The upward looking.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS - Community development financial institutions

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The immigrant guilds of Manhattan's Lower East Side in the late 1800s aren't usually recognized as financiers: but in a way, they were. Regular banks wouldn't do business with immigrants, so the guilds became alternate sources of credit.

These days, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) do basically the same thing--they step in where most other banks leave off. So maybe it's fitting that this summer, on the eve of Independence Day, New York authorized a unique state-level fund supporting the gamut of CDFIs to revitalize struggling communities.

Although there are roughly six different types of CDFIs, their common mission is community development. Some think big. They raise capital to finance large-scale redevelopment projects, such as affordable housing. Others think small, providing fledgling businesses with low-cost loans and free assistance, such as help with a business plan or marketing advice.

Community Development Credit Unions, perhaps the most well-known CDFIs, offer financial services like credit cards, savings accounts, and car and education loans to people who lack access to mainstream banks.

There are currently more than 700 CDFIs nationwide. According to the CDFI Data Project, 517 CDFIs studied in FY 2004 held more than $18.3 billion in assets and had backed almost 7,000 businesses that in turn supported more than 28,000 jobs. CDFIs also had built or renovated nearly 42,000 units of affordable housing and helped 14,500 people open their first...