Opportunity Finance Network Statement on Arbitrary EPA Funding Cancellation

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), one of five awardees of the EPA's Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, is aware of the latest public statement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has received EPA's attempted cancellation notice. This arbitrary action by the EPA impacts the planned announcement of over $228 million in initial awards to 26 organizations that would have financed housing, distributed energy, and transportation infrastructure projects in more than 30 states, and created an estimated 5,000 jobs in communities across America. However, the EPA has arbitrarily sought to cancel obligated funds—awarded through a rigorous, competitive, and transparent process—based on inaccurate and politicized claims. These claims are baseless and undermine a critical effort to drive American energy independence, local resilience, and job creation in communities. 

OFN has repeatedly attempted to engage with the EPA in good faith to discuss OFN's workplan, expertise, and faithful execution of the agreement. OFN welcomes program oversight and continues to fully cooperate with all inquiries. Over the past 40 years, OFN has been a responsible steward of government funding to catalyze private investment in American communities. These efforts have resulted in OFN successfully managing over $1 billion in total assets from public, private, and philanthropic partners. 

OFN is exploring all options to ensure we can continue to drive economic opportunity in communities across the country and remains committed to defending the integrity of our work, standing up for millions of Americans – in urban, rural, and tribal communities – who deserve access to opportunity.  

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) is the nation's leading network and intermediary focused on community development investment, managing over $1 billion in total assets and a membership of more than 470 community development financial institutions (CDFIs), which includes community development loan funds, credit unions, green banks, banks, minority depository institutions, and venture capital funds. Our network of CDFIs works to ensure communities underserved by mainstream finance have access to affordable, responsible financial products and services, with a deep focus on serving rural, urban, and Native communities across the United States. OFN is a trusted investment partner to the public, private, and philanthropic sectors – foundations, corporations, banks, government agencies, and others – and, for 40 years, has helped partners invest in communities to catalyze change and create economic opportunities for all.

Since its founding in 1986, OFN members have originated over $110 billion in financing, helping to create or maintain more than three million jobs, start or expand more than 850,000 businesses and microenterprises, and support the development or rehabilitation of nearly 2.4 million housing units and more than 14,000 community facility projects.

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SOURCE Opportunity Finance Network