ORLANDO, FL – The African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs and Community Vision have announced the launch of the African American Equity Impact Scorecard.
The Scorecard, announced during the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Small Business Finance Forum, is “designed to guide lenders and impact investors, the Scorecard delivers actionable insights for substantial investments in Black communities and towards the realization of racial equity.”
According to the organizations the Scorecard will serve as a “critical lens” for mission-driven lenders and investors, facilitating them to assess the effectiveness of their loans and grants in furthering Black liberation.
It “brings clarity” to how their financial commitments aid Black leadership and power-building, Black-centric equity, and Black economic development and job creation, the organizations added.
‘Profound Opportunity’
“The Scorecard presents a profound opportunity to change the narrative, offering a clear and quantifiable metric to ensure capital is serving its intended purpose - to close the racial wealth gap. It is our hope, and indeed our call to action, that all financial institutions and foundations consider the Scorecard as a pivotal part of their decision-making and grant award processes and, in doing so, commit to real, meaningful change,” said Lenwood V. Long, Sr., president & CEO at The Alliance.
The organizations said the Scorecard was designed to combat the growing racial wealth divide by amplifying access to capital for Black-led initiatives.
“It employs a rigorous assessment system, quantifying a potential project’s influence across 32 attributes,” the organizations said.
Five ‘Impact Areas’
The 32 attributes are grouped into five “pivotal impact” areas: Leadership & Power Building, Economic Development & Job Creation, Equity, Community-Centered Approaches, and Catalytic Impact.
“By tracking and reporting scores across the industry, the Scorecard fosters a culture of transparency and commitment, encouraging an honest evaluation of areas that need improvement,” the organizations added. “These include policy changes, resource allocation and the development of enduring relationships with Black communities.”
Following an 18-month pilot with 16 early adopters across the US, the Scorecard “demonstrated its most significant effectiveness when used during the vetting stage of a project. It ensures high-scoring projects apply and receive approval,” the groups said.
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