KC CDFI Coalition Shares Impacts of Mission-Driven Lending with Kansas Lawmakers

Across Kansas communities, there are entrepreneurs ready to drive impact, create jobs, and unlock opportunities.  

Unfortunately, these small businesses also face a persistent gap between their ambition and the capital they need to act on it.  

On March 17, the KC CDFI Coalition went to Topeka to make sure lawmakers understand what's at stake and how legislators and CDFIs can work together to create opportunities for all Kansans.  

CDFIs are mission-driven lenders: loan funds, banks, and credit unions that provide responsible, affordable financing to small businesses, homeowners, and community projects that don't qualify for conventional financing. Where mainstream finance sees risk, CDFIs see potential. 

"When we started talking about real businesses — who are also real constituents — you could see the lightbulb go on for legislators,” said Tassjania Lozano Grate, Business Development & Engagement Manager at DreamSpring. “The businesses that make their districts feel like home are there because a CDFI believed in them." 

Four member organizations of the Kansas City-based coalition spent six hours at the Kansas State Capitol, moving from office to office, educating legislators about the role Community Development Financial Institutions play in the lives of entrepreneurs and communities that traditional lenders too often leave behind. 

CDFIs finance the stylist launching her first studio, the community clinic in a healthcare desert, and the small business owner in a rural town who has the drive but not the credit history. 

Since 2005, CDFIs have deployed more than $546 million in capital across Kansas, funding small businesses, supporting affordable housing, and investing in communities where opportunity has been slow to arrive.  

But compared to Missouri, where CDFIs have deployed more than $4.6 billion over the same period, the gap is significant.  

Kansas CDFI lending per capita sits at just $186 — roughly 23 percent of the national average. Missouri's per capita figure is $747. That disparity reflects not a lack of need, but a lack of capital flowing into Kansas communities. 

“Many of the Legislators we spoke with did not know about CDFIs. Our success comes from meeting the needs in their districts. We cannot do that if we are unknown to them,” said Peter Frankel, Senior Vice President of Program Lending at Central Bank of Kansas City. “One legislator told me a constituent just told him they were closing their business because they couldn’t get the financing they needed. I replied, ‘Have them call me.’”

Closing that financing gap is part of what brought the coalition to Topeka. More than 37 percent of Kansas census tracts qualify as CDFI Opportunity Markets — areas that are both economically distressed and significantly underserved. 

From small towns on the Western plains to urban neighborhoods in Kansas City and Wichita, there are entrepreneurs ready to build and communities ready to grow. The coalition's message to lawmakers was direct: working with CDFIs means more capital, more jobs, and more opportunity for Kansans. 

The coalition's day at the Capitol included more than 20 one-on-one meetings with legislators, dedicated sessions with Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson and the Kansas Department of Commerce, and drop-in visits to roughly 60 additional lawmakers to share materials about CDFIs and the work they do. 

For the KC CDFI Coalition, the day in Topeka was not a one-time event. It was the beginning of a longer conversation — and one we intend to keep having. 

"CDFIs strengthen Kansas communities with accessible capital that creates jobs, revitalizes neighborhoods, and drives opportunity," said Bobby Burch, Director of Marketing & Communications at AltCap. "We're grateful for the lawmakers who leaned in to learn more about the impact of CDFIs and how we can work together to create more opportunities for all Kansans. We’re committed to keeping these conversations going with leaders across the Sunflower State." 

Special thanks to our partner CDFIs who joined AltCap in Topeka, including IFF, Central Bank of Kansas City, and DreamSpring.