Investment Connection connects community development organizations with the funding community through loans, investments/grants and a wide array of services. In 2022, the funding community will continue to have ways to connect with proposals, through in-person or virtual events and through our 24/7 Investment Connection funders portal.
For 2022 we have scheduled in-person events throughout the year in the seven states of the Kansas City Fed’s Tenth District. Locations will be announced before each event. Check the Investment Connection page for updates. Events currently scheduled:
- May 12: New Mexico
- Aug. 2: Kansas City
- Sept. 20: Colorado
- Oct. 25: Oklahoma
- Nov. 3: Nebraska
Teesha Miller, assistant vice president and community affairs officer, with responsibility for community development, said “Investment Connection is having an impact across communities throughout our seven states of the Tenth District and in many parts of the country by informing and connecting the funding community with community organizations.”
Recent success stories from Dallas and Indiana show the value
Jewel Crosswell Stone is director of partnerships at External LinkJUST, which presented at the Dallas Fed’s May 2020 Investment Connection event, renamed CRA Connections. JUST is a nonprofit financial platform working to close the racial wealth gap by investing in ambitious Texas women. Crosswell Stone said that through the event, JUST was able to establish a new relationship with Wells Fargo, which resulted in an initial investment of $25,000 for a COVID-19 relief fund. In December 2020, Wells Fargo awarded JUST a $500,000 grant for a total of $525,000 to date. So far, the funds have benefitted more than 275 low-income, woman-owned businesses with loans averaging $1,500, while building a long-term win-win relationship for both organizations and the communities they serve.
Another benefit for JUST, with technical support from the community development team at the Dallas Fed, was the opportunity to establish a virtual bank advisory committee to assist JUST and provide technical assistance with their financial system.
Chris Metz, executive director of External LinkECHO Housing, made a presentation at the December 2020 virtual Investment Connection event hosted by the St. Louis Fed. ECHO Housing secured construction financing and $200,000 in grants for its Promise Homes project to address chronic homelessness in Evansville, Indiana.
"The Investment Connection Program at the St. Louis Fed gave our nonprofit organization the unique opportunity to present our proposal to numerous funders at once, and resulted in securing the funding, partnerships, and services necessary to move our project forward," Metz said. "We received so much in the way of support and encouragement from the community development staff at the St. Louis Fed. They encouraged us, assisted us in refining our presentations, and were truly engaged in helping us advance our community project."
Community organizations that want to submit a proposal through Investment Connection may use External Linkthis portal.
Family assisted by HomesFund’s Mortgage Assistance Program for residents of five rural counties in southwest Colorado. The program received funding after presenting at Investment Connection.
All Investment Connection proposals reviewed for CRA eligibility
Bankers looking for CRA opportunities are reminded that proposals presented and available online have been reviewed for CRA purposes by Kansas City Fed Consumer Affairs examiners specializing in the regulation.
Michael Steckline is vice president of the Bank’s Consumer Affairs Department in the Supervision and Risk Management Division, which supervises banks for consumer compliance, including the CRA.
“From a Fed perspective, Investment Connection, helping to create partnerships, is one of the biggest advantages and one of the most innovative programs the Federal Reserve System has,” he said. “Investment Connection is a program for those banks looking for a level of certainty and clarity when it comes to their CRA activities.”
Investment Connection is available to any funder through External Linkthis portal.
To learn more about Investment Connection, check out this External Linkthree-part series on the national Fed Communities storytelling site.