Communities Unlimited — Water/Wastewater Lending & Financial Coaching

EPA-funded community development financial institution providing free financial coaching, rate studies, asset management plans, and small loans to rural water and wastewater systems and the communities they serve.

Communities Unlimited is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and EPA-funded technical assistance provider focused entirely on helping small rural communities and the water systems that serve them become financially sustainable. While its lending and TA work is most concentrated in the southern and central U.S., its national programs and financial coaching services are available to qualifying small systems and supporting nonprofits across the country, including Pennsylvania.Services include free one-on-one financial coaching for small water and wastewater system managers, rate study and rate setting assistance, asset management plan development, board governance and financial literacy training, and direct small lending (loans and microloans) for capital needs that fall below the threshold for traditional infrastructure financing. Communities Unlimited can also help systems become application-ready for USDA Rural Development, EPA SRF, and other large infrastructure financing sources.For watershed groups working alongside very small water systems — single-county authorities, mobile home park systems, small Tribal systems, faith-based water cooperatives — Communities Unlimited fills a gap that even RCAP and EFCN don't fully cover at the smallest end of the scale.