PROVIDENCE, RI – U.S. Senator Jack Reed today applauded the Capital Good Fund (CGF), a non-profit financial services organization based in Providence, for winning a $125,000 Community Development Financial Institutions(CDFI) Fund Financial Assistance grant from the U.S. Department of Treasury to help provide affordable micro-loans and financial coaching to low-income residents and communities throughout the state.

“I am pleased Capital Good Fund has won this competitive grant to help lift more Rhode Islanders out of poverty through equitable financial services.  As micro-lenders, they help empower low-income families to secure the financial support and credit they need to get ahead.  This federal grant is a smart investment in fostering economic opportunity and community growth,” said Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee who wrote a letter supporting CGF’s application for federal funding.

In January of this year, Reed helped secure a total of $226 million for the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund in the appropriations process to help leverage private sector investment in community development projects like affordable housing, retail development, and lending to small businesses, filling some of the gap left by private sector investment after the financial crisis.

“We are honored to be the only CDFI in Rhode Island to receive this prestigious award,” said Founder and CEO Andy Posner.  “The CDFI Fund is one of the most innovative government programs aimed at fostering economic equality and justice, and we are excited to use the $125,000 award to provide our small personal loans and intensive, one-on-one financial and health coaching to more Rhode Island families.”

With locations in Providence and Woonsocket, as well as Hartford, Connecticut, CGF offers one-on-one financial coaching, small personal loans, and free tax preparation to low-income communities in Rhode Island and Connecticut.  To date, CGF has administered 596 loans totaling over $590,000, provided free tax preparation to 1,688 families (returning over $1.94 million to the community) and graduated 649 people from their business and financial development workshops.

CDFI’s are certified by the CDFI Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  The program was created two decades ago through a bipartisan act of Congress designed to increase economic activity in markets not fully served by traditional financial institutions.

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