Founded in 2011, Community LendingWorks is a growing Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides access to capital and asset building services to help you work your way toward financial stability.

We are also the only CDFI in the region making small business and microenterprise loans of $100,000 and under, offering entrepreneurs both start-up and expansion funds.

Our focus is to help you build a brighter financial future. We see you as more than a credit score! We strive to understand your circumstances and tailor our loans to suit your individual needs. Through our loan products, we hope to assist you in moving forward financially – thus making your life and our community better.

Through our affiliate organization, NEDCO, CLW offers financial education services not available elsewhere in the Willamette Valley. This allows us to pair all of our personal and small business loans with these educational resources to ensure that you, as the borrower, continues to be successful.

In addition, our hands-on underwriting process takes many aspects of a client’s profile into account when making a lending decision, which makes us the ideal lender for those with imperfect credit history or other financial challenges.

While CLW is based in the Willamette Valley, we can lend to any business or person in Oregon.

What is a CDFI and why is it so vital to our community?

Community Development Financial Institutions—or CDFIs—emerged in response to a lack of access to responsible and affordable credit and capital in minority and economically distressed communities. The Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, plays a unique and important role in generating economic growth in America. By fostering the creation and expanding the capacity of community-based financial institutions that specialize in providing affordable credit, capital, and financial services, the CDFI Fund builds businesses, creates jobs, and revitalizes neighborhoods.