Berks Alliance Community Forum: Spotlight on the Community First Fund

Spotlight on the Community First Fund

Since 1992, Community First Fund has provided capital and business counseling where it is not usually available or accessible. As a private, independent non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), they work to create positive change in the community by providing entrepreneurs with business loans for projects that generate jobs and help revitalize communities. They create opportunities to build wealth for the individuals, families, and business owners, especially People of Color, women, and immigrants.

“We want to build vibrant and healthy communities for people to work and live, including development of affordable and market rate housing units, turning blighted and vacant buildings into usable community property, creating educational opportunities for children, youth and adults, expanding access to healthy food and quality healthcare. We provide the resources necessary for job-creating businesses to start up and grow, with a particular focus on those who can’t obtain traditional funding.”
 
Community First Fund does provide financing to all sizes and types of business - from bodegas, salons, daycares and restaurants to large scale community development projects like medical clinics, grocery stores and senior care centers. They serve 22 counties across Pennsylvania, Delaware and NJ, with offices in Reading, Allentown, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia and York.
 
Four members of the Community First team, Shannon Leonhard, Erlan Dobronsky, Alba Fernandez and Jim Buerger, will outline the services provided by Community First Fund, demystify the loan process and highlight some of the most impactful Berks County projects that Community First Fund has been part of over the past few decades.