Building Wealth in Louisville's Underserved Neighborhoods with CDFIs

The Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government (LMG) aims to catalyze economic growth and equity by significantly increasing investment capital inflows from Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to its underserved and diverse neighborhoods. The FUSE Executive Fellow will conduct a comprehensive analysis of Louisville's CDFI ecosystem, identify opportunities for innovative financial services, and develop a strategic plan to align local government policy with CDFI investments. This initiative seeks to stimulate entrepreneurship, expand homeownership, and create wealth-building opportunities in historically underserved communities. By enhancing Louisville's capacity to attract and leverage CDFI investments, LMG aspires to close the gap with peer cities and foster a more inclusive economic landscape.

Fellowship Dates: April 28, 2025 - April 24, 2026

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual base salary of $80,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. Compensation for this year of public service is not intended to represent market-rate compensation for the experienced professionals in our program.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit working to expand social and economic opportunities, particularly for communities that have been limited by a history of systemic and institutionalized racism. FUSE partners with local governments and communities to more effectively address pressing challenges by placing experienced professionals within city and county agencies. These FUSE Executive Fellows lead strategic projects designed to advance racial equity and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 250 projects in 40 governments across 20 states, impacting the lives of 25 million people.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and local stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward regional priorities. FUSE then conducts an individualized search for each project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the communities being served. They are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects by developing actionable roadmaps and monitoring progress to completion.

Executive Fellows are hired as FUSE employees and embedded in government agencies for at least one year of full-time work. Throughout their fellowships, they receive training, coaching, and professional support from FUSE to help achieve their project goals. FUSE Executive Fellows bring diverse perspectives and new approaches to their projects. They build strong relationships with diverse arrays of stakeholders, foster alignment within.

PROJECT CONTEXT

Louisville, Kentucky is one of the largest and most significant cities in the Southeast, due to its strategic location, economic impact, and vast cultural influence. However, the city faces challenges in attracting capital inflows. A 2022 study by the city's chamber of commerce revealed that Louisville lags behind its peers in several key areas, when adjusted for population:

• Historic tax credit use: -15.9%
• Federal Home Investment Partnership funds: -31.5%
• Low Income Housing Tax Credit: -42.8%
• Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) investment flows: -91.14%

According to CDFI Friendly America, parts of Louisville qualify as a CDFI Desert. Overall, Louisville is only lending $187 per person compared to the U.S. average of $714 per person.

CDFIs play a crucial role in expanding economic opportunities in low-income and underserved communities by providing services and capital for home purchases, community redevelopment, entrepreneurship, and business expansion. Harnessing the potential of CDFIs is a key action step in Louisville's "Growing Louisville Together" economic development plan, which calls for "Connect[ing] and collaborat[ing] with CDFIs with a presence in Kentucky to enhance resources, tools, and programs available to the business community in Louisville" as part of an effort to catalyze economic development in underserved corners of the city.

While several CDFIs operate in Louisville, their efforts could be more coordinated and collaborative to enhance their impact in the community. City leaders aim to leverage CDFI capabilities alongside a range of federal tax credit, grant, and financing programs to increase access to capital. They also seek to combine LMG's public financing authority with other capital sources to invest in infrastructure, housing, retail, and other development projects.

However, LMG currently lacks the capacity to develop and implement a strategic plan to unify and grow these disparate capital sources. A FUSE Executive Fellow will play a critical role in accelerating the LMG's efforts to strengthen its CDFI ecosystem and related investment and financing landscape to drive critical wealth creation.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The FUSE Executive Fellow will develop a comprehensive strategy to enhance Louisville's CDFI ecosystem and increase capital inflows to boost wealth-building activities across the city. Initially, the Fellow will conduct a systematic listening tour, perform extensive research, and gather data to understand the current state of Louisville's CDFI landscape. This phase will involve engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders, including CDFIs, community development corporations, banks, financial institutions, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations, government agencies, and private-sector entities. The Fellow will also research innovative strategies and best practices from benchmark communities to identify strengths and opportunities within Louisville's CDFI ecosystem.

Based on the gathered information, the Executive Fellow will assess the ecosystem and develop a strategic plan to increase private and public capital inflow into Louisville. This plan may include identifying new financing products to fill market gaps, leveraging LMG's public financing authority for development opportunities, recommending policy changes to enhance CDFI activity, and proposing strategies to attract more investment capital. This research will build on the array of existing findings of the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), completed in August 2024. Throughout this process, the Fellow will focus on enhancing coordination and collaboration among CDFIs to amplify their collective impact in the community.

The culmination of this work will initially be an actionable strategic plan and roadmap for LMG and community stakeholders, followed by the launching and implementation of the initial recommendations. This plan will outline steps to increase capital inflows, catalyze entrepreneurial activity and housing development, and build wealth in historically underserved and diverse neighborhoods. The resulting plan will align with Louisville's "Growing Louisville Together" economic development initiative and support the LMG's goal of fostering inclusive economic growth, ultimately enabling more residents to participate in and benefit from the city's economic opportunities.

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

Over the course of the year-long fellowship, the FUSE Executive Fellow will be responsible for several specific deliverables. These will include:

• CDFI Ecosystem Analysis: A comprehensive assessment of Louisville's CDFI landscape, including stakeholder input, comparative analysis with peer cities' best practices, and identification of gaps and opportunities.
• Financial Innovation Roadmap: Recommendations for potential new CDFI products tailored to Louisville's needs and an analysis of unmet financial opportunities in the community.
• Public Financing Strategy: Building on the existing CDFA strategic framework, recommendations for leveraging LMG's public financing authority and strategies to enhance CDFI-driven investments in real estate, homeownership, and entrepreneurship.
• Strategic Implementation Plan: A multi-year roadmap for enhancing Louisville's CDFI ecosystem, with action steps for LMG and partners to increase CDFI capital inflows and drive wealth creation in underserved neighborhoods.
• Stakeholder Engagement Toolkit: Presentation and educational resources on CDFIs' potential impact, along with a communication strategy to build support among key constituencies.
• Initial implementation: Taking action on the initial stages of the finalized plan, which could include a fundraising effort to support a local CDFI, building a business plan for a city-run CDFI in collaboration with the Louisville Economic Development Alliance (LEDA), or hosting events for small businesses and small business associations.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Executive Sponsor - Laura Grabowski, Director Office of Housing and Community Development
• Project Supervisor - Katie Littman Senior Advisor for Policy & Strategic Partnerships

QUALIFICATIONS

• Synthesizes complex information into clear and concise recommendations and action-oriented implementation plans.
• Develops and effectively implements both strategic and operational project management plans.
• Generates innovative, data-driven, and result-oriented solutions to complex challenges.
• Respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, trends, strategies, and other processes.
• Communicates effectively verbally and in writing and excels in active listening and conversing.
• Fosters collaboration across multiple constituencies to support more effective decision-making.
• Establishes and maintains strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, both inside and outside of government, particularly community-based relationships.
• Embraces differing viewpoints and implements strategies to find common ground.
• Demonstrates confidence and professional diplomacy while effectively interacting with individuals at all levels of various organizations.

FUSE is an equal-opportunity employer with core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for this position.