Jessica Battisto, Senior Analyst, Communications and Outreach

Earlier this year, the New York Fed released the Long Island Credit Profile, the second in a series of reports examining select geographies in depth using the Community Credit framework and indicators. See our previous post detailing the framework for how to interpret the analytics for practice.

Arturo E. Osorio, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of Practice — Entrepreneurship, Management, & Global Business, Rutgers Business School Newark — New Brunswick, and Maria Carmelita Recto, Associate Director, Outreach & Education, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

It is increasingly apparent that inclusive growth is an accelerator in achieving the potential of economic growth. There is statistical evidence that inequality inhibits overall productivity, yet it remains a persistent issue for many communities. While this is a global phenomenon, we don’t need to look far to see anecdotal evidence of a widening disparity in the distribution of the benefits of a growing economy.

Lisa Green Hall, Senior Fellow at the Beeck Center and Case Foundation; Fran Seegull, Executive Director, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance; Chelsea Amelia Cruz, Associate Director, CoDeFi at New York Fed; and Adrian Franco Ph.D., Officer & Director, CoDeFi at New York Fed

The tax bill passed in 2017 includes a provision creating various benefits for investors that move capital gains into designated low-income census tracts, known as Opportunity Zones, through special investment vehicles known as Opportunity Funds.

William C. Dudley, President

Small businesses are critical to the U.S. economy and it’s clear that we must do more to understand their needs and realities. One key factor in the success of small businesses is financing, and that’s where the Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS) comes in. The SBCS is an annual survey of small business owners that focuses on firms with fewer than 500 employees. It’s fielded by all 12 regional banks in the Federal Reserve System and aims to address important information gaps about business capital needs and obstacles.

Tony Davis, Officer and Director, and Edison Reyes, Outreach & Education Associate

Following the Investing in America’s Workforce (IAW) capstone conference in Austin, Texas, we wanted to provide an update on our efforts. As mentioned in our post in September, IAW is a Federal Reserve System-led initiative that seeks to underscore the importance of workforce development as an investment in our national economy.

Morgan Harper, VP of Knowledge Management & Strategy at LISC, and Adrian Franco, Director of Community Development Finance at the New York Fed

At our December summit on community development finance, Transforming Communities: Driving and Assessing Investment, it became clear that organizations financing community development are at a crossroads.

This Tuesday, December 12, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the New York Fed will convene a summit on community development finance. Transforming Communities: Driving and Assessing Investment will advance critical dialogues around defining how community development finance tools can support under-resourced areas, determining the metrics to assess impact, and identifying opportunities for partnerships. Ahead of the conference, we asked senior leaders Denise Scott from LISC and Eric Belsky from the Federal Reserve Board about their views on these issues — from the perspectives of both the policymaker and the practitioner.

Adrian Franco, Officer and Director, and Chelsea Cruz, Program Manager, Communications and Outreach

Promoting community development is an important function of the Federal Reserve System. Through a variety of programming and analysis, the New York Fed seeks to help advance economic mobility and resiliency of communities across the Second District. As part of that effort, we encourage capital providers to allocate funding to innovative, measurable, and impactful projects. This year, we’ve taken steps to formalize our work and create a new team in the Outreach & Education function focused on this space by launching the Community Development Finance initiative (CoDeFi).

Kausar Hamdani, Senior Vice President; Claire Kramer-Mills, Assistant Vice President and Community Affairs Officer; and Jessica Battisto, Senior Analyst

Last week, we released the City of Rochester Credit Profile, a prototype report for assessing economic well-being at the neighborhood level. It’s based on our Community Credit framework, and to understand what’s new and why this is significant, we’ll take a step back and explain the framework first.

Tony Davis, Officer and Director

We’re midway through our third roadshow of the year, which has given us the opportunity to visit local business, education, and community leaders in Syracuse, Ithaca, and Rochester, New York. This morning, President Dudley delivered remarks on workforce development during our first stop at Onondaga Community College.