The Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation (PATF) has recently been awarded two grants, totaling $800,000, that will be used to extend new zero-interest (0%) or low-interest (3.75%) loans to people with disabilities for the purchase of devices that can greatly improve their quality of life. Known as “assistive technology”, such devices can include , hearing aids, computers with specialized hardware and software, wheelchairs and scooters, ramps, widened doorways, and other home modifications, stair glides, vehicles with lowered floors and hand controls and adapted farm equipment. A portion of the grants will also be used to provide financial education to people with disabilities, to help increase their ability to manage and control their finances independently.
Certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, PATF was awarded $600,000 in August, 2012, by the CDFI Fund to expand their zero-interest mini-loan program, guaranteed low-interest loan program, and financial education services.
In September, 2012, PATF was also accredited as a PA Community Development Bank, and was approved for a $200,000 loan for direct lending.
Based in King of Prussia, PATF serves people of all ages, all income levels and all disability diagnoses and health conditions across Pennsylvania. PATF’s is proud of its ability to serve the needs of low-income Pennsylvanians with disabilities. It is the only consumer loan program in the state with a mission to serve people with no credit history or a negative credit history due to disability.
About the CDFI Fund
The CDFI Fund invests in and builds the capacity of community-based, private, for-profit and non-profit financial institutions with a primary mission of community development in economically distressed communities. These institutions – certified by the CDFI Fund as Community Development Financial Institutions or CDFIs – are able to respond to gaps in local markets that traditional financial institutions are not adequately serving. CDFIs provide critically needed capital, credit and other financial products in addition to technical assistance to community residents and businesses, service providers, and developers working to meet community needs. The CDFI Fund’s vision is an America in which all people have adequate access to affordable capital, credit and financial services.