Butler Snow attorney Charity Karanja will serve as amoderator at the 2025 National Development Finance Summit, hosted by the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) in collaboration with Grow America (formerly NDC), taking place October 8-10 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Charity will moderate the session “Blended Capital Strategies: Lessons from High-Impact Community Revitalizations,” featuring the 2025 Caren S. Franzini Fellows. The presentation will highlight the Fellows’ capstone research analyzing innovative capital models that finance under-resourced communities—focusing on replicability, equitable outcomes, and long-term community resilience.
The CDFA is a national association dedicated to the advancement of development finance concerns and interests. The CDFA is comprised of the nation’s leading and most knowledgeable members of the development finance community, representing hundreds of public, private and non-profit development entities.
Charity W. Karanja
Charity is a member of Butler Snow’s Public Finance, Tax Incentives and Credit Markets group and is a Development Finance Certified Professional (DFCP) through the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA). She also has the distinction of being one of six women in the nation named to the 2024 Class of the Caren S. Franzini Fellowship, a merit-based program by the CDFA Foundation, recognizing outstanding women in development finance for their leadership and dedication to the advancement of the industry.
In her practice, Charity has served in multiple roles on public, private, and public-private finance transactions, including economic development matters, and has represented both governmental and private organizations in a variety of financing structures, including new market tax credit (NMTC) transactions.
Charity is a member of various civic and legal organizations, including the National Association of Bond Lawyers (NABL), Women in Public Finance (WPF), and the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). She is a member of the prestigious WPF Emerging Leaders Council (ELC) and the Mississippi Bar Leadership Program. She has also been featured in a Spotlight by NABL, and is listed by a variety of industry publication, including: The Bond Buyer: Rising Stars, Marquis Who’s Who in America and The National Black Lawyers: Top 40 Under 40.
As part of her continued dedication to the industry, Charity has presented at various conferences and seminars on matters relating to public finance, including the CDFA National Development Finance Summit, and has authored various articles, including a financing toolkit for medium-density housing developments titled: “Financing Tools and Incentives for Developers in Missing Middle Housing.”
