Morgan Stanley Awards $21.7 Million to Option Finance Community to Assist Equitable Recovery in Underserved Communities and Bolster the CDFI Sector

NEW YORK–(Small business WIRE)–Right now, Morgan Stanley and Chance Finance Community (OFN) announced that Morgan Stanley has awarded $21.7 million in funding to assistance human funds and experienced growth for the Neighborhood Enhancement Economical Establishment (CDFI) network, and to make move-through grants to CDFIs. OFN will make pass-via grants in amounts of $100,000 – $250,000 to eligible CDFIs with a lot less than $25 million in assets. These grants are developed to aid CDFIs improve their lending capability to the communities they provide. Mission-pushed CDFI grant recipients will help economic restoration and development, particularly in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and rural communities.

“We go on to combat for compact corporations, nonprofits and neighborhood-based mostly organizations that have been hit hardest by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and for communities that are battling towards persistent poverty and racial inequality,” reported Lisa Mensah, President and CEO of OFN. “Through the potent mixture of grant and debt capital, as very well as investments in human capital made achievable with help from associates like Morgan Stanley, CDFIs are equipped to catalyze systemic change throughout underinvested communities in our nation that have been still left driving for considerably way too long.”

CDFIs are non-public economic establishments that deliver reasonable, transparent financing and economic education and learning to people today and communities underserved by mainstream economic establishments. There are additional than 1,200 CDFIs operating in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. OFN’s extra than 340 associates provide 60% individuals of coloration, 84% low-profits and 28% rural communities, and 50% girls (OFN Yearly Member Study, 2019). Nationwide, the CDFI business manages a lot more than $222 billion.

“Morgan Stanley shares OFN’s deep dedication to supporting group-based loan providers nationwide, especially the smaller CDFIs that are key to revitalizing and stabilizing the communities and neighborhoods they serve,” claimed Joy Hoffmann, Executive Director, Group Progress Finance at Morgan Stanley. “This new funding builds on Morgan Stanley’s multi-year motivation of supporting CDFI networks and minority-depository establishments.”

This grant from Morgan Stanley is a sturdy enhance to OFN’s priorities and ongoing perform, such as by way of its Finance Justice Fund to assist CDFIs speed up their effect throughout Black, Latinx, rural, Native and other high poverty communities. Released in November 2020, the Finance Justice Fund aims to raise $1 billion in money to finance approximately $420 million for small enterprises, $420 million for economical housing, $70 million for consumer and other financial aid, and $90 million for community amenities.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a major world-wide monetary companies firm delivering investment decision banking, securities, financial investment administration and prosperity administration expert services. With places of work in extra than 41 countries, the Firm’s staff members serve customers worldwide together with firms, governments, institutions and people today. For more information and facts about Morgan Stanley, you should stop by www.morganstanley.com.

About OFN

Possibility Finance Community, the national network of CDFIs, strives to guarantee very low-cash flow and other underneath-resourced communities have access to cost-effective, accountable monetary merchandise and solutions. Users of OFN are CDFIs that provide responsible lending to help reduced-profits communities join the economic mainstream. Via 2019, OFN’s network originated $82.7 billion in financing in rural, city and Native communities. This funding has assisted to create or sustain additional than 1,751,000 positions, commence or grow 448,541 corporations and microenterprises, and aid the progress or rehabilitation of far more than 2,148,000 housing units and far more than 12,000 community facility jobs.