Citi and Raza Development Fund Announce Initiative to Strengthen Latino Communities in the Southwest

Citi today announced the launch of a new program in collaboration with Raza Development Fund (RDF) to support its community development lending programs across the Southwestern United States that serve Latino and low-income families. Under this program, named the Southwest Community Development Initiative, RDF will deploy $100 million in capital over five years for community development projects in border counties and cities in South Texas, Arizona, and California. The program, made possible in part by a $1 million capacity building grant from the Citi Foundation, will help RDF advance its work in increasing affordable housing, education, and health services opportunities for low-to-moderate-income Latino communities.

As an example of the type of work RDF will be doing in the region, RDF is partnering with The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley in Pharr, Texas near the U.S.-Mexico Border to provide capital for a much needed building renovation to increase the organization’s service capacity. The Food Bank currently services over 88,000 people per month and plans to expand its services to more than double this volume after the renovation. It serves a significantly distressed community with a poverty rate over 43% and unemployment just under 15%. Other projects of the Southwest Community Development Initiative will include charter schools, health clinics and community facilities.

“At Citi, our goal is to develop innovative solutions to improve the lives of low- to moderate-income families and to revitalize disinvested communities.” said Pamela Flaherty, President and CEO of the Citi Foundation. “By funding the Southwest Community Development Initiative, Citi is increasing the capacity of RDF to bolster the local economies of communities and cities along the border.”

“Citi has been a significant and committed partner of RDF and the Latino community,” said Tommy Espinoza, President and CEO of RDF. “We are proud to partner with them on another innovative community-building initiative that will help support low-income communities. Nonprofit organizations are the anchors of our Latino communities. This new program will be critical to helping organizations, such as The Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, increase their capacity and become an even greater force in stabilizing and strengthening the communities that they serve.” Click here to view a video of Tommy Espinoza discussing the Southwest Community Development Initiative.

As a support corporation of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), RDF is the largest Latino Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the U.S., with total assets in excess of $100 million. Since 2004, Citi and the Citi Foundation have provided NCLR and RDF with more than $10 million in grants and contributions that support community development and capacity building projects across the country.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About The Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of low- to moderate-income individuals and families in the communities where we work so that they can improve their standard of living. Globally, the Citi Foundation targets its strategic giving to priority focus areas: Microfinance, Enterprise Development, College Success, and Financial Capability and Asset Building. In the United States, the Citi Foundation also supports Neighborhood Revitalization programs. The Citi Foundation works with its partners in Microfinance, Enterprise Development, and Neighborhood Revitalization to support environmental programs and innovations. Additional information can be found at www.citifoundation.com.

About Raza Development Fund

Raza Development Fund is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit corporation and a registered Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) under the Department of the Treasury. Ranked among the top 5% of all CDFIs in the US on annual production and capitalization, and with total assets in excess of $100 million, RDF creates investment solutions that generate greater opportunities for families and the Hispanic community. RDF is also a 509(a) 3 support corporation to the National Council of la Raza (NCLR). Over its ten-year history, it has provided more than 135 Latino serving organizations with over $145 million in loans, leveraging over $1 billion in private capital to fund projects in the areas of affordable housing, education and health care. RDF is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ.

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