Micha and Vernon discuss how the Cooperative Fund of New England (CFNE) uses its expertise to address racial inequities in financial institutions, by providing technical assistance, instituting standardized policies that account for racial biases; and partnering with other community organizations to deliver services. As Executive Director, Micha is responsible for executive leadership, program development, capitalization, and operations. He first joined CFNE in 2010 as a Program Manager, helping raise grant and loan capital, managing compliance reporting, and new program development. Micha’s co-op involvement goes back to his undergraduate membership in the Oberlin Student Cooperative Association. He has a background in nonprofit financial management and community organizing, and holds a BA in environmental studies from Oberlin College and an MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University. He has also participated in the Opportunity Finance Network’s leadership training program. CFNE is a certified CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution), founded in 1975 to work for economic, social, and racial justice by advancing community based, cooperative, and democratically owned or managed enterprises with a preference to assisting cooperatives in low-income communities. CFNE has disbursed $66 million in flexible financing and delivered customized technical assistance to emerging and established cooperatives across the region, of which 75% are still in business. This has created or preserved thousands of jobs and affordable housing units and over 100,000 cooperative ownership opportunities largely in low and moderate income communities. CFNE serves New England and parts of New York.
