Join us for
An Evening with Matthew Desmond, 
Pulitzer Prize Winning Author of “Evicted”
Reception and Book Signing is part of 2023 Statewide Conference in Albany

Matthew Desmond, the Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of Evicted will discuss his latest book, Poverty, by America (Crown, March 21, 2023), as the Keynote Speaker at the NYS Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Coalition’s 2023 Annual Conference.  
 
The Keynote is open to the public and will take place Monday, March 27 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Marriott Albany, 189 Wolf Road, Albany. Tickets for the Keynote, Reception and Book Signing are $40 and one need not be a member of the Coalition to attend. 
 
On March 27-28, 2023, Community Development leaders from across New York State will gather in Albany for the NYS CDFI Coalition Conference – their first in-person convening since 2019. The conference is titled NYS CDFIs: Meeting the Moment. Desmond’s talk is titled “Why Now is the Time to Usher in a New Age of Shared Prosperity.”  
 
Called one of the most anticipated books of 2023, Poverty, by America notes that the United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy – and asks why. Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?  
 
In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit.  
 
Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom. 
 
Matthew Desmond is a professor of sociology at Princeton University. He is the author of four books, including Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016), which won the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Carnegie Medal, and PEN / John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction. The principal investigator of The Eviction Lab, Desmond’s research focuses on poverty in America, city life, housing insecurity, public policy, racial inequality, and ethnography.  
 
The NYS CDFI Coalition represents CDFIs across New York State. CDFIs are community-based specialized lenders that serve low-income people or businesses in economically distressed communities, often working in market niches that may be underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDFIs provide a wide range of financial products such as mortgage financing for low-income or first-time homebuyers and lending for small business and community facilities that help customers build wealth and maintain an ownership stake in society. CDFIs include regulated institutions such as community development banks and credit unions, and non-regulated institutions such as loan funds and venture capital funds. 
 
The Keynote Discussion, Book Signing and Reception will be included for all Conference Ticket holders, but standalone event tickets are available to the public for $40. Books will be available for purchase at the event from our Bookseller Partner, The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza. ​

Conference and Keynote tickets are available from EventBrite.

For more information visit nyscdfi.org/2023-conference or contact Colleen Ryan at colleen@nyscdfi.org ​

We're Preparing for the Conference!

During the pandemic, the NYS CDFI Coalition board got into a cadence of meeting by Zoom once a week at lunchtime.
 
These Friday Noon Zooms gave CDFI executives from across the state the chance to compare notes, express frustration, and collaborate on some of the biggest challenges of their careers.
 
We thought it would be a good idea to extend this opportunity to our members, and convene a meeting every other month, where we could share business updates; celebrate milestones; and give everyone a chance to ask questions.

Save the Date for our next All Hands on Friday, May 19

Last April Governor Hochul signed legislation that allows CDFIs to participate in the Linked Deposit Program.

CDFIs can borrow from a bank or credit union for a loan when the principal is used to issue small business loans. CDFIs  could receive up to a 2 percent interest rate reduction on a loan of up to $2 million which is also the current lifetime maximum for each borrower. Currently the average rate subsidy has been 2.66%. The interest rate reduction is in place for four years and in some instances the borrower can qualify for a second four year term.

The Empire State Development website provides additional program information, including the application, here. 

The program flyer and a list of participating lenders are attached. 

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) invites nonprofit organizations to apply to administer the Community Controlled Affordable Housing (CCAH) Program. This initiative aims to support projects that emphasize resident control and long-term affordability. A total of $1,000,000 is being made available through this RFP and applicants can apply in any one of the following categories:

1) Planning: Up to $20,000 for expenses associated with helping residents gain housing security.

2) Housing Development: Up to $50,000 per unit to cover pre-development, acquisition, or rehabilitation expenses for capital projects that enhance community control.  

Applications must include proof of project support from the group of residents who are seeking community control of their housing and who will benefit from the project.  For an application to be considered, it must be submitted via email to NOFA_Applications@hcr.ny.gov no later than 3:00 PM (EST) on April 14, 2023.