Appalachian Community Capital is piloting the implementation of a standardized Advisor Integration Framework to reduce transaction friction and accelerate the flow of catalytic capital through community investment notes issued by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).
Project
Appalachian Community Capital (ACC) is developing the Advisor Integration Framework as a way to increase market understanding and participation in community investment notes, which are issued by CDFIs to raise catalytic capital for underserved communities. The project includes an updated scan of CDFI note programs and advisor engagement practices; a standardized due diligence framework; an operational assessment of how notes fit into brokerage, retirement, trust and donor-advised fund structures; and a pilot cohort of advisors to test the framework.
Value and Outcomes
Community investment notes are one of the most direct pathways for catalytic capital deployment into local economies in the U.S. Yet, despite demonstrated investor interest and a growing ecosystem of CDFI note programs, many advisors lack the time, resources and operational support needed to evaluate and incorporate these notes into their client portfolios.
ACC has identified a clear leverage point for increasing catalytic capital to these mission-driven financial organizations. It is creating a standardized operational infrastructure that makes it easier for advisors to conduct due diligence and manage note allocations across multiple CDFIs. By reducing friction at the advisor level, the project hopes to meaningfully expand capital flows to CDFIs—and thereby to under-resourced communities. ACC will produce an open-source framework designed for replication to support the effort.