I officially love my bank. The Wachovia Foundation, alongside the MacArthur Foundation and the Opportunity Finance Network just recently teamed up on a $42.5 million endeavor to support community development, called the Wachovia Next Awards.

Their aim is to aid specifically CDFIs, or community development financial institutions, with a combination of long-term low-cost loans and grants, so the CDFIs can then loan money to forward community development. The program will only run for the next five years, but I'm pretty sure the smallest loan, at $2.5 million, will keep a CDFI sustained for at least a little while.

Some of the funding will be given away as pure grants, and every loan will come with a several hundred thousand dollar operating grant as well. The selection board isn't just a bunch of suits either - they actually have experts on social policy and organizational development too.