NEXT Opportunity Award

In 2016, the NEXT Opportunity Award will provide up millions of dollars to CDFIs that present the most compelling applications supporting their strategy to expand CDFI coverage through innovative consumer finance strategies.

Prospective award applicants should demonstrate high capacity, strong financial performance, and a high level of readiness to implement their strategy within 6 months of receiving an award.

CDFI applicants must have at least $5 million in assets and can apply for award amounts up to 10% of their total assets.

Congratulations 2016 NEXT Opportunity Awardees: Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union and Rio Grande Valley Multibank Corporation. Read more about the Awardees.

2016 Schedule

Applications Open: January 21

Information Calls for Applicants: January 27, 2016, 1:00–2:00 PM ET

Applications Close: March 2, 5:00 PM ET

Evaluation Period: March-July

Selection Committee Meeting with Finalists: July 13, 2016

Awardees Notified: July

Visibility Campaign: August- October

Wells Fargo NEXT Awards Celebration: October 25, 2016 at OFN's Annual Conference in Atlanta, GA

Applicants for the NEXT Opportunity Awards must meet certain eligibility requirements. See the detailed application guidelines.

General Notes

  • CDFIs do not need to be a Member of OFN to apply for the NEXT Awards.
  • CDFIs cannot apply for both the NEXT Seed Capital Award and the NEXT Opportunity Award in the same year as they require different stages of development for an applicant’s expansion strategy.
  • The CDFIs that won a multi-million dollar NEXT Award in 2007–2015 may not apply for the Wells Fargo NEXT Awards through 2016.
  • CDFIs that are awarded the NEXT Seed Capital Award in one year may apply in future years for the NEXT Opportunity Award.

2016 Eligibility Requirements

  1. Charitable Purpose
    Applicant is a US tax-exempt organization with a current 501(c)(3) determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service. An organization without this tax status may be eligible if it is a U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund certified CDFI. Native CDFIs that are CDFI Fund certified must not be tribally controlled.
  2. Community Development Mission & Impact
    Applicant has a primary mission of community development and strives to have a positive impact on low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged people and communities.
  3. Finance-based Strategy
    Applicant is a private non-governmental financial intermediary that uses financing as an integral part of its community development strategy.
  4. Three Years of Financing Experience to Achieve a Community Development Mission
  5. Audited Financial Statements for 3 Years
    An applicant must upload its audited financial statements for at least three years. If the applicant is a credit union, the credit union can substitute both a 5300 report and supervisory committee audit for an audited financial statement.
  6. Discipline and Performance
    Applicant is currently in compliance with all financial covenants, reporting requirements, and performance obligations stipulated by public, private, and philanthropic providers of capital and grant support.
  7. Current Plan
    Applicant is operating under a business plan or strategic plan that was written or updated within the last five years.
  8. Total Assets More Than $5 Million
  9. OFN’s Goals
    Applicant affirms Opportunity Finance Network’s goal to ensure that low-income, low-wealth and other disadvantaged people and communities have access to affordable, responsible financial products and services.

2016 Selection Criteria

Successful candidates will be CDFIs with a history of significant accomplishments that present the most compelling applications explaining their plans to expand their consumer financial services strategies. Applicants must demonstrate a high degree of readiness to successfully accept and use a flexible grant and debt award from the NEXT Awards.

The NEXT Opportunity Award Selection Committee will evaluate eligible applicants according to the six criteria below.

  1. Rationale for Expansion
    A clear description and analysis of the unmet market need that applicant plans to address with a consumer finance strategy, including why current sources of capital are not providing the unmet market need.
  2. Coverage Strategy
    A compelling strategy to expand affordable and responsible consumer financial products and services. The expansion strategy must have financing as a primary component.
  3. Use of Funds
    A compelling use of funds that demonstrates how the applicant will use the NEXT Opportunity Award to advance the applicant’s coverage strategy in ways that otherwise would not be possible. Applicants must specify award amount requested.
  4. Impact
    A credible and compelling analysis of projected impact from applicant’s coverage strategy over a three-year time horizon, as well as a solid track record of tracking impact over the applicant’s history.
  5. Readiness and Viability
    A strong management team and other resources in place or planned to execute applicant’s coverage strategy within a six-month timeframe of receiving an award. A strong grasp of internal and external challenges and how this strategy will impact financial management, sustainability, and risk to the organization.
  6. Financial Strength and Performance
    Strong financial performance and risk management, and a sound business model that positions the organization for sustained growth, innovation, and success.
     

    In evaluating strategies against the criteria above, the NEXT Awards will prioritize strategies that incorporate one or more of the following: innovation, replicability, scalability, and consumer savings. See the detailed application guidelines for more information.

The NEXT Opportunity Award Selection Committee include senior executives from Wells Fargo, Prudential, the MacArthur Foundation, and The Kresge Foundation, and as well as highly regarded CDFI leaders and experts in CDFIs, banking, philanthropy, financial markets, and consumer finance. This distinguished and diverse group of experts brings a wide range of expertise and perspectives to the process of selecting the Wells Fargo NEXT Award recipients. Specifically, they will assess the qualifications and merits of the applicants relative to the selection criteria, conduct in-person interviews with finalists, and select the award recipients.

2016 NEXT Opportunity Award Committee

Anthony Berkley
Vice President, Strategy & Impact
Prudential Financial, Inc.

Allison Clark
Associate Director, Program Related Investments
MacArthur Foundation

Kim Dempsey
Deputy Director
The Kresge Foundation

Sameera Fazili
Consultant and Former White House Policy Advisor

Corinne Florek, OP
Executive Director
RCIF

Alex Horowitz
Senior Officer, Research, Small-Dollar Loans Project
Pew Charitable Trusts

Lesley Milovich
Executive Vice President and Group Head
Wells Fargo

Jonathan Mintz
CEO
Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund

Kimberly Ostrowski
Senior Program Director, Corporate Giving
Prudential Foundation

Romy Parzick
Senior Manager of Customer Impact
NetSpend Corporation

Luis Pastor
President & CEO
Latino Community Credit Union

Fran A. Lutz
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Opportunity Finance Network

Eileen Stenerson
Senior Vice President
Wells Fargo

Jim Taylor
VP, Multicultural Leadership
AARP

Megan Teare
Senior Vice President
Wells Fargo

Jennifer Tescher
President & CEO
Center for Financial Services Innovation

Can loans to microenterprise and small businesses count under the definition of consumer financial services, particularly if they are helping these businesses move away from high-cost, online payday lenders that lack transparency and can trap small businesses in a cycle of debt?
In general, loans to microenterprise and small businesses cannot count under the definition of consumer financial services. The only potential exceptions are if the loan product or strategy has the intent of helping consumers manage their individual or family expenses and/or liquidity, or if the product or strategy has broader applicability to consumers (that are not seeking small business loans) to help them manage their expenses and/or liquidity.

Can I apply for a NEXT Opportunity and NEXT Seed Capital Award?
CDFIs cannot apply for both the NEXT Seed Capital Award and the NEXT Opportunity Award in the same year as they require different stages of development for an applicant’s expansion strategy.

I know that an organization is not eligible to apply for both the NEXT Opportunity and NEXT Seed Capital awards. Can two affiliated but legally separate organizations apply? Both are CDFIs—a community development credit union and 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Two affiliated organizations that are separate legal entities can apply for the NEXT Opportunity Award and the NEXT Seed Capital Award as long as each is a 501(c)(3) and/or CDFI Fund Certified.

Does my organization have to be a 501(c)(3) to apply?
An organization must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service code or certified by the CDFI Fund to be eligible to apply for a Wells Fargo NEXT Award.

My CDFI won a million dollar NEXT Award. Are we eligible to apply for the NEXT Opportunity or NEXT Seed Capital Award?
The CDFIs that won a multi-million dollar NEXT Awards in 2007–2015 may not apply for the NEXT Awards through 2016. CDFIs that won a smaller award are eligible to apply for the NEXT Opportunity Award.

Can CDFIs submit a co-application with another CDFI?
CDFIs cannot submit a co-application. One CDFI must apply and if applying for the NEXT Opportunity Award must have assets greater than $5 million. However, a CDFI can mention in its proposal how it plans to partner with another CDFI in its CDFI coverage strategy.

We are a financial capabilities nonprofit that works with community credit unions. Could we apply with a credit union partner for the NEXT Awards?
An organization needs to be a CDFI to apply. A CDFI cannot submit a co-application. However, a CDFI can mention in its proposal how it plans to partner with another CDFI or non-CDFI in its coverage strategy.

If an organization doesn’t have audited financials, can it still apply for the NEXT Awards?
For the NEXT Opportunity Award, three years of audits are required.  If the applicant is a credit union, the credit union can submit both a 5300 report and a Supervisory Committee Audit to substitute for an audited financial statement

If my organization receives an award, will I be notified before the OFN Conference?
Yes, Awardees for the NEXT Opportunity Award and the Award for the NEXT Seed Capital Award will be notified before the OFN conference.

Is a tribal entity eligible for a Wells Fargo NEXT Award? My organization is an LLC organized under the Tribe.
A Native CDFI is eligible to apply if it is a separate organization from the Tribe and the Tribe does not have any form of control over the CDFI. The Native CDFI must satisfy all other Eligibility Requirements.

Does my organization have to be Aeris-rated to be eligible to apply?
Applicants do not have to be Aeris-rated to apply.

My organization is in the process of being Aeris-rated for the first time. Do I need to provide all of the documents as part of my application?
A CDFI’s final Aeris report must be available by the application deadline or the CDFI must provide all of the requested documents as part of its application.