Opportunity Finance Network Gives Outstanding CDFI Award to Latino Economic Development Center

Opportunity Finance Network gave its Outstanding CDFI Award to the St. Paul-based Latino Economic Development Center and its Rising Star Award to Invest Appalachia founding CEO Andrew Crosson at the 42nd annual OFN Conference in New Orleans. PR Newswire carried the announcement. The honors were presented at The Opportunity Honors Award Ceremony and Reception on October 22, 2026.

LEDC's Emergency Relief Fund in Minneapolis-St. Paul

Opportunity Finance Network is a Washington-based investment intermediary and network of community development financial institutions, founded in 1986. The Outstanding CDFI Award recognizes a CDFI that has gone above and beyond over the last 18 months in serving its communities and advancing the CDFI industry.

From late 2025 through early 2026, businesses across Minneapolis-St. Paul faced unexpected community disruptions that caused sudden revenue losses, threatening their survival. In just three weeks, Latino Economic Development Center launched the Emergency Business Relief Fund and raised $1.2 million that helped small businesses stay open, preserve jobs, and continue serving their communities.

"LEDC and Andrew Crosson represent the very best of community development finance: leaders who see what their communities need and act with urgency, imagination, and resolve," said OFN President and CEO Harold Pettigrew. "When fear and disruption threatened small businesses across the Twin Cities, LEDC moved quickly to protect livelihoods and keep neighborhoods intact."

Crosson became Invest Appalachia's founding CEO without formal training in finance or investments. Under his leadership, Invest Appalachia has deployed over $40.5 million in blended financing for underserved communities across the region, with a majority deployed in partnership with other CDFIs, including Woodland Community Lenders, Fahe, Mountain Association, Mountain BizWorks, and Partner Community Capital. His use of catalytic capital has also leveraged more than $86 million in repayable financing.

Opportunity Finance Network's Scale and Recent Moves

According to akta.pro company records, Opportunity Finance Network represents a network of nearly 500 CDFIs and manages over $1 billion to help CDFIs lend and invest in markets underserved by mainstream banks. Through 2024, its members have provided more than $136 billion in cumulative financing in rural, urban, and Native communities.

The same records show a February 2026 launch of the inaugural OFN National Policy Summit in Washington, D.C., which convened over 150 policymakers, CDFI practitioners, and funders for bipartisan policy advocacy, including Congressional Hill visits. In January 2026, OFN closed a $100 million Treasury-backed CDFI Bond Guarantee Program issuance for 22Beacon to finance charter schools in rural and distressed markets, bringing its cumulative Bond Guarantee Program origination to nearly $1 billion.

What Follows the New Orleans Ceremony

OFN's 42nd annual conference in New Orleans hosted the October 22, 2026 ceremony. The Opportunity Honors program names the Outstanding CDFI Award and the Rising Star Award each year.