Printer Friendly Version

Wachovia NEXT Award Finalist

Community First Fund was honored this past December as a finalist in the prestigious Wachovia NEXT Awards through the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN).  This is the second year that Community First has been considered for the top prize of $2.75 million.  Last year, the organization was a semi-finalist. 

Opportunity Finance’s mission is to provide capital and financial services that benefit low-income and low-wealth people – building homes, schools, small businesses, and community facilities.  Community First is one of more than 700 Community Development Financial Institutions included in OFN, and is proud to have been so highly regarded amongst peers for two years running.  

Community First has already begun to see benefits from the honor.   The national platform has prompted Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) funds to take notice of Community First, such as Calvert Fund’s investment of $400,000 and DCED-BOF’s investment of $500,000.   Community First Fund is an excellent choice for SRI’s since it is able to fulfill the elusive double bottom line by insuring both a return on money and direct community involvement and improvement. 

Good to Great: Dan Betancourt on Jim Collins

While in Albuquerque, I was fortunate enough to meet and dine with the OFN keynote speaker Jim Collins, author of Good to Great.  Jim’s work is based on the premise that great organizations are rare. 

“A great organization is one that makes a distinctive impact and delivers superior performance over a long period of time. For a business, performance principally means financial results, specifically return on invested capital. For a social sector organization, on the other hand, performance must be assessed first and foremost relative to the organization’s mission, not its financial results.” 

For me, the meeting reinforced Community First Fund’s core values of commitment –to superior customer for our clients and permanence –to ensure sustainability of our services.  What also struck me about our conversation was Jim’s encouragement to continually assess our organization and employees and to plan long range for greatness.

Community First Fund makes ‘The List’

Community First Fund was recently named to the list of local Small Business Administration (SBA) lenders released by the Central Penn Business Journal.  The list includes a wide range of local and national banks, including Wachovia, Sovereign, and Fulton Bank.  SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government. Their goal is to help Americans start, build, and grow small businesses. They are dedicated to protecting the interest of small businesses as well as strengthen our nation’s economy.

Community First Fund has partnered with SBA to offer a 7(a) loan guarantee package, one of only six non-banks nationwide apart of the program.  This partnership has benefited local clients such as Chestnut Hill Café, Color Me Mine, and others.  Community First President and CEO, Dan Betancourt, is an advocate for the SBA Microloan Program.  When testifying before Congress for preservation of the program, Dan said; “It is a cost-effective program that has been very successful at creating and retaining jobs in communities throughout the country.”

See the Return on the ‘Ripple Effect’

Seeing the return is not always easy, especially in the midst of a bleak economy. Despite challenges, Community First Fund has preserved its strong financial position during fiscal year 2008.  We believe in organizational and fiscal transparency and invite you to view our Annual Report and see the impact your contributions have made over the last year.   View the 2008 Annual Report