Connect. Learn. Shape the Future of Disability Finance.
The National Disability Finance Coalition’s Affinity Groups bring together practitioners, entrepreneurs, advocates, and policymakers working to expand access to capital and financial services for people with disabilities.
These peer networks provide space to exchange ideas, share practical solutions, and build relationships across the disability finance ecosystem. Whether you are designing lending products, shaping policy, or building a business, our Affinity Groups connect people facing similar challenges and opportunities.
Each group focuses on a specific dimension of disability finance and meets quarterly to share insights, highlight emerging models, and explore strategies that strengthen disability inclusion in community development.
Participation is free and open to professionals, entrepreneurs, and advocates interested in advancing disability finance.
- Community development professionals with disabilities
- Accessible and supportive housing
- Assistive technology and consumer finance
- Universal design of community facilities
Disability & Community Development Professionals Affinity Group
This affinity group provides a space for community development professionals with disabilities to connect, share experiences, and advance disability-conscious practices across the field.
Members build professional networks, exchange strategies for navigating the industry, and discuss how accessibility and universal design can be embedded in housing, lending, and community development projects.
The group also supports the next generation of leaders working across CDFIs, nonprofits, government, and impact investing.
Who Should Join
• Community development professionals with disabilities
• Early-career practitioners in CDFIs, lending, and impact investing
• Professionals interested in advancing disability inclusion in development work
Focus areas
• Professional development and mentorship
• Workplace accessibility and career advancement
• Disability-informed community development strategies
• Peer support and leadership building
Meeting schedule
Quarterly virtual meetings with occasional in-person gatherings at industry events.
Join us for our inaugural meeting:
Thursday, April 30, 2026
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Eastern
Disability & Small Business Affinity Group
This group brings together disabled entrepreneurs, CDFI lenders, and capital providers working to expand access to small business finance for people with disabilities.
Participants share practical strategies for improving capital access, discuss loan structuring and packaging, and explore how assistive technology, flexible underwriting, and targeted outreach can strengthen lending outcomes.
The group also serves as a space for entrepreneurs and practitioners to exchange ideas, identify barriers, and elevate solutions that help disabled founders build and grow businesses.
Who should join
• Disabled entrepreneurs
• CDFI small business lenders
• Capital providers and loan fund managers
• Technical assistance providers and ecosystem partners
Focus areas
• Access to capital for disabled founders
• Loan packaging and underwriting approaches
• Assistive technology and adaptive business tools
• Peer mentoring and ecosystem collaboration
Meeting schedule
Quarterly virtual meetings with occasional in-person gatherings at major industry events.
Stay tuned. Inaugural meetings are being scheduled for the second quarter 2026.
Disability & Policy Affinity Group
The Disability & Policy Affinity Group brings together policy professionals, lenders, and advocates working to advance disability finance through public policy and regulatory change.
Members collaborate to track legislation, analyze federal and state programs, and share strategies that improve capital access for people with disabilities.
The group also explores emerging policy opportunities across affordable housing, assistive technology finance, small business lending, and community facilities.
Download our flyer
Who should join
• CDFI policy staff
• Advocates and nonprofit policy professionals
• Researchers and policy analysts
• Community development leaders engaged in disability policy
Focus areas
• Federal and state disability finance policy
• CDFI Fund programs, including DF-FA
• Policy advocacy and coalition building
• Measuring and demonstrating impact
Meeting schedule
Quarterly virtual meetings with occasional in-person convenings.
Stay tuned. Inaugural meetings are being scheduled for the second quarter 2026.
Join the Conversation. Learn.
Disability finance is a growing field—and it benefits from collaboration across sectors and lived experiences.
Join an NDFC Affinity Group to share ideas, build connections, and help shape more inclusive financial systems.
Send an email to info@disability-finance.org with your contact and details of which group you would like to join.