Submission Deadline: May 27, 2022 11:59 PMET
2022 OFN Conference Overview
It’s back! For the first time in three years, the annual OFN Conference is in person — this year in New York City. From October 18-21, CDFI practitioners, funders, and investors, as well as policymakers and other industry stakeholders, will gather at the New York Hilton Midtown for the largest convening in the CDFI industry.
This year’s theme — Invest in Change — is a call to action for attendees and others working to provide economic opportunity for all. It also defines the work CDFIs and our partners do every day.
The 2022 OFN Conference will feature dozens of expert-led sessions on topics of greatest interest to attendees – 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 breakout sessions on topics of critical importance to CDFIs and their supporters. 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: This year, OFN will consider sessions in two formats:
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 on the proposed panels for more than two sessions, but an organization may submit no more than two proposals.
Complete Proposal: Please submit all requested information and materials with your proposal submission, including the bios and head shots for all proposed speakers.
Timeline
If you have questions about the process or your session idea, please contact Seth Julyan or Alba Castillo.
Topics of Interest
The theme for the 2022 OFN Conference is Invest in Change. Topics of particular interest include:
Suggestions for Developing a Strong Proposal
To increase your chances of being selected, we strongly suggest that you:
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 three 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 red lining 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.
The Mighty Middle: Attracting, Retaining and Advancing Diverse, Mid-Level Personnel at CDFIs
The racial reckoning in our country must be reflected in the CDFI industry. CDFIs must build more racially equitable, inclusive, and just teams to serve BIPOC communities. Success will come by attracting diverse candidates at all levels of our organizations and through strategies to retain and prepare middle managers for advancing to the executive ranks. Recruitment of young graduates and senior level executives is happening; however, many CDFIs lack intentional strategies for inclusivity and diversity in their mid-level ranks. This panel of seasoned talent managers will discuss methods of developing a diverse corps of mid-level professionals to fill the “mighty middle” in CDFIs and how non-BIPOC managers can show allyship and cultivate a supportive environment for middle-managers.
Presenter and Session Policies
OFN Conference Registration: Session presenters will be required to register and pay the registration fee for the Conference. Exceptions will be made for presenters who only plan to attend their 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, coordination of all session presenters (if applicable), submission of all presenter and session materials, compliance with OFN’s deadlines, and successful session delivery.
Session Scheduling: OFN will determine the scheduling of all sessions. By confirming your final selection, you are agreeing to be available for any of the times designated for sessions on Wednesday, October 19, through noon on Friday, October 21.
Proposal Submission Instructions
Proposals are due by 11:59 pm ET on Friday, May 27. All proposals must be submitted online. OFN will not accept hard copies.
If you have questions on how to submit a proposal, please contact Leigh Bethea.
If you have questions about the content of your proposal, please contact Seth Julyan or Alba Castillo.