Community Lending with Ana Ramos (Common Future) & Jocelyn Velazquez (IFF)

Community Lending, whether at Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or elsewhere, supports economic opportunity in low and moderate income communities across the country. With borrowers' best interests at heart, community lending provides consumer loans to individuals, working capital to small businesses and funds to support community-oriented real estate projects like affordable housing. Join us and guests Ana Ramos (Common Future) and Jocelyn Velazquez (IFF) to learn about how their cultures and families influence their work and the importance of empathy and intersectionality when considering their roles as community lenders. Brief primer on the size, scale and scope of community lending [0:50] Ana and Jocelyn’s on how their lived experiences have led them to work in community lending [5:05] IFF’s size, scope and approach to community lending [9:15] Common Future’s approach to racial and economic justice through impact investing [11:25] Two recent real estate deals Ana’s most excited about [15:20] A day in the life as a community lender at IFF and CF [17:45] The core skills you really need to get into this work [25:00] All views expressed by our guest are her own and do not necessarily express the views of Common Future or IFF. Demystifying Industry Jargon: redlining, Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), ShoreBank, CDFI Fund  Impact(ed) is written, recorded and produced by its two co-hosts, Eric Horvath and Lucas Turner-Owens. Please connect with us on Linkedin, we’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode, your recommendations for future topics and guests, and be in community with you. Graphic Design by Ann Van. Original Music by Lucas Turner-Owens.