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The Rural Development & Finance Corporation (RDFC) is a community development finance intermediary based in San Antonio, Texas. Operating for over a quarter of a century, we focus on assisting working families, nonprofit organizations, and businesses to increase their participation in the financial mainstream and build assets. We are committed to linking capital with on-going education that builds financial proficiency. Our programs are delivered on a peer-based model that builds trust, demonstrates cultural competency, and catalyzes opportunities for our constituents, whether they are scholars, working families, nonprofit housing developers, and entrepreneurs. Through our lending activities, we have invested $21.9 million in business and housing development, leveraging $49 million of private sector investment and creating/sustaining 3,550 jobs. Our efforts have also resulted in the creation of 1,396 new housing units affordable for working families. In addition to establishing eight Community Technology Centers in very-low-income border communities, we have also delivered training to over two-hundred community-based organizations (CBOs) throughout the country through small convenings and annual conferences. Our philosophy is grounded in an assets-based approach that views community residents as the primary asset in any neighborhood. By providing opportunities for community leaders to convene and to determine their own priorities, we work to catalyze and support their efforts with access to capital. RDFC
is one of a very few Latina-led Community Development Finance Institutions
(CDFI) in the country. We pride ourselves on the opportunities
that we have created for Mexican American women to develop as professionals
and to pursue careers in community development and finance-related services.
(Nine of our thirteen full-time employees are Mexican American women.) Three of our programs -- Artemis Housing Development Corporation, NALCAB, and Lending-- are described below. For
more information on RDFC and its programs, contact:
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Helping
Working Families to Achieve Home Ownership |
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Through Artemis, RDFC is also participating in a 363-unit development in Del Rio, Texas, that will meet the housing needs of over 350 families who have been living in replacement housing since the 1999 flood destroyed hundreds of homes. Named Tesoro Hills, the development will include a Community Center where residents can take classes, use computers, and participate in homeowner activities. Artemis will program the Center so that area health-care providers, community colleges and schools can use the location for delivering services, such as health fairs, diabetes screenings, college prep workshops, and workforce outreach. Beyond the development of safe, quality, affordable homes, RDFC and Artemis are committed to building the human community that is so vital to ensuring healthy neighborhoods. For
more information on Artemis, contact:
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| Lending for Business & Housing Development |
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RDFC
is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)
that provides financing for businesses and nonprofit organizations.
We provide financing to for-profit and non-profit developers of single-and
multifamily affordable housing for families, senior citizens and households
with special needs. RDFC also provides loans to neighborhood-serving
community facilities. RDFC’s
loan funds are capitalized by a variety of sources, including the FannieMae
Foundation, Ford Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the
U.S. Small Business Administration, numerous faith-based investors,
and Bank of America. Partnering
with RDFC is a tremendous opportunity for financial institution investment
because of the community development impacts of RDFC investments, the
competitive advantages the investment provides, and the cost effective
manner in which RDFC financing is delivered. Investment in RDFC spreads
the risk among investor institutions, distributes the operating costs
and provides for the concentration of expertise necessary to succeed.
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Artemis Housing Development Corporation.
Artemis is a nonprofit affiliate of RDFC operating since 2001 to build
and preserve affordable housing—a critical issue for working families
throughout the state of Texas. Artemis is completing a 400-unit subdivision
in El Paso where homes are sold from between $53,000 to $69,000. We
currently concentrate our efforts on South/Central Texas and the Border
region.