How to Use Community Development Financial Institutions for Food & Land Projects

Access to funding is so often a barrier for individuals and communities looking to start food and land-based projects. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are banks and credit unions that specifically focus on making financial resources more accessible to marginalized communities, who are typically excluded from the financial system. CDFIs are commonly used to fund affordable housing projects, small businesses, community centers, and more. If you are looking to start a food or land-based business or community project: community development institutions can be a helpful funding resource.

In this workshop, Financial Planner Marta Haydym-Silver will discuss how to use CDFIs to fund food and land-based projects. This workshop will help demystify the often overwhelming process of finding financial support for new endeavors by shining light on one avenue for funding. Participants will learn how to interact with CDFIs — on one side is the consumer who gets to utilize the resources of the institution that it is applying to, and on the other side is the investor that gets to support various CDFIs through donating or investing. Marta will also discuss the CDFIs located in Maine, so that participants can come away from the workshop with knowledge on how to proceed through local processes.