New York CDFIs Working Together to Create Opportunity
New York CDFIs Working Together to Create Opportunity
On September 30th, BCNA was one of a hundred CDFIs gathered in Al
bany, NY, for a two day conference: CDFIs: Partnering to Build New York State Communities. This annual conference is organized by Melanie Stern, Senior Program Officer, at the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, with around the clock assistance from Jason Chang and Ann Solomon.
I was delighted to participate on a panel discussion titled Immigrant Loans – Pathways to Inclusion, with veteran Linda Levy, CEO of the Lower East Side
People’s Federal Credit Union and Deyanira Del Rio, Co-Director of the New Economy Project. Linda and Deyanira shared information on DREAMer Loans, which provide the application fees to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). I provided an overview of all our loan products and services but also provided details on our credit enhancement and our new Green Taxi Loans.
Our main take away from the conference was the need to be more entrepreneurial, innovate, and partner with other organizations to meet our mission by providing loans, advice, and training to our clients.