This paper reviews the evidence to date on the sustainability of Community-based Financial Organizations (CBFOs), with a view toward determining whether they are a viable option for the provision of financial services to the rural poor. CBFOs are defined here as autonomous organizations owned and managed by members of a particular community. The paper states that they differ from the “village banks” in Latin America and the “solidarity groups” in countries such as Bangladesh in that such groups are usually not autonomous; they have been set up by MFIs as a cost-effective way to provide services to the poor.