January 16, 2023

RBF and CDFI Research Report Released by Catalyze

Happy Tuesday, friends. Today I want to share with you The State of Revenue Based Financing and CDFIs report released by our friends at Catalyze. I’ve known Brendan Cosgrove for a few years now, and respect and value his work and insights. His colleagues, Michael Belles and Maegan Moore, and he have been instrumental in helping grow RBF around the country. Brendan was a driver of the Kauffman Foundation’s Capital Access Lab, which helped capitalize several RBF firms a few years ago.

Catalyze’s report proposes a path forward for a Minimum Viable Impact Framework for RBF, which is important for attracting new capital into this market, so I think it’s critical for everyone to read. Catalyze also analyzes the development of RBF within the CDFI industry in general and what barriers exist to further adoption.

The report also shares critical insights into some of the blocking and tackling that new practitioners struggle with right out of the gate (e.g., which RBF structures work for different businesses, tax treatment of RBF structures, underwriting, and technical infrastructure challenges, etc.).

Please take a moment to read and learn from our friends, and share feedback with them!

Note: You can hear more about how CDFIs operate with RBF in our podcast episode with Ruben Alonso from AltCap.