Submission Deadline: May 19, 2023 11:59 PM ET

2023 OFN Conference Overview

Washington, D.C. | October 15 –18, 2023

Washington D.C. Hilton

In October, the CDFI industry will gather in the nation’s capital for the 39^th annual OFN Conference. Join more than 2,000 CDFI practitioners, investors, funders, policymakers, and others to explore the industry’s founding purpose of investing capital for people and what it means today. This is a must-attend event for anyone who believes human and investment capital have a purpose far beyond profit. 

During breakouts, plenaries, and networking sessions, we’ll look at the effects of three years of unprecedented CDFI visibility and investment as well as what’s next for the industry. Together, we’ll go deep on issues and opportunities facing CDFIs and our communities, including green finance, economic uncertainty, the future CDFI workforce, post-pandemic capital deployment, and social, racial, and economic justice. 

The 2023 OFN Conference will feature dozens of expert-led sessions on a variety of topics, and we invite you to help us shape the curriculum! 

OFN is now seeking session proposals from a diverse group of organizations and presenters that offer a wide range of perspectives.

Requirements for Session Proposals

This year we aim to offer approximately 60-70 breakout sessions on topics of critical importance to CDFIs and industry stakeholders. To maximize the impact and relevance of each session and to include as many voices as possible, we may ask applicants to work with each other to combine proposals into a single session.

Session Length: All sessions will be approximately 60-75 minutes, with no more than 45-60 minutes of presentation and at least 15 minutes of discussion and Q&A.

Speakers: OFN strongly encourages the maximum number of speakers to be limited to four, including the moderator. In rare circumstances, OFN may approve the inclusion of more than four speakers.

Proposal Limit Per Organization: OFN will consider no more than two proposals per organization. Organizations may be included in more than two session proposals (e.g. individuals from your organization may be included in other organization’s proposals) but an organization may submit no more than two proposals itself.

Complete Proposal: Please submit all requested information and materials with your proposal submission, including the bios and headshots for all proposed speakers.

Type of Sessions: OFN is seeking a mix of introductory, intermediate, and advanced-level content as well as a balance of panel presentations and in-depth training workshops tailored to the needs of CDFIs.

2023 OFN Conference Session Tracks & Topics of Interest

The 2023 OFN Conference has the theme Capital Meets Purpose and includes at least 13 session tracks covering various relevant topics. 

Each track has examples of topics of interest to assist you with generating ideas for session proposals – but OFN will not restrict sessions to these topics.

When submitting your session proposal for the 2023 OFN Conference, please note that you will be required to select one of the 13 session tracks listed below. You cannot submit a proposal without selecting a track, so please ensure that your session aligns with one of the tracks in order to be considered for the conference. Please be aware that OFN reserves the right to move your session into another track if we determine that it is a better fit for the conference content.

• Affordable Housing: loan product deep dives; strategies for closing financing gaps on projects in a rising interest rate environment; innovative financing models; new approaches to existing tools and products; supporting early-stage and emerging developers; community ownership models.
• Capitalization & Fundraising: fundraising and capital raising in a rising interest rate environment; building relationships with family offices and regional funders; strategies for accessing capital from non-traditional sources of capital, e.g., crowdfunding, High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), Donor Advised Funds (DAFs); managing off-balance sheet funds; capital markets solutions; partnerships and collaborations for driving greater impact. 
• Climate & Resiliency: best practices, strategies, and frameworks for green lending; opportunities to scale green finance such as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund; introduction to climate risk modeling and analysis; introduction to carbon accounting; loan product deep dives; strategies for building a green financing pipeline; capacity-building.
• Healthy Communities: healthy food financing; education, childcare, healthcare, and other community facilities; incorporating mental health awareness into building design and service provision; innovative financing models and new programs.
• Impact Measurement & Management: frameworks, tools, and metrics for measuring, evaluating, and reporting on social and environment impact; identifying inputs, outputs, and outcomes to track; data collection, analysis, and management; survey design; impact reporting; involving community stakeholders in data feedback loops and impact analysis. 
• Native CDFIs: talent recruitment, retention, and management strategies in Indian Country; agricultural lending; strategies and tools for increasing opportunities for wealth-building, whether through homeownership, entrepreneurship, or other means.
• HR & Talent: succession planning across an organization and building a deep bench; developing organizational culture; talent recruitment, retention, and management; compensation practices; developing the next generation of the CDFI workforce.
• Lending & Portfolio Management: customer acquisition strategies; deployment strategies and opportunities; alternative underwriting models; effective, mission-aligned portfolio management; developing, implementing, and maintaining strong lending policies and procedures; redefining creditworthiness; building policies and practices for small dollar/consumer lending.
• Organizational Growth, Operations & Financial Management: geographic expansion; managing sustainable organizational growth; reimagining CDFI business models post-pandemic and PPP; strategic planning; governance - developing boards, investment committees, and advisory committees; technology systems identification, implementation and integration (e.g. loan servicing, accounting, CRM software); cybersecurity; lessons learned and leading practices for managing audit processes; strategies and tools for compliance reporting & management; disaster readiness, response, and recovery planning.
• Public Policy & Communications: strategies and partnerships for advancing local, regional, and national CDFI policy priorities; building coalitions; intro and intermediate-level sessions on how to maximize opportunities from various federal programs, e.g., New Market Tax Credits (NTMC), State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), Capital Magnet Fund (CMF), etc.; effective storytelling; building a brand; digital marketing; social media; experiential marketing.
• Racial Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility: strategies and tools for building a more inclusive lending process; inclusive hiring practices; developing cultural competency; strategies and resources for training & education; racial equity impact assessment tools; working in solidarity with community; serving people with disabilities. 
• Rural Communities: leveraging USDA rural development programs; partnerships to expand service provision to rural communities; innovative financing models; new approaches to existing tools and products.
• Small Business: loan product deep dives, e.g., lines of credit, equity or quasi-equity products, guarantees, etc.; strategies, programs, and resources to support borrower readiness and success; innovative financing models; new approaches to existing tools and products; leveraging technology to scale small business lending.
• Other: if your session proposal does not fit into one of the tracks above, you may select “other” when submitting your proposal.

Suggestions for Developing a Strong Proposal

To increase your chances of being selected, we strongly suggest that you:

• Share practical, actionable information that helps participants do their jobs better. 
• Go in-depth rather than staying broad: sessions that skim the surface usually receive lower ratings from attendees.
• Consider the diversity of your presenters (race, ethnicity, gender) as well as the institutions they’re affiliated with (rural/urban market, small/large asset size, financing sector). 
• Consider a session format other than a panel. Try a small-group discussion, speed dating, workshopping a problem, or conducting a skills training.
• Include presenters from two or more organizations with different perspectives−and consider including a borrower, partner organization, or community representative.
• Submit a complete session proposal. OFN will not consider incomplete proposals, e.g., those without bios and headshots for all proposed speakers. 
• No sales pitches. OFN will not accept session proposals that come across, or are structured, as sales pitches for a particular product or firm.

OFN will work hard to select a mix of strong session proposals that offers value to a range of audiences and levels of experience. We do our best to accommodate as many strong proposals as we can. Sometimes we do this by asking people who propose similar topics to combine their ideas into a single session.

Sample Session Descriptions

Below are two sample session descriptions that you can model your description on.

I Heart CDFI Notes: Engaging Individual and Institutional Investors to Deepen Mission Impact

There’s something very special about the relationships CDFIs hold with investors who help advance our collective mission. While not all investment note offerings are the same, those relationships are at the heart of a growing recognition of what real community investment can look like when investors put their capital to work with CDFIs. In this session, hear from CDFIs with growing notes products about how they manage investor relations and what growth means for their loan funds. We'll talk shop about offering documents, legal advice, accredited vs. nonaccredited investors, and administrative challenges. Together, we'll ponder: Are CDFI investment notes a way to democratize investment? How do we strengthen our links to long-term CDFI supporters like faith communities while developing connections with new individual and institutional investors to create more diversity and inclusion in our investor base? What issues or focus areas are important to these CDFI investors? How can we partner with advisory firms? And what is our opportunity for growth?

The Journey Is the Destination: How CDFIs Can Move from “Colorblind” to “Antiracist”

Women of color accounted for 89% of new businesses opened every day over the year before COVID-19. Black women are 300% more likely to launch a new business than a white person, and Latinas are 180% more likely−and both are more likely to fail, due to lack of affordable capital and access to business advising. The CDFI industry was founded as an antidote to the failings of the traditional financial system, like redlining and lending discrimination. We’re working hard to close these gaps, but “colorblind” policies and ways of doing business hold us back from truly centering Black and Brown business owners and confronting racial and economic injustice head on. As an industry, we must move from colorblind to antiracist, and this session is an open and frank discussion of how we do it.

Presenter and Session Policies

OFN Conference Registration: Session presenters will be required to register and pay the registration fee for the 2023 OFN Conference. Exceptions will be made for presenters who only plan to attend the session rather than the full conference. We regret that OFN cannot provide compensation or travel reimbursements to presenters except in rare instances. 

Session Organizer: The Session Organizer will be the primary contact for all communications regarding the selected proposal and the session. The Session Organizer assumes full responsibility for the design of the session, the coordination of all session presenters (if applicable), compliance with OFN’s Presenter and Session Policies, and a successful session delivery.

Presenter Confirmations: All session presenters must be confirmed 30 days after a session proposal is accepted. 

Session Scheduling: OFN will determine the scheduling of all sessions. By confirming speakers’ participation in the session proposal, you are agreeing they will be available for any of the times designated for sessions on Monday, October 16, 2023 through 12pm EST on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

Timeline & Submission Instructions

• Session Proposals Due: 11:59 pm ET on Friday, May 19, 2023. All proposals must be submitted online via the Call for Sessions site. OFN will not accept hard copies. 
• Presenters Informed of Selection Decision: Late July

If you have questions about the process or your session idea, please contact

Seth Julyan or Sindhu Lakshmanan.