA – Community First Fund is pleased to announce that they have received a $10 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to support their transformative work in the areas of racial equity and economic mobility. Scott and her team of advisors selected the community development financial institution (CDFI) based on their nearly thirty-year track record of providing access to capital, technical assistance, and vital resources to historically-disadvantaged business owners throughout central and eastern Pennsylvania.

Over the past four months, Scott has given $4,158,500,000 in gifts to 384 organizations across the US in her effort to call attention to the organizations and leaders driving change. Per her post on medium.com, she reveals that, “they took a data-driven approach to identifying organizations with strong leadership teams and results, with special attention to those operating in communities facing high projected food insecurity, high measures of racial inequity, high local poverty rates, and low access to philanthropic capital.”

“We are incredibly fortunate to receive this generous contribution from MacKenzie, which will allow us to expand our impact in the communities we serve,” said Daniel Betancourt, President and CEO of Community First Fund. “This gift will allow Community First to advance our mission of creating financial equity through wealth building opportunities for individuals, families, and business owners, especially Persons of Color, women, and immigrants.”

Community First will use these unrestricted grant dollars for programs and initiatives that will have a long-term impact on the communities they serve, including:

• Launch of Community First Fund’s Center for Racial and Economic Equality: This new center, focused on policy and advocacy, will address improving economic outcomes for those with the fewest opportunities for economic equality. A portion of the grant will be allocated to support the center’s operational and staffing needs.
• Launch of proposed Community First Fund Federal Credit Union: At this time, with federal charter approval pending, plans are being finalized to launch a low-income designated Federal Credit Union based in downtown Lancaster. This new credit union will offer a variety of consumer products including consumer savings and checking accounts, personal loans and home mortgages, and home equity loans. A portion of the grant will be allocated to support the credit union’s operational and staffing needs.
• Launch of Economic Justice Fund: This newly created loan fund will be used to provide financing to small businesses facing economic and social injustice, specifically those owned by people of color and located in low-income communities. A portion of the grant will be allocated to help reach the $50 million goal for this dedicated fund.
• Support of Loan Fund and Ongoing Operations: A portion of the grant will be allocated to build the general loan fund, cover operational costs, and hire additional staffing to help meet the growing demand for their services.

Community First Fund provides the financial and human resources necessary to help low-income communities and people, especially people of color, create economic opportunity for themselves, their families, and their communities. Their staff is comprised of 53 dedicated team members spread among six offices in Pennsylvania including, Lancaster, Philadelphia, York, Reading, Harrisburg and Allentown. Together they work to increase development of affordable and market rate housing units, turn blighted and vacant buildings into community assets, create educational opportunities for children, youth and adults, enhance access to food and healthcare resources, and provide financing for small businesses to start and grow.

Since 1992, Community First Fund has made more than 5,300 loans and investments totaling over $345 million to businesses, affordable housing and community based developers, and community focused nonprofit organizations. These loans resulted in the creation or retention of 19,348 jobs, with 67% of the loans going to businesses owned by people of color and 40% to women-owned small businesses.

President & CEO Daniel Betancourt Tapped for Federal Reserve Board Community Advisory Council

Lancaster, PA (December 17, 2020) – Community First Fund is pleased to announce that the organization’s long-time leader, President and CEO Daniel Betancourt, has been selected to serve on the Federal Reserve Board’s Community Advisory Council (CAC). Betancourt is one of five new members selected to serve on the 15-member CAC and will serve a three-year term.

Formed by the Federal Reserve Board in 2015, the CAC’s role is to offer diverse perspectives on the economic circumstances and financial services needs of consumers and communities, with a particular focus on the concerns of low- and moderate-income populations. The CAC is composed of a diverse group of experts and representatives of consumer, workforce, and community development organizations and interests, including from such fields as affordable housing, economic development, labor, small business, and asset and wealth building.

Betancourt has served as President & CEO of Community First Fund for 22 years. Under his leadership, the organization has grown from $1MM to $200MM in capital under management. He developed strategies that have been instrumental in geographic expansion and product growth, resulting in increased lending activity and impact in their 20-county footprint.

As an advocate for funding for small businesses, Betancourt has testified before both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House Small Business Committees and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Greater Philadelphia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Partners for the Common Good, and Santander Community Advisory Board. He also serves on the NMTC Advisory Board for the Reinvestment Fund and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President’s Advisory Council.

You can read the Federal Reserve’s press release about the announcement here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20201217a.htm

Community First Fund Receives $5 Million“ Grow with Google Small Business Fund” Loan to Help Small Businesses Recover from COVID-19

(Lancaster, PA): Community First Fund announced today it has received a Grow with Google Small Business Fund loan from Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). The community development financial institution (CDFI) will deploy the investment via loans to small businesses, specifically those owned by people of color and women, in central and eastern Pennsylvania hurt by the economic impact of COVID-19.

Community First Fund provides the financial and human resources necessary to help low-income communities and people, especially people of color, create economic opportunity for themselves, their families, and their communities. Since 1992, the nonprofit’s lending efforts have resulted in the creation or retention of 13,326 jobs with 58% of loans provided to businesses owned by people of color and 40% to women-owned small businesses.

Launched in March, the Grow with Google Small Business Fund delivers financing to CDFIs that are supporting the short-term recovery and long-term financing needs of America’s small businesses hardest hit by COVID-19. At the same time, Google.org made a $5 million grant to OFN to enable OFN’s member CDFIs to improve access to capital for the most marginalized communities. The unrestricted grants can support operations, loan capital, loan loss reserve, capacity building, or any other purpose. On June 17, 2020, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced an additional $45 million in loans for the Fund to assist Black-owned small businesses and $5 million more in Google.org grants. In total, Google has now committed $170 million in loans and $10 million in Google.org grants.

“We are incredibly fortunate to receive this loan from Google, which will allow us to continue providing small businesses in Pennsylvania with much-needed financing to help them survive the pandemic,” said Daniel Betancourt, President and CEO of Community First Fund. “The partnership between Google and OFN is very exciting and means great things for the future of the CDFI industry.

CDFIs are lenders with a mission to serve small businesses underserved by mainstream finance and a proven model for moving capital into the hardest to serve communities. Community First Fund is one of the most recent CDFIs to receive a loan from the Fund since June. See a full list of loan recipients here.

Community First Fund Announces New Senior Vice President & CFO

Anthony T. Pappion

Lancaster, PA (June 11, 2020) – Community First Fund is pleased to announce the appointment of Anthony Pappion, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Anthony will oversee the strategic positioning of finances, liquidity, capital management, investments, asset liability management, and information management.  He also leads the financial analysis and reporting, planning and budgeting, financial forecasting, and investor compliance.

Anthony, a resident of York, PA, has over 15 years of experience in financial management and banking. Prior to joining Community First, he most recently served as Senior Vice President and Treasurer at CFG Bank. Prior to CFG Bank, he was a Senior Managing Consultant with The PFM Group and held various financial roles at both Susquehanna Bank and Fulton Bank.

Anthony holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He currently serves as a board member, and previously served as board president, for Typical Life Corporation.
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Community First Fund Announces Merger with Philadelphia-based CDFI FINANTA

(Lancaster, PA): Two regional community development financial institutions (“CDFIs”) serving Philadelphia and the surrounding region have announced their intent to merge later this year. Effective July 1, 2020, Community First Fund (“Community First”) and FINANTA will be joining forces as one, larger entity that will allow them to have a greater impact and drive change in the communities they both serve.

When considering the merger, both organizations focused on their shared mission and strong cultural fit. Community First Fund and FINANTA have worked as peer organizations providing capital access to people who are overlooked by mainstream financial providers in the region. The people they serve are hardworking entrepreneurs – predominately first- and second-generation Latino, African and Asian immigrants, and African Americans who need financial counseling and business loans. The majority of their borrowers live and work in some of the most economically challenged communities in the nation, facing high poverty and unemployment rates.

Moving forward, the combined organization will continue to offer all of their financing products and technical assistance programs in a 20-county region in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. To ensure continuity in the market, Community First Fund will continue to operate and expand the FINANTA Microlending Program and all other products offered by both CDFIs.  All existing FINANTA and Community First employees will retain their positions and all existing offices will remain open.  Once fully integrated, Community First anticipates $101 million in total assets and $129 million in assets by 2024.

The recommendation for the merger of Community First and FINANTA was reviewed at a joint board meeting on April 3, 2020 including Community First Fund’s David Schankweiler, Chair, and Daniel Betancourt, President and CEO, plus FINANTA’s Chair, Allen C. Lamboy, and Luis Mora, President. Subsequently, the board of directors for both entities approved, effective July 1, 2020, that two organizations will operate under the name of Community First Fund with Daniel Betancourt as its President and CEO. Timing of the integration allows for a smooth transition, as Luis Mora, founder and president of FINANTA, will be retiring on June 30 after 24 years of leading that organization.

“It has been a pleasure to have worked with Dan and both board of directors, especially Lenin Agudo, Jonathan Encarnacion, Marilyn Hedge and Lawrence McComie to bring this integration to fruition. I know that together, we are stronger and more capable to facilitate broader technical assistance services and financial products to the communities we love and strive to better serve, and where our resources are most needed,” said Mora.

Betancourt and Mora began sharing their CDFIs’ unique synergies and plans for future growth and expansion over three years ago. Their passions for economic equality and advocacy for low-income minorities and immigrants are evident throughout the history of their organizations.

In 2018, Community First and FINANTA solidified their collaboration through the newly formed Kensington Lending Partnership. As the shared worked evolved, it became evident that by deepening the collaboration, they could significantly strengthen the services and loan products they offer in the market, and substantially expand the number of people served yearly.

“Working with FINANTA as a partner in Philadelphia has made it clear we can achieve much more in the market when we join forces,” said Daniel Betancourt, president and CEO of Community First Fund. “Together we are stronger, and our combined resources can only increase the number of businesses and nonprofits we can serve in the future.”

Both Community First and FINANTA offer lending products that meet business needs for flexible financing solutions. The array of loan products is complementary since there is significant synergy with little overlap. The combined loan product and technical assistance offerings will allow for a continuum of business support from early to expanding stage.

During the current COVID-19 crisis, both organizations worked together to close nearly 300 SBA Paycheck Protection Program loans totaling $15 million, funneling much-needed dollars to small business owners who could not access the program locally.

“As we watch the economic challenges stemming from COVID-19 unfold, we are deeply committed to helping businesses that historically have been unable to access sufficient capital – small businesses owned by low-income people, people of color and women,”  states Daniel Betancourt, president and CEO of Community First Fund.

As Community First Fund, the integrated organizations will continue to drive their shared mission and deliver services to the newly expanded 20 county region. Future plans may include supporting other low-income communities with similar demographics and needs.

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About Community First Fund

Community First Fund was founded in 1992, with a mission to create sustainable prosperity for low wealth communities and individuals, especially Latino, African Americans and women, by aligning capital, knowledge and advocacy to advance business ownership, housing, and community development in its market.  Over the past 28 years, it has provided over $290 million in financing to more than 1,850 borrowers; over 80% of loans benefitted low and very-low income communities and borrowers, and nearly 60% are made to Latinos and African Americans. Its market includes fifteen counties covering eastern Pennsylvania. It has 40 employees in Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster (headquarters), Philadelphia, Reading, and York.

About FINANTA

FINANTA was founded in 1996 as a nonprofit lending institution facilitating access to capital and consultation services to entrepreneurs, first-time homebuyers, and consumers in the Delaware Valley region. FINANTA creates opportunity for economic self-sufficiency by eliminating the obstacles keeping the financially underserved constituencies from accessing the capital and credit building support they need to advance. In the past 24 years, FINANTA has provided over $67 million in loans to more than 2,800 borrowers, with 92% of loans extended to minorities and 95% to lower income people. Its market includes eleven counties covering Delaware, the Greater Philadelphia area, and Southern Jersey. Headquartered in Philadelphia’s lower Kensington, it has 18 employees.

Community First Fund’s Response to COVID-19

Dear Friends,

As you are well aware, our communities, country and the world are facing a challenging time. I want to share with you how Community First Fund is responding to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak that is impacting our region. We have made some changes in our office operations in an effort to keep our staff, partners and clients safe while maintaining business operations.

Beginning Monday, March 16th, and until further notice, Community First Fund will transition to a remote work arrangement for most of our staff. We have the technology and tools in place that enable our employees to work outside of the office. As a result, we have the full capability to keep business operations running smoothly.

At this time we have cancelled all Community First Fund events scheduled through March 31st. Additionally, to maintain safe social distancing, we will be using video and audio conferencing technology to conduct meetings. Please do not visit any of our offices without contacting us in advance.

Community First Fund business operations will continue as usual during our normal workweek hours. Our entire staff is available to you via email or phone, as normal. Rest assured, every member of our team is focused on providing quality service to our clients and partners.

We will continue to monitor this evolving situation and inform you of any additional changes we implement to insure the safety of our employees and the communities we serve. We will also share any updates through our website at communtyfirstfund.org and social media outlets (Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.)

Thank you for your understanding during this challenging time. Should you have any questions or need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact any Community First Fund team member.

Daniel Betancourt
President and Chief Executive Officer

Community First Fund Awarded $3 Million Grant from Wells Fargo Foundation to Spark Small Business Growth and Job Creation

Philadelphia, PA, February 26, 2020 – To accelerate the growth of diverse small businesses and job creation in Philadelphia, the Wells Fargo Foundation is investing $3 million with Community First Fund. As part of its Diverse Community Capital program, Wells Fargo will fund the expansion of Community First Fund’s investment in North Philadelphia’s diverse owned small businesses community to help sustain more than 350 local jobs and bolster local neighborhoods.

“Empowering small businesses is a direct and impactful way to stimulate job growth,” said Diverse Community Capital Program Manager Connie Smith. “Community First Fund is an expert at identifying and coaching diverse small business owners who are ready to learn how to take their business to the next level. Collaborating locally helps us strengthen the small business ecosystem, which in turn, builds job opportunities and a deeper sense of community.”

“With this partnership, we will be able to reach diverse entrepreneurs in the city of Philadelphia, “ said Daniel Betancourt, President & CEO of Community First Fund. “We expect to provide financing and technical assistance to nearly 100 small business owners, who often struggle to obtain traditional financing. These loans will improve the lives of their families and the neighborhoods they call home and will also create thriving jobs that are critical to building healthy and vibrant communities.”

Community First Fund, which has been lending throughout the Greater Pennsylvania market since 1992 recently expanded its work to the Kensington neighborhood of north Philadelphia. Through a now $13.4 million loan fund the organization will not only provide small business loans to African American and Latino run businesses but also provide technical assistance and business counseling services.

Wells Fargo is bringing additional small business resources to Philadelphia through a collaboration with the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders. Through a historic $10 million grant to NALCAB, The Wells Fargo Foundation is supporting growth-oriented lending to minority-owned businesses nationwide through a network of Latino-led nonprofit business lenders. The new Acceso Loan Fund is designed to help diverse entrepreneurs scale to a greater size expanding their revenue, impact on the economy and ability to provide jobs. A local Philadelphia CDFI has been selected to be an equal share partner in the fund and can refer qualified small businesses for financing and technical assistance starting this month.

Started in 2015, the Wells Fargo Diverse Community Capital program is a five-year, $175 million commitment to empower diverse small businesses in collaboration with Opportunity Finance Network. To date, the program has delivered more than 322,000 hours of technical assistance and $781 million in financing to minority-owned small businesses, enabling more than 103,000 jobs across the U.S.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,400 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 32 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 260,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 29 on Fortune’s2019 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo.

Contact Information
Crystal Dundas, 215-437-2006
crystal.dundas@wellsfargo.com

Ellen Svrcek, 717-869-5433
esvrcek@communityfirstfund.org