Reflections on the Clinton Foundation Conference on Domestic Economic Policy

By Sara Razavi, CEO of Working Solutions

Sara Razavi with Secretary Hillary Clinton and fellow Opportunity Finance Network board member Christina Travers, Vice President of Finance & Capital Strategies for the Low Income Investment Fund

I was honored to attend “Economic Inclusion and Growth: The Way Forward," a conference on domestic economic policy at the Clinton Presidential Center on November 20, 2019. The daylong conference was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the creation of the CDFI Fund and brought together leaders from across the nation, nonprofit executives, and philanthropic and private investors to discuss the past and future of CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions) and ways to further economic growth in underserved communities.

It was truly a privilege to be in the room with so many of the founding, current, and future leaders of the CDFI movement. I repeatedly heard how much like a reunion the event felt; for many people it was an opportunity to reminisce about the early years of the industry. With six years in the industry, I definitely felt like the new kid on the block, but what I heard resonated deeply with my over 20 years of experience in the social sector serving low-income families and communities.

President Clinton and Secretary Clinton in conversation with Darrin Williams, CEO of Southern Bancorp

The day began with remarks by President Bill Clinton and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton as they recalled what had inspired them to advance CDFIs, first through the establishment of Southern Bancorp in Arkansas, and then through the passage of the legislation creating the CDFI Fund. President Clinton repeated his economic mantra throughout the day: build from the middle out and the bottom up. And he reminded us that this philosophy did indeed increase income throughout the population during his Administration, from the lowest income groups to the top 5% (see graph below).

Another point raised by both President Clinton and Secretary Clinton was that it is equally important not just who we serve, but also the scale of the effort. Working Solutions is committed to this approach. We are deploying capital not only to communities who have been systematically left out, but also doing it at a large scale. It is extremely important to me to make our best effort at addressing the magnitude of need. We cannot do it alone, but it is imperative that each of us does as much as we can. For this reason, Working Solutions has committed to growing our impact and has grown our deployment year-over-year on average 30% since 2014, and aims to keep up with that pace, reaching over $50 million total deployed and 400 businesses served annually by 2024.

A slide shared by President Clinton, demonstrating the income increases seen under his Administration, as compared with other recent Administrations (credit: Clinton Foundation)

Lisa Mensah, President and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network, moderating a panel on the formation and impact of CDFIs

Another panel, moderated by Lisa Mensah, President and CEO of Opportunity Finance Network (the CDFI national industry group, whose board I was proud to join this fall), discussed the origins and impact of CDFIs. The group noted that most successful social impact initiatives have been a mix of grassroots efforts, philanthropic support, and government subsidies—and that the CDFI industry is a great example of this type of cross-sector partnership. The CDFI industry has come a long way, from $7 billion under management to now close to $200 billion.

As noted by Inclusiv, an esteemed CDFI intermediary: since signing the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act in 1994, which established the CDFI Fund, the Fund has deployed at most $250 million in grants in any given year, while CDFI Fund awardees have provided more than $29 billion in loans and investments across the US, including $6.1 billion in small towns and rural communities, $757 million in Native communities, and $726 million to women-owned businesses (source: Inclusiv press release).

President Bill Clinton moderating the “How Do We Scale the Field” panel

Cathie Mahon, President and CEO of Inclusiv, served as a speaker on the "How Do We Scale the Field" panel moderated by President Bill Clinton. During this discussion, Cathie said, "The CDFI Fund is one of the Federal government's best market-based strategies for leveraging private dollars. CDFIs leverage $12 of private capital for every $1 of public investment. Investing in CDFIs generates billions of dollars annually in the form of loans to create jobs and grow businesses, build homes, increase job mobility, expand access to affordable healthcare and childcare, and create financial capability to expand consumer purchasing power."

I am proud of all that we have accomplished as an organization and together as the CDFI industry, and I am thrilled to be building the visibility of Working Solutions as part of a national conversation about the future of CDFIs.

You can watch the full video of the conference here.