Opportunity Finance Network Honors Congressional Leaders for Bipartisan Support of CDFIs

Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR-3) and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-7) named 2025 CDFI Congressional Champions

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its 41^st Annual Conference (OFN41), Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) presents Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR-3) and Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-7) with the CDFI Congressional Champion Award. 

"Community development finance has always been bipartisan," said Dafina Williams, Executive Vice President, Chief Public Policy Officer at OFN. "These leaders have championed policies that expand access to prudent financial products for millions of Americans excluded from mainstream finance. On behalf of OFN's members and the entire CDFI industry, I am honored to celebrate their unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and making the American dream possible for everyone."

These Congressional champions have consistently been vocal advocates for the CDFI Fund, spotlighting its critical impact in their communities. For more than 40 years, CDFIs have successfully leveraged public resources to deliver capital where it's needed most and proven themselves as solutions to some of the country's most vexing financing challenges. Their community level, nonpartisan approach has united policymakers across the aisle, making CDFIs a trusted partner in driving local economic growth. Through 2023, OFN members have originated $124 billion in financing for communities, supported 1 million small businesses, created or maintained 3.4 million jobs, and helped create 3 million housing units across the country.

Sen. Rounds has been a leading voice for Native community development and rural CDFIs through his seats on the Senate Appropriations, Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and Senate Indian Affairs Committees. He has consistently sponsored key CDFI legislation such as the Bond Guarantee Program Improvement Act and Rural Housing Service Reform Act.

Sen. Van Hollen has been a steadfast advocate for CDFIs, championing strong CDFI Fund appropriations on the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee and with his seat on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Additionally, he helped create the $1.75 billion CDFI Equitable Recovery Program that provided a critical injection of funds into communities struggling during the pandemic.

Rep. Womack has been a consistent defender of the CDFI Fund through his leadership on the House Appropriations Committee and advocated tirelessly for appropriations to the Fund. He has also co-sponsored priority legislation, including the New Markets Extension Act, and engaged directly with local CDFI leaders in his district.

Rep. Velázquez has been a strong champion for small businesses and community lenders as a Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee and senior member of the House Financial Services Committee. She has helped expand SBA's Community Advantage Program, supported the inclusion of Section 1071 in the Dodd-Frank Act and has been the lead sponsor in the House of the Promoting Fair Lending to Small Businesses Act and the Small Business Lending Disclosure Act.

The awards are announced in conjunction with the 41^st Annual OFN Conference, the largest CDFI industry event in the country. Held this year in Washington D.C., OFN led an afternoon of advocacy on Capitol Hill, where nearly 150 CDFI leaders met with members of Congress to highlight how CDFIs expand access to capital, support small businesses, and increase affordable housing opportunities.

Honoree Quotes 

"CDFIs are force multipliers for small business growth and economic development, particularly in places that historically have been left behind – which is why I've fought to support and boost investment in CDFIs in Congress on a bipartisan basis. We must continue to provide federal support for CDFIs and protect the essential role they play in generating more opportunity and shared prosperity in our communities," said Senator Van Hollen.

"Fostering economic development and job creation is the best method to turn around struggling communities. Community Development Financial Institutions are a key partner in facilitating this growth by providing access to necessary capital. I am honored to receive the CDFI Congressional Champion Award and grateful for the efforts of CDFIs in Arkansas and across the nation supporting our rural and underserved communities," said Representative Womack.

"I am deeply honored to be recognized by Opportunity Finance Network and the CDFI community. Access to capital is the lifeblood of small businesses and a cornerstone of economic opportunity. For too long, underserved entrepreneurs have been excluded from traditional lending. As the top Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, I have fought to expand programs like Community Advantage and strengthen CDFIs and Minority Depository Institutions that invest directly in our neighborhoods. When we empower community lenders, we empower families, create jobs, and ensure that every entrepreneur, no matter their ZIP code, has a fair shot at success," said Representative Velázquez.

About the CDFI Congressional Champion Award 

OFN presents the CDFI Congressional Champion Award to members of Congress who have demonstrated a commitment to advancing policies that support CDFIs and spur economic growth and job creation in distressed communities across the nation.

About Opportunity Finance Network

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is the nation's leading network and intermediary focused on community development investment, managing more than $1 billion in total assets and a membership of more than 475 community development financial institutions (CDFIs), which includes community development loan funds, credit unions, green banks, banks, minority depository institutions, and venture capital funds. Our network of CDFIs works to ensure communities left behind by mainstream finance have access to affordable, responsible financial products and services, with a deep focus on serving rural, urban, and Native communities across the United States. OFN is a trusted investment partner to the public, private, and philanthropic sectors – foundations, corporations, banks, government agencies, and others – and, for more than 40 years, has helped partners invest in communities to catalyze change and create economic opportunities for all.

Since its founding in 1986, OFN members have originated $124 billion in cumulative financing, helping to create or maintain nearly 3.4 million jobs, start or expand more than 1 million businesses and microenterprises, and support the development or rehabilitation of more than 3 million housing units and more than 15,000 community facility projects.

SOURCE Opportunity Finance Network