Robert Ashton outlines the benefits of investing in community development finance institutions.

I have a confession to make. I like buses. In fact I not only like them, I have a licence to drive one and when time permits, rather enjoy ferrying 50 or more people through heavy traffic.

There’s a skill, you see, to navigating a busy city behind the wheel of a bus. Cyclists creep up on your inside and car drivers steal the offside space you need to make a tight left turn. The challenge is to stay cool, keep off the pavement and anticipate what’s ahead so you don’t have to stop too suddenly. Simple when you know how!

So when a No 15 bus stopped dead in its tracks on Trafalgar Square I went flying. I was getting off at the next stop and the inexperienced driver had spotted a red light.  I’d made the assumption that the driver knew the route and was standing by the exit door. Bruised but not broken, I dusted myself down and left the bus to find the Hub at New Zealand House on Haymarket.

I was in London to compere the first Innovation Awards ceremony held by the Community Development Finance Association. They’ve been around for 12 years now and represent the interests of some 62 CDFIs (Community Development Finance Institutions). I’m actually an investor in one of them, Suffolk-based Foundation East and so something of an enthusiast.

That said, I was not expecting to be startled or surprised. A roomful of suits, the launch of a ‘manifesto’, the awards, wine, canapés and then home; you know how these things are. The shortlisted projects were pretty good though. A campaign to squeeze out loan sharks; a lottery that raises money for interest-free loans and some great collaborative back-office initiatives were all outlined in my now crumpled notes for the evening.

Newly-appointed CEO Ben Hughes took the wheel, so to speak, and steered us towards the movement’s collective vision for the future. "It’s time councils stopped investing in Icelandic banks and invested in their communities instead," someone said. Ben agreed and explained how having an impressive £700m out on loan was not enough. "We need to grow," he said. The manifesto illustrated the demand. Some 370,000 business owners, 3,300 social enterprises and three million individuals who are not getting the support they need from the banking sector. That’s some challenge!

And just as my bus that afternoon had stopped unexpectedly, so here is a bunch of community finance organisations poised to pick up speed. There are tax benefits for investors and all CDFIs are set up in a way to make them a very safe bet for investors. They are quite literally safer than those Icelandic banks proved to be.

So join me in investing and encourage those around you to do the same. Big Society Capital and the other big guys are getting a lot of exposure these days. But the CDFI movement works at a lower, grassroots level. They give hope, support and investment to those with a vision and no other way of making it happen. Then hold tight and enjoy the journey. There’ll be lots to see along the way.