VA Should Reinvest in Its Finest Exports Talent & Diversity

This article was originally published in the Virginian-Pilot on Jan 6 2024. You can see the original piece here.

By LISA LUCAS BURKE | Guest Columnist Daily Press and The Virginian Pilot

In my two decades of serving the residents of Portsmouth, I have been given the opportunity to see Virginia’s finest exports firsthand. I’m not talking about goods you can hold in your hand, though. I believe that of all the many things our commonwealth has to offer, our best products are talent and diversity.

Allow me to explain. In addition to serving as vice mayor of Portsmouth, I also chair the Board of Directors of Virginia First Cities, an organization with a mission to bolster economic opportunities for 17 of the commonwealth’s oldest municipalities. Over the years, we have successfully lobbied the General Assembly to provide resources on a wide range of public policy issues relevant to our localities.

But our member cities couldn’t be more dissimilar in a lot of ways. We come from every corner of the commonwealth, and represent a cross-section of Virginia as a whole. Some are from large urban centers, while others serve more rural communities.

Some board members are lifelong Democrats, and others are conservative Republicans. But many of our issues before the state legislature transcend geography or party labels — and chief among them has been to grow programs that support the expansion of community wealth-building programs for small businesses, nonprofits, affordable housing and commercial real estate. In other words, despite our outward differences, we can all agree that public entities should nurture talent, no matter where it might live.

In recent years, there has been a rise in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) providing affordable microloans to those who have been traditionally overlooked by more mainstream financial institutions in the past — including entrepreneurs of color and/or those living in economically distressed areas of Virginia.

This is precisely why Virginia First Cities was proud to become a founding member of the Virginia CDFI Coalition, which was created in 2021 through a $10 million initial fund provided by the General Assembly. This legislation is being patroned by Del. Cliff Hayes and Sen. Ghazala Hashmi.

It is no exaggeration to say that this fund, which is now known as the Commonwealth’s Capital for Communities Fund (CCCF) and is administered through the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, has been a game-changer for Virginia localities by way of creating new jobs, new businesses and seeding economic growth for low- and moderate-income individuals.

In all, the annual statewide impact of CDFIs is growing every single day. According to the coalition, there has been $212 million in capital provided to Virginia businesses — with two thirds of those funds going to nonprofit organizations alone. Further, these funds have accelerated approximately 900 business originations, financed more than 1,500 units of affordable housing, and has directly been used to create roughly 2,500 jobs.

Here in Portsmouth, organizations such as the Hampton Roads branch of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) are doing amazing work via CDFI partners in the region. In addition to recently relocating its regional offices to Portsmouth, in recent years LISC has partnered with the Expand 757 Small Business Loan Program, which provides 0% loans and other available capital to entrepreneurs in the region; the B-Force Accelerator, which is a 12-week intensive course aimed at giving Black and Latinx businesses the tools they need to grow and thrive; and the Community Resilience Innovation Challenge, which has made $1 million available to businesses and nonprofits alike that are working on innovative solutions to issues in our community.

These stories — and the stories of so many others around Virginia — are not only a testament to the success of the Virginia CDFI Fund since 2021, but should serve as a call to action to lawmakers from both parties to expand the program and reinvest in Virginia’s talent and diversity for years to come.

Looking forward, the Virginia CDFI Coalition is seeking a boost to the state’s initial investments to the tune of an additional $3.5 million for the current fiscal year, and a $10 million increase per annum in the upcoming state budget.

We know these programs work, and by providing allies like CDFIs to businesses in communities big and small, we can further use Virginia’s talent and diversity as a unifying force to provide equitable economic opportunity for us all.

Lisa Lucas-Burke is the vice mayor of Portsmouth and chair of the Board of Directors at Virginia First Cities, a founding member of the Virginia Community Development Financial Institutions Coalition.