The National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions and Opportunity Finance Network have announced a deal which allow Federation member CUs to join the OFN at reduced rates.

OFN is a network of community development financial institutions that was instrumental in developing the U.S. Treasury Department's CDFI Fund and works to help build capacity in CDFIs.

Cliff Rosenthal, CEO of the National Federation, hailed the groundbreaking agreement as “formalizing and extending the cooperative relationship we have enjoyed with OFN going back more than two decades,” adding: “Together, we shaped the establishment of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund and we have worked in coalition since 1994 to ensure that it advanced the CDFI movement.”

In announcing the agreement at the OFN Annual Conference, Mark Pinsky, President and CEO of OFN, remarked that “dual membership among our two organizations is part of a coordinated effort to better support and represent the CDFI industry altogether. OFN has proudly called the Federation a friend and partner for more than 20 years as we have worked together to build the CDFI sector. This agreement rests on our mutual appreciation of and respect for each other and for the work that our respective members do.” The agreement commits the two organizations to develop a joint membership program that provides reciprocal discounts on dues to those institutions that join both OFN and the Federation.

“We recognize that CDFIs often belong to a number of national and regional organizations to meet the range of their needs for training, technical information, advocacy, and other services. This agreement helps them to manage their costs,” Rosenthal said.