Reflection on Five Years of Research

Originally published in 2022.

For the past five years, FUND Community Institute (FUND CI) has conducted and disseminated research on issues and trends in the CDFI industry. The purpose of the organization is to support the industry by contributing research findings to the public discourse. FUND CI’s first five years were an eventful period that involved health, racial, and economic issues that seem to necessitate a different type of impact report. While annual reports tend to be about outputs and impact, I want to take a step beyond that and reflect on how FUND CI has shaped our work, and the inputs from the industry overall that have made our work possible. We are grateful for feedback from the industry at large, as well as collaborative support from those that have partnered on research, participated in presentations, and joined our advisory boards. Over the past five years, we have furthered our understanding that the “who” included and participating in our research is critically linked to the value and relevance of the findings.

Read the full report here