HUD, the Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA-RD) and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) recently the “Border Community Capital Initiative” (Border Initiative), a collaboration designed to increase access to capital in the U.S./Mexico border region which includes some of the poorest communities in the country. The three agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will offer up to $200,000 to nonprofit and/or tribal financial institutions serving colonias for direct investment and technical assistance focusing on affordable housing, small businesses, and community facilities. Colonias are communities along the U.S./Mexico border struggling with chronic poverty, the lack of drinking water, inadequate sewage systems, and a shortage of decent, safe and sanitary housing.