On Sept. 19, 2017, the U.S. Treasury announced 2017 Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund Awards which included an $80,580 Technical Assistance grant for Iowa Community Capital (ICC) to explore new financial products and new markets in serving target low-income populations in Iowa and collaborating states.
ICC is based in Boone and continues to receive technical assistance from the Iowa State University Community Vitality Center (CVC) (Mark Edelman, director) in developing strategic plans for serving low-income entrepreneurs in Iowa. Sandra Burke, CVC assistant scientist, led the efforts to apply for the award.
ICC is an Iowa-based nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certified by the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund and manages the Solidarity Microfinance program for low-income entrepreneurs in Des Moines using Grameen peer group lending methods developed by Nobel Prize Laureate Muhammad Yunus. To date, over 215 minority women with income generating activities have participated in the Solidarity program during the past three years and achieved 100% loan repayment.
The CDFI grant will allow ICC to explore new financial products and new markets for serving low-income target populations. The ISU Community Vitality Center will provide strategic assistance and support in exploring the feasibility of the new financial products and new service areas for increasing access to capital for the ICC target low-income populations.