NCRC Community Development Fund, a subsidiary of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, lends primarily to Black, Latino, women and immigrant entrepreneurs and business owners throughout the country with its mission to help bridge the racial wealth divide by supporting entrepreneurship and affordable homeownership in America’s underserved communities.

Its new lending platform, for which it is also building an algorithm to determine loan eligibility – stands to make the roughly 10-person operation more efficient, Marisa Calderon, NCRC CDF’s executive director, said in a recent interview.

This episode of the CRA Podcast addresses the promise of CDFI lending, partnerships with financial institutions to support the continuum of capital for disadvantaged communities, and how the Community Development Fund is also building a new lending platform leveraging AI to not only support efficiencies in their operation but also for others in the CDFI industry.

Marisa Calderon’s Bio and Experience

Marisa Calderon is an experienced executive who is regularly recognized, awarded and cited nationwide
for her expertise in the housing and financial services industries. She has over two decades of
experience dedicated to the issues of economic mobility and bridging America’s racial wealth gap.
Marisa Calderon is the executive director at NCRC Community Development Fund (NCRC CDF), a
nonprofit, U.S. Treasury-certified community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides loan
capital to expand access to affordable homeownership, which helps Black-, Brown- and woman-
owned businesses thrive. Under her leadership in her first 18 months at NCRC CDF, they deployed over
$17 million in capital to historically underserved Black, Latino, immigrant, and women entrepreneurs
through their small business and investment programs, earning them a place on Fast Company’s list of
2022 Most Innovative Companies in the World. She is also chief of community finance and mobility at the
NCRC CDF’s parent company, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), where her work
focuses on advancing economic mobility for communities impacted by systemic inequality and
disinvestment.

Marisa is ranked on the Swanepoel Power 200 as one of the most powerful leaders in the residential
real estate industry, and was twice named a HousingWire Woman of Influence in 2018 and 2021 for her
work in increasing real estate and mortgage professionals’ understanding and appreciation of the
Hispanic home-buying market. In 2021, she was named one of Diversity Journal’s Women Worth
Watching in Leadership and was featured in Hispanic Stars Rising: The New Face of Power and was
recognized on Women We Admire’s list of the Top 50 Women Leaders in Finance of 2022. Frequently sought out as an expert on affordable housing, lending and immigration, Marisa has been interviewed by
numerous publications and media outlets, including NPR’s Marketplace and does regular public speaking
at industry and general market events, including Mortgage Banker’s Association, FDIC, Consumer
Federation of America, National Fair Housing Alliance, and many others.

In addition to this work, Marisa is also a board member of the non-partisan political action committee,
Latinas Lead California and a Senior Advisor to America’s Homeowner Alliance.

CRA Today Website: https://cratoday.com/

CRA Hub: https://cratoday.com/hub

Linda Ezuka, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-ezuka-cra-today/

Copyright © 2023 by CRA Today LLC
(No claim to original U.S. government material)

All rights reserved. No part of this podcast may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author and publisher.

This podcast is a periodic publication of CRA Today LLC and is intended to notify and inspire recipients of new developments in the Community Reinvestment Act. It should not be construed as legal advice or legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances. The contents are intended for general informational purposes only, and you are urged to consult your own attorney concerning your situation and specific legal questions you have.