NEXT Seed Capital Award

Applicants for the NEXT Seed Capital Award 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 multi-million dollar Awards 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. 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.
5. 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 for the NEXT Seed Capital Award or NEXT Seed Capital Award for Savings Innovation will have a compelling plan to start or expand an innovative consumer finance strategy.

Eligible applicants will be evaluated 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. Please note that the consumer financial services strategies can have a financing component, but that is not a requirement to apply for either category of Seed Capital Award in 2015.
3. Use of Funds
   A compelling use of funds that demonstrates how the applicant will use the NEXT Seed Capital Award to advance the applicant’s coverage strategy in ways that otherwise would not be possible.
4. Impact
   A solid track record of tracking impact and outcomes over the applicant’s history and an articulation of how applicant plans to develop projections for outcomes/impacts of the proposed strategy.
5. Readiness
   A clear articulation of any resources (e.g. staff, financial, partners, capital) the applicant anticipates needing to implement its strategy, and how the organization plans to obtain the resources.
6. Financial Strength and Performance
   Acceptable 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.