The mission of the RTF is to spur private and public financing of affordable housing and economic development in areas suffering from disinvestment. Throughout its twenty-five years of negotiations, partnership building, and strategy-formation, the RTF has retained two primary goals:
1. To monitor lending practices and policies; and
2. To develop strategies for investment in underserved areas.
It has made an effort to provide factual, consistent, cooperative opportunities for reinvestment by lenders and government. By proactively fostering initiatives, the RTF continues to demonstrate positive long-term impacts that can result in public/private ventures, businesses, and community organizations working in concert.
The RTF has provided a national model for how the CRA can be applied cooperatively on a local level. It has shown as well that at various times, concurrent with the evolving nature of the national financial markets, local strategies must also change and adapt. Significant reinvestment has occurred in San Diego, due in part to the efforts of the RTF. In order to mirror the changes that have occurred due to mergers, the loss of local lending institutions, and the ongoing, persistent need for affordable housing and small business financing, a new strategy is needed to capitalize on the CRA. Such a strategy must be built upon the partnership of government, community and lenders if it is to succeed. The potential scale of private sector reinvestment is vastly greater than the capacity of government alone. Revitalization, as opposed to redevelopment, provides an alternative model for community improvement, which is driven by market forces. It can achieve a scale, which cannot be duplicated by the public sector.
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