Connecticut · Nonprofit
THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC
THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $370,000 to it, the largest being LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION ($150,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $2.3M
- Funders on record
- 9
- Grants received
- $370k
- Net assets
- $15M
What The Community Economic Development Fund Foundation Inc does
Mission
To strengthen neighborhood economies by providing flexible financing and technical support to businesses, community organizations and initiatives throughout connecticut. We help to stabilize and grow small businesses so individuals may realize their dreams, families may celebrate increased financial independence, and communities may prosper. The community economic development fund (cedf) was founded in 1993. There was an urgent need for small business lending in connecticut's economically depressed and stagnant cities at a time when traditional banking institutions were scaling back lending activity. Today cedf continues to actively lead and support small business formation and growth as a catalyst for meaningful, diverse and inclusive economic development. Over the last 31 years, cedf has fulfilled its mission of small business lending, technical assistance and business education for entrepreneurs and small business owners across connecticut.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Small business lending program: as a certified community development financial institution loan fund, cedf offers easier-to-obtain small business loans to startup and small businesses throughout connecticut that cannot obtain financing from traditional lending institutions. Our borrowers must also operate a business in an economically disadvantaged census tract (as identified by the state of ct and/or u.s. Treasury) or have a low-to-moderate household income. By allowing clients the opportunity to start a small business enterprise, expand an existing business, take advantage of economies of scale, buy their own buildings, or move into new markets, cedf provides individuals the chance to realize positive change for themselves, their families, and their communities. The communities in which these entrepreneurs operate their businesses often experience a wide range of social benefits, including an increase of economic activity in neighborhoods, community wellness, blight reduction, and job creation and retention. In 2024, cedf foundation originated 37 microloans/lines of credit/owner-occupied mortgages for $1,084,000 and another 32 for $2,899,811 for affiliate, cedf fund I, llc,…
$897,046 spent$855,255 earned by the program61% of program spendingBusiness advisory program: cedf provides a business advisor (ba) to each of our loan recipients for the life of their loan(s) at no charge to them, just prior to loan origination. Ba's are full-time cedf employees and each advisor has owned and operated a successful small business before joining cedf. This equips them with expert technical knowledge and the willingness to provide attentive, understanding and emotional support to those facing difficult circumstances. Ba's serve our borrowers as coaches and relationship managers to help foster business growth and reduce risk of business closure. They offer guidance on best practices in management, marketing, finance and operations; help investigate, diagnose or research business challenges and opportunities in order to identify paths to improved results; and coach on matters of leadership, accountability, action planning, idea generation, motivation, and management of the emotional components of business ownership. Cedf's business advisors provided 5,470 service hours to 193 clients with 239 loans across ct's 169 towns/cities in 2024 and supported the creation and retention of 1,092 jobs.
$414,744 spent$401,549 earned by the program28% of program spendingBusiness education program: cedf educates entrepreneurs on the essential knowledge for operating successful, sustainable enterprises. Business educational offerings are provided to entrepreneurs/small business owners across connecticut at little to no cost to them. We deliver education through a variety of channels, including podcasts, webinars, instructional articles, online education and live seminars and offer on-demand format all housed on our education website for easy access to educational resources needed by the small business owner www.weteachsuccess.org. Program services in spanish: cedf employs three spanish speaking individuals and prospective clients more comfortable conducting business in spanish can access pre-loan counseling, business education and business advisory services in their own language. In 2024, we experienced 7,535 learning engagements and offered 74 educational programs of which 39 were in spanish.
$149,954 spentof which $10,000 as grants$143,290 earned by the program10% of program spendingOther program services, not described on the e-filed return.
$4,975 spentof which $5,000 as grants$1,964 earned by the program0% of program spending
The 4 programs described on its FY2024 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,466,719.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2023 to 2024, from $21M to $22M (+6%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 18% · 2018 25% · 2019 22% · 2020 34% · 2021 32% · 2022 26% · 2023 29% · 2024 21%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
26% of THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC’s revenue is contributions — about as donation-reliant as the typical peer (61% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 1 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Chief executive
James Bzdyra
President/CEO
Board chair
David Cantor
Board chair
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 1 funder to 3 funders, grant income rose $15k → $50k.
3 of 9 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 11% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC leans on a few funders — its largest provides 41% of grant income and the top three 76%; half comes from just 2 funders.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 2 funders to its left
51% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 100% · 2018 100% · 2020 71% · 2021 100% · 2022 73% · 2023 40% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
14% of THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC's funders are still giving 1 year after their first grant; 22% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC draws 99% of its grant income from funders outside Connecticut, across 6 states in all.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $40k arriving through sponsors registered in 2 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC holds deeper cash reserves than three-quarters of the 4,203 community improvement nonprofits its size.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 4,203 community improvement nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Government funding THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC receives
Grants and contracts to this organization from federal (USASpending) and state checkbooks, reconciled to its EIN. $4.0M on record.
- Small Business Administration$4.0M
Federal grants vs contracts are distinguished; state line items keep their reported category. Matched by name + geography (the BMF), so coverage is partial and precision-first.
Organizations like THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In Connecticut
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
67% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
75%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 1 state
Part of a family of 3 related entities
- Community Economic Development Fund I LLC · partnership
- Community Economic Development Fund Pool 2 LLC · partnership
- Community Economic Development Fund Corporation · corp_trust
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC?
- THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC (Connecticut) receives grants from 9 organizations whose IRS filings report $370,000 to it, the largest being LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION ($150,000). 2 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC have?
- IRS filings report 9 organizations giving $370,000 in grants to THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC, 2 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC?
- LOCAL INITIATIVES SUPPORT CORPORATION is the largest funder on record, with $150,000 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like THE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND FOUNDATION INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in Connecticut. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 9 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 14, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing