How Connections Drive Change

For over 40 years, Reinvestment Fund has helped communities by keeping an ear close to the ground, making sure that there is two-way communication between the organization and the communities we serve. Much of this is possible with the support of Reinvestment Fund’s Community Advisory Board (CAB), a group of local community stakeholders and leaders who work to shape and oversee how funds are invested, ensuring the plan is effective and equitable and who don’t shy away from making their voices heard.

Mike Davis, CEO of Purpose Built Schools Atlanta, has been a member of the CAB for about seven years.

“Literally my first week on the job I was working with Reinvestment Fund. The more I learned about their work, the more inspired I was. Learning about Reinvestment Fund opened up this whole new world for me,” said Davis.

At the time, the Policy Solutions team was helping to create a childcare access map for the city of Atlanta and Davis noticed how Reinvestment Fund’s involvement did not end with a bridge loan for his group’s newest early learning center—but that the organization was working to provide a comprehensive solution to community redevelopment.

“What you realize in working in education is that schools often have to solve issues that go beyond the school walls and the classrooms. There are often things in communities that act as barriers to education and barriers to learning,” explains Davis.

So when Reinvestment Fund asked him to join the Community Advisory Board, it wasn’t a tough sell. Davis understood instinctively the value of this approach.

“Having lived in a marginalized community, growing up in a low-income community, I’ve seen what that looks like when community voice isn’t valued or lifted up,” he says.

David Kahley is also a CAB member and became involved with Reinvestment Fund more than 25 years ago. His organization, The Progress Fund, a CDFI launched in Greensburg, PA, in 1997, serves the small towns and rural communities southeast of Pittsburgh. When Reinvestment Fund began facilitating New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs), a federal program that provides tax incentives to encourage private investment in low-income communities, the organization was required to establish a community advisory board in order to qualify; Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund, reached out to Kahley and asked for his help.

“I have watched the organization grow from the very beginning, just in Pennsylvania to across the country,” recalls Kahley. “From my involvement on the CAB I could see what Reinvestment Fund was doing and the kind of investments they were making. That provided my CDFI and me a window on a bigger world of what was going on in the community.”

That learning went both ways.

“Don would call me and ask ‘Hey Dave what do you know about this project in Pittsburgh?’” explains Kahley. “We were able to provide local, first-hand insight and on-the-ground knowledge that was essential to successfully finance some of these projects.”

Davis goes on to explain, “If you look at it through a historical lens, a lot of these communities were communities that were overlooked or not invested in. Or, candidly, they were often on the receiving end of well-intentioned initiatives, but not really involved in the decision making. So the idea that we’re going to actually listen to community members before doing anything in the community, to me, it just makes more sense. It’s a respect factor, right? Folks actually know what they need and what they want.”

The role and impact of CAB has continued to evolve over the years

“While Community Advisory Boards are a regulatory requirement under New Markets Tax Credit guidelines, Reinvestment Fund has always seen ours as much more than a compliance measure,” says Reema Fakih, Managing Director of National Lending at Reinvestment Fund. “We wanted meaningful insight—not just to meet the letter of the regulation, but to truly inform how and where we invest.”

“The process has grown better through time,” says Kahley. “I think about seven or eight years ago, I asked, ‘What am I supposed to do? What do you want to hear from me? How do I contribute?’ It’s imperative that organizations make sure that the people asked to serve know what they’re doing. It’s not just showing up. People voice their opinions.”

“Within the CAB, we were encouraged to make sure that we’re sharing input and pushing back. The staff are open to that feedback,” adds Davis.

This dialogue is only going to become more vital as an atmosphere of uncertainty challenges communities, small businesses, and nonprofits. For some perspective, it’s important to remember why organizations like Reinvestment Fund were created in the first place.

“CDFI’s like Reinvestment Fund were created because banks were redlining and they weren’t providing funds or loans to underserved communities,” explains Kahley.

“Banking for the unbankable,” adds Davis.

“Fifty years from now, Reinvestment Fund will still be around trying to help the unbankable because there are always people falling through the cracks. The need will not go away,” states Kahley.

“We’re committed to connecting people to capital that supports opportunities for progress,” says Fakih, “the perspectives we gain from our CAB shapes our national lending strategy, ensuring our capital goes where it’s needed most—guided by people with deep knowledge of their communities.”