Community investing is doing just what the name says - investing in the community by investing in lower-income communities both domestically and internationally. The most common type of community investment is to take capital from individual investors and serve communities that have been overlooked by traditional financial services. By providing the much-needed capital that these communities do not have, community investing pours into those who have been denied access to financial services and opens up the doors for these people to purchase houses, begin small businesses within the community, and have access to childcare and affordable healthcare. Community Investment Institutions (CIIs) provide many important services in addition to loans such as education, mentoring, technical support and the creation of relationships between families, nonprofits and small businesses.