How CAMEO Network is Accelerating CDFI Capacity-Building
The Citi Foundation has been a long-time supporter of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and a champion of the critical role these organizations play in supporting underserved communities. When our Community Finance Innovation Fund launched in 2022, we recognized that one of the major roadblocks to CDFI growth and sustained success boiled down to fundamental operations and capacity challenges – such as human resources and staff training, IT needs, facilitating payroll and more. That is why one of our Community Finance Innovation Fund recipients was CAMEO Network, California’s statewide micro-business network dedicated to building and expanding the capacity of its emerging CDFIs.
Specifically, the Citi Foundation invested in CAMEO Network’s vision to pilot a shared services model to help emerging CDFIs access top notch operational functions, no matter their stage of growth. By unlocking access to foundational human resources, technology and finance tools, CAMEO Network aims to help accelerate the growth of promising CDFIs working in underserved communities.
“At the State Treasurer’s Office, we recognize the transformative power of CDFIs in bringing capital and financial education to underserved communities across our state. The capacity building work that CAMEO Network has done with our office’s Investment & Innovation Program (CPCFA Cal IIP), as well as the State Small Business Credit Initiative (CPCFA CalCAP SSBCI), helps demonstrate that through cross-sector partnership and collaboration it is possible to not only mitigate risks but also supercharge the flow of capital through our communities, igniting growth and opportunity like never before.”
“CDFIs play a critical role in the small business ecosystem here in California and across the United States by expanding access to the resources needed for growth. By focusing on capacity-building CAMEO is helping to unlock the full potential of CDFIs, which will ultimately improve outcomes for small businesses and the communities they serve. I applaud the Citi Foundation for supporting new and innovative solutions in the community finance space and look forward to seeing the impact of CAMEO’s efforts.”
CAMEO Network’s Approach
CAMEO Network’s work with CDFIs has focused on three strategic priorities, including building individual CDFI capacity, strengthening the broader CDFI ecosystem and advocating for essential CDFI programs. Its trainings are often oversubscribed and have helped CDFIs access critical skills and resources. According to CAMEO Network, CDFIs who have leveraged its CDFI Incubator and Impact Fund initiative increased their lending by 300% since its launch in 2018. They have also successfully advocated for the expansion of public funding in CDFIs.
However, training and advocacy are not enough to support the growth of CDFIs – especially among emerging and midsized CDFIs that may struggle to retain and grow their teams. To help address this challenge, CAMEO Network piloted and launched their Shared Services Center, which consists of a group of professionals that deliver shared services in human resources, IT and finance to participating CDFIs. This initiative aims to optimize productivity and decrease operational costs by an approximate $200K for each organization, while allowing CDFIs to dedicate their own staff resources to what makes them unique, specifically their cultural competency and community knowledge.
"CDFIs are on the frontlines of our small business economy, filling in the gaps where traditional lending isn't available. They often are the only affordable, trustworthy financing option for underserved small businesses. The Shared Services Center helps CDFIs tackle operational challenges so that they can focus on increasing their lending volume and providing capital to more small businesses in communities where it is most needed."
CAMEO Network’s Impact
CAMEO Network’s new model for CDFI shared services is already leaving its mark. Hear directly from the pilot program’s participants about the impact it has had on their operations and capacity to scale.
“Participating in the CAMEO Shared Services Cohort has enabled our CDFI to have access to experts in the human resource area that we otherwise would have had to secure individually, which is helping us to plan strategically for our growth. In addition, they have provided our team relevant professional development training, while reviewing our current policies and supporting us with templates for future use as items in this area are updated.”
“Navigating and understanding the complex nature of a non-profit mission-based lender’s financial needs can be challenging. CAMEO’s capacity building support in the area of finance will provide us and peer CDFIs with the opportunity to share our challenges in search of solutions. The shared services model can prevent CDFIs pitfalls, each of us can look at our finance policies and move our organizations to greater sustainability and sufficiency, in order to impact the small business community at a greater scale.”
“PCV’s participation in the Shared Services Cohort has allowed us to share our operating processes and procedures while learning from other cohort members. Our HR, finance and technology teams have participated in interviews and meetings, hearing consensus that other organizations are experiencing the same challenges. We hope the resources coming out of the cohort can be widely used by community-based programs to streamline operations and increase lending volume, and fundamentally help more CDFIs meet our mission for equity more effectively.”
“During our discovery sessions, we were delighted to hear that we have strong IT support and functionality in place – a valuable resource to help with critical IT intervention and operational efficiency. This allows for us to take a look at our current processes and expand on them to ensure that we are maximizing all of the features and benefits available to us from our service providers.”
“Working Solutions CDFI is grateful for the opportunity to participate in the first Shared Services Center for CDFIs. Through facilitated conversations with CDFI colleagues, we appreciate the potential to leverage economies of scale for increased overall impact. As a CDFI with well-developed systems around HR and technology, Working Solutions has leaned into the discovery phase in these two project areas to validate known strengths and also to identify areas for growth. We look forward to tapping into additional resources to further align our financial operations and systems for the benefit of the communities we serve.”
Learn more about the Citi Foundation’s Community Finance Innovation Fund and follow the progress of CAMEO Network’s CDFI Shared Services Center.