Today the CDFI Fund opened the FY 2013 funding round for the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance (NACA) programs. Awards under the CDFI and the NACA Program help to support CDFIs and expand their capacity to provide access to credit, capital, and financial services to low-income communities and […]
As we have discussed throughout our blog series on market studies, the ultimate goal of this type of project is to collect data that creates a set of actionable steps an organization can take to better identify and respond to the need and demand in their current and/or potential service area. Once all of the […]
In this week’s post, we will take a look at one of the most complex phases of the entire market study: data analysis. Because of this complexity and the skill required to successfully conduct data analysis, FUND Consulting recommends using a third party organization with extensive experience in market analysis. As discussed last week, the […]
The data collection and data analysis phases of the market study mark the point at which the project begins to uncover the information that will be used to guide an organization’s strategic decision making. In this week’s post we will discuss the first of these two key phases: data collection. In these phases of the […]
As we laid out in our last post, FUND Consulting utilizes a four-phased approach for market study projects. The focus of the initial phase of the project is to gain a thorough understanding of the organization’s research and data needs as well as to develop the appropriate key research questions and research tools. Organizational Assessment […]
In this week’s post, we will dive a little deeper into the market study by taking a look at why an organization would conduct a market study and how FUND Consulting approaches the market study process. Why Would an Organization Need a Market Study? As we discussed last week, the market study or market analysis […]
Data. It’s what drives some of the most important questions that organizations ask themselves: How do we maximize our time and resources? Do our products and services meet the needs of our customers? What can we be doing to better meet those needs? In the coming weeks we will be discussing how to make data […]
You may have seen the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau which reveals that poverty levels in the U.S. continue to hover at historically high levels. With nearly one in six Americans living in poverty, the new book, Investing In What Works for America’s Communities, aims to shed light on the most promising ideas […]
The FDIC recently released the results of its second National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households. Among some of the study’s notable findings: ● 28.3 percent of U.S. households are either unbanked (8.2%) or underbanked (20.1%) ● Unbanked and underbanked households are more prevalent among non-Asian minorities: 55.3% of black households; 48.7% of Hispanic households, […]
In recent months, there has been an increasing amount of discussion around social impact bonds (SIBs). Also known as Pay for Success (PFS) financing, social impact bonds are an emerging model of financing that connects government with private and philanthropic investors to fund social programs. According to the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Pay for Success Initiative, […]