Today, HIAS announced that HIAS Economic Advancement Fund (EAF) has been officially certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, a program of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
CDFI certification is awarded to mission-driven financial institutions that provide responsible, affordable financial products and services to low-income and underserved communities. With this designation, EAF joins a national network of certified CDFIs working to expand economic opportunity, strengthen small businesses, and build resilient local economies across the U.S.
“This certification marks a major milestone in EAF’s evolution from a start-up loan fund to a federally recognized community development lender,” said Phillip Bailey, Executive Director. “It affirms the strength of our model and positions us to scale our impact, expanding access to capital for entrepreneurs long excluded from traditional finance.”
Certification by the CDFI Fund enables EAF to apply for federal CDFI funding and leverage additional public and private investment to support business formation, job creation, and long-term economic stability in the communities it serves.
EAF was founded in 2022 by HIAS, the Jewish humanitarian organization that has provided lifesaving services to refugees and asylum seekers around the world for more than a century. Through microloans and business technical assistance, EAF helps entrepreneurial refugees launch and grow businesses, enabling them to support themselves and their families while contributing to their local economies and communities.
Since inception, EAF has supported more than 700 refugee entrepreneurs from over thirty-two countries, providing more than 14,000 hours of technical assistance to help small business owners start, stabilize, and grow their enterprises. The organization has disbursed 245 loans totaling $2 million dollars, while maintaining a 98% repayment rate. On average, for every loan EAF disburses, approximately three jobs are created.
As EAF scales its national footprint as a certified CDFI, it remains committed to meeting entrepreneurs where they are and providing the right mix of capital and business support at every stage of their journey.
“Across the country, refugee entrepreneurs are strengthening neighborhoods and creating opportunity,” said Beth Oppenheim, HIAS CEO. “This certification for the HIAS Economic Advancement Fund allows people who have rebuilt their lives in our communities to pursue their American dreams. We at HIAS know that the journey doesn’t stop when a person reaches safety – it is a new chapter in a person’s long story that we want to help tell.”