The Sources and Uses of Funds for Community Development Financial Institutions: The Role of the Nonprofit Intermediary

Abstract

The interorganizational connections maintained by community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are examined with data obtained from a survey of CDFI executive directors and three case studies. The network actors are observed across three dimensions: collaboration, resource dependence, and information exchange. It is hypothesized that there exists a systematic relationship between the organizations CDFIs interact with and the purposes for which they interact with those organizations. The following analysis illustrates that governance structures within the CDFI industry involve an identifiable cohort of public, nonprofit and private sector actors and these associations facilitate a system of network links across an expansive array of resource needs.