#CDFIFriday - 2020 Kickoff

Marla Blow, Senior Vice President, Social Impact, for the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth will kick off the NYS CDFI Coalition’s 2020 Conference with a presentation titled “Focus on Sustainable Economic & Equitable Growth.”

The talk will take place online and is open to members and supporters of the Coalition, a nonprofit association that provides advocacy and resources for New York’s community development financial institutions.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the Coalition’s 11th annual conference, slated for late March,

“We were looking forward to our speakers and industry experts sharing best practices and new ideas on cybersecurity, housing preservation, employee ownership models, effective communication of CDFI impact, and more,” said Linda MacFarlane, chair of the Coalition. “Even though we can’t gather in person, we’ve had so many requests to share this important information that we’ve planned a series of webinars and panel discussions called #CDFIFridays. We’re so pleased that Marla Blow is still able to serve as our Keynote Speaker. ”

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth is the company’s philanthropic hub. Marla build’s strategies, partnerships and programs that advance the Center’s priorities to promote financial security; make economic development more inclusive; support the economic mobility of workers; and leverage the power of data for good.

With nearly a decade of experience in entrepreneurship and financial inclusion work, Marla most recently served as Founder and CEO of FS Card Inc., a credit card venture designed to move small dollar loan customers into a more affordable product. Prior to that, Marla was a part of the Implementation Team that started up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) where she served as Assistant Director for Card and Payment Markets and was responsible for policy related to the credit card, prepaid card, and payments industries.

The 2020 #CDFI Fridays series is sponsored by JP Morgan Chase, M&T Bank, Wells Fargo, Amalgamated Bank, BNB, Capital One, Citizens Bank, Community Preservation Corporation, Hanover Bank, Ponce Bank, TD Bank, Valley and Woodforest National Bank. Additional presentations are planned for October, November and December, starting with a panel discussion titled “How Community Land Trusts Preserve Affordable Housing” on Friday, October 16 at 12:00 noon.

“It is our great pleasure to convene these online meetings to support positive change in our communities and businesses throughout New York State,” said MacFarlane. “Over the 40 years of CDFI history we have become leading partners for banks, credit unions, foundations, social investors, and governments engaged in community economic development. Our industry’s success comes from our delivering social and financial benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities in a sustaining manner. We’re looking forward to an in-person conference in the future, but for now, we’re glad to be able to share this timely information online.”

The cost for the webinar is $25, and advance registration is required. Subscriptions for all #CDFI Friday presentations are also available. A Zoom link will be sent to all participants prior to the presentation. For more information, visit www.nyscdfi.org/conference 2020 or email info@nyscdfi.org.

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