Across the United States, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) entrepreneurs are building businesses that strengthen communities, create jobs, and contribute to the economy. These business owners share the same dreams as any entrepreneur: to grow their businesses, serve their customers, and build something lasting. But the path to success can look very different for them. They encounter barriers—often systemic that make securing the funding needed for growth a constant challenge.

Facing Funding Challenges

When BIPOC business owners seek funding, they often face more obstacles than their white counterparts. A 2018 Federal Reserve study found that 53% of Black-owned businesses did not receive the full amount of business funding requested compared to 24% of white-owned businesses. (source: Federal Reserve). For many BIPOC entrepreneurs, this gap represents more than a financial setback—it limits the capacity to hire employees, invest in necessary equipment, or expand to new locations. These financial roadblocks can restrict growth and, at times, put the very future of the business at risk.

The Revenue Gap: Doing More with Less

Even with hard work and strategic planning, BIPOC-owned businesses often operate with slimmer profit margins. For example, a Brooking Institution study reported that Black-owned businesses earn an average annual revenue of $1,031,021, while non-Black businesses bring in $6,485,334 on average (source: Brooking Edu). Similar patterns appear for Hispanic-owned businesses, which also see lower-than-average revenues. These disparities translate to limited financial resilience, meaning that many BIPOC entrepreneurs have less room to maneuver when faced with economic disruptions or unexpected expenses.

The COVID-19 Impact: Amplifying Financial Pressures

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented test for small businesses, with BIPOC-owned businesses bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. A National Bureau of Economic Research report found that between February and April 2020, Black-owned businesses saw a 41% decrease, compared to a 17% decrease for non-black-owned businesses (source: National Bureau of Economic Research). Hispanic and Asian-owned businesses also faced declines of 32% and 26%, respectively, as industries like retail and food service—where many BIPOC entrepreneurs operate—were hit hardest by pandemic-related closures and restrictions.

Bridging the Gap with the Wisdom Fund*

To address these disparities and support BIPOC entrepreneurs, especially women of color, CNote created the Wisdom Fund*. This unique investment initiative partners with mission-driven financial institutions across the country to support providing access to capital for BIPOC women entrepreneurs. Since its launch, the Wisdom Fund* has supported funding for nearly 300 loans to BIPOC women entrepreneurs, totalling over $21 million. Through this support, the Wisdom Fund* is helping to bridge the funding gap, allowing BIPOC women to not only build businesses but also strengthen their communities, create jobs, and pave the way for future generations of diverse entrepreneurs.

OurPlace Residential Services: A Story of Impact

The entrepreneurial nurses behind OurPlace Residential Services envisioned creating a supportive housing space in Minneapolis, a concept that hadn’t been realized in the area before. Despite thorough planning, one barrier loomed: securing the capital needed to purchase and renovate an apartment building. Multiple banks turned them away due to a lack of collateral, but one bank finally referred them to Meda, recognizing it as a project Meda would be eager to support. 

True to its mission, Meda, a CDFI committed to empowering BIPOC entrepreneurs and revitalizing neighborhoods that is supported by CNote’s Wisdom Fund*, backed the project from the start. Meda tapped into its network to locate a suitable property, secured funding for the $2.5 million acquisition and renovation, and connected with partners like the City of Minneapolis to ensure the venture’s success. Thanks to Meda, OurPlace has welcomed its first clients, expanding to 15 staff and building a model that could help combat housing instability and homelessness across the Twin Cities. As co-founder Murwo shared, “We couldn’t have done it without Meda…they made this happen.” 

Read OurPlace’s full story here: https://wpstaging.mycnote.com/blog/meda/ 

Supporting BIPOC-owned businesses is more than an economic imperative; it’s a commitment to building a fairer, more resilient economy. Programs like CNote’s Wisdom Fund*, along with the essential work of mission-driven financial institutions, are crucial in bridging the funding gap and empowering entrepreneurs who have historically been overlooked. By expanding access to capital for BIPOC entrepreneurs, we enable them to strengthen their communities, create jobs, and contribute to a more inclusive future. 

Learn more about CNote’s Wisdom Fund here: https://wpstaging.mycnote.com/solutions/wisdom-fund/ 

*Available to accredited investors only. Returns are not guaranteed. CNote Group, Inc. (“CNote”) is not a bank, a credit union, or any other type of financial institution. CNote is not a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or a broker-dealer authorized by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). CNote is not a legal, financial, accounting or tax advisor. CNote offers unregistered securities consisting of various promissory notes (“Notes”) to eligible investors pursuant to Regulation A and Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. For more information on risks related to investing in our Wisdom Fund Notes see our  Wisdom Fund Private Placement Memorandum. Neither the SEC nor any state securities regulator has passed upon or endorsed the merits of any investment in CNote’s offerings. Investments in our Notes are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), or any other governmental agency. Investing in our Notes involves risk of loss, including the principal invested. We encourage you to consult with a financial adviser or investment professional to determine whether or not the CNote platform makes sense for you. Information provided herein is for educational purposes only and is not tailored for any individual investor or client. It should not be relied upon as financial or investment advice. Any projected returns are illustrative, based on interest rates offered currently or in the past, which may be subject to change, and may not reflect the ultimate rate of return for any particular investor or client. Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and future returns may vary.

When it comes to our shared climate reality, Hope Credit Union’s members are familiar with the ever-expanding narrative. After all, they’re living it. Across the Deep South, summers are getting hotter, power outages are becoming more common, and electric vehicles (EV) are being plugged into more and more homes. Members, however, aren’t just experiencing these shifting dynamics—they’re talking about them.

According to Tyler Archie, the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and resident subject matter expert on environmental impact for Hope Enterprise Corporation, he and his team are all ears. In fact, explicit member feedback spurred Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Credit Union (collectively “HOPE”) to point financial products and community economic development programs towards greenhouse gas reducing technologies and projects. “In focus groups community members tell us how we can help improve their lives and communities,” he said. “They tell us that they are excited about technologies like hybrid cars, EVs and heat pumps; they want to breathe cleaner air; and they also say that they are interested in doing their part to slow climate change. It’s our job to make sure that those financial health and wealth-building opportunities are available and affordable to them.” 

That’s exactly what Hope Credit Union has been doing. Since 1994, Hope Credit Union has provided financial services, leveraged resources, and engaged in advocacy that strengthens the financial health and wealth of people in under-resourced communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee. For the past 30 years, the credit union has strived to find new ways to address the intergenerational wealth gaps that exist throughout its footprint, whether that’s been through lending for affordable housing, community facilities, or community partnerships. 

More recently, the way that HOPE is approaching building generational wealth is through green lending opportunities, including residential and commercial solar financing. For example, on April 22nd, 2024, Hope Enterprise Corporation (HEC), which is part of the broader HOPE family of community development organizations, was selected as one of 60 applicants to participate in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Solar for All program. The EPA awarded HEC a state-level award for $93,670,000 in Arkansas and $62,450,000 in Mississippi. According to the EPA, the $7 billion program will create new or expand existing low-income solar programs, which will enable more than 900,000 households in low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from distributed solar energy. More specifically, these programs will further the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s objectives by reducing greenhouse gas emissions while lowering electric bills for overburdened households in 25 states and territories that have never had statewide low-income solar programs before.

That includes Arkansas and Mississippi, where HEC was selected to deploy state-level, Solar for All awards. HEC’s Solar for All proposal included financing models for solar and battery storage on single-family homes and multi-family affordable housing, as well as community solar.  

All three pathways are designed to achieve monthly utility bill savings of at least 20% for low-income households, while at the same time supporting a job market for solar installers. One goal of the multifamily approach is to lower energy costs for low-income tenants as a way to help those families eventually make the transition from renting to home ownership.

According to Tyler, although the price of power in HOPE’s Deep South footprint is relatively cheap compared to other regions in the United States, the energy burden—or the percentage of a household’s income spent on energy—is among the highest in the country. That leaves families with less savings and vulnerable to unexpected expenses. Solar for All can create an opportunity to put utility bill savings in the bank. “Through Solar for All, we can create $400 in savings that most families are missing to help insulate them from unexpected life events,” Tyler said. “If we can help people achieve financial health, you’ve got the foundation to move into wealth-building opportunities.”

The Opportunity of Climate Change

All of HOPE’s green lending strategies hinge upon innovative financing, strategic partnerships, and its experience and expertise in serving disadvantaged communities. That’s one of the reasons why the credit union became a CNote Climate Cash™ partner. Climate Cash™ is a deposit solution enabling corporations to enjoy FDIC or NCUA insurance and competitive returns while contributing to carbon-reduction lending activities. Climate Cash™ enables corporations to deploy cash in the form of deposits into a network of mission-driven banks and credit unions like Hope Credit Union to combat climate change. Importantly, participating corporations can monitor, administer, and track reporting of their Climate Cash™ deposits through a single interface. 

HOPE plans to expand its climate lending beyond solar. The credit union is currently working on creating a home energy efficiency lending opportunity, and it’s preparing to pilot an EV-lending program. According to Tyler, the future value of EVs goes beyond transportation. That’s because EVs, as he puts it, are “massive batteries rolling around on wheels.” By bringing EVs into the affordability conversation for its members, Hope Credit Union members will have the ability to bolster resiliency efforts in a part of the country that’s already experiencing power outages associated with stronger and more unpredictable weather patterns.

Tyler views the transition to sustainable energy as both a crisis and as the wealth-building opportunity of a generation. For him, it again goes back to what HOPE members are already saying: EVs are more fun to drive, heat pumps are nice to have, and the future can be better. Tyler compares the potential of consumer finance to unlock consumer demand to that of General Motors’ first automobiles and Apple’s iPhone. “Financing is the thing that can really unlock consumer behavior,” he said, “and the American consumer can dramatically accelerate climate change mitigation efforts if the financing is done right. I think that’s what we’ll see: market demand and people’s interest in enjoying both a higher quality of life and financial savings that result in adoption of sustainable technologies and a path for financial health and wealth in our low-income communities.”

Learn More:

• Climate Cash™ is enabling corporations to enjoy FDIC or NCUA insurance and competitive returns while supporting carbon-reduction lending activities.
• Hope Credit Union, a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), is dedicated to enhancing financial stability and fostering economic growth for individuals and families in underserved communities across the Deep South. Since 1994, Hope has provided vital financial services, leveraged resources, and engaged in advocacy to strengthen the financial health and wealth of people in under-resourced areas.

Like the majority of people, Nicole Burford sometimes feels weighed down by the challenges presented by climate change. But as someone who’s long been passionate about environmental protection and sustainability, Nicole has found a way to keep her chin up. 

“When we think about what we can control as an individual,” she said, “we can make sure our money aligns with our values, and we can control many of the things in our homes. People have more power than they think.”

Nicole puts those beliefs into practice each and every day at Clean Energy Credit Union, where she’s the vice president of market development and sustainability. Clean Energy Credit Union is a fully online credit union based out of Colorado that was founded by a group of self-proclaimed clean energy geeks in 2017 to fill a gap in the marketplace; while clean energy technologies were expanding, they felt it was too difficult for most people to find affordable financing to take advantage of those emerging green opportunities. In other words, the credit union’s founders wanted to help make it easier for everyone to participate in the clean energy movement. 

The member-owned cooperative deployed its first loan in 2018. Since then, Clean Energy Credit Union has financed over $250 million in green projects, offsetting nearly a million pounds of carbon dioxide in the process. While each and every one of those loan dollars funds clean energy or energy-efficiency projects, Clean Energy Credit Union’s definition of “clean energy” has evolved over time. 

While a large portion of Clean Energy Credit Union’s portfolio is solar financing, they’ve evolved their financing solutions to help remove obstacles that might prevent homeowners from going solar. This includes incorporating costs like tree removal and new roofing into the solar loan itself, reducing the need for borrowers to take out multiple loans. “Clean energy shouldn’t have to be a luxury,” Nicole said. “We don’t want people to have to take out multiple loans or drain their bank account to have solar on their house. Our goal really is to help people do this more effectively and to make clean energy accessible to more individuals throughout the country.”

Clean Energy Credit Union also offers green home improvement loans. Today, U.S. homes make up approximately 21% of the total energy usage in the country. Therefore, according to Nicole, home improvement loans stand to both reduce energy consumption and increase homeowners’ savings. That’s why the credit union deploys fixed-rate loans ranging from $1,000 to $50,000 for projects like energy efficient water heaters and appliances, air-source heat pumps, LED lighting, weatherproofing installation, battery systems, and much more. Clean Energy Credit Union also has a robust geothermal heat pump system loan program, which helps borrowers to make their homes more energy efficient while swapping their fluctuating energy bill for a lower, fixed loan payment instead. 

Beyond residential clean energy loans, Clean Energy Credit Union also offers electric vehicle (EV) and plug-in hybrid vehicle loans, as well as electric bicycle (e-bike) loans. According to Nicole, the latter came about thanks to feedback from members, and partners.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

Mission Aligned Membership

When Nicole refers to Clean Energy Credit Union’s “partners,” she’s not only talking about service providers and clean energy installers, but she’s also talking about the credit union’s 23 field of membership partners. Clean Energy Credit Union is unique in the sense that unlike how many other credit unions memberships are tied to specific guilds, employers, or geography, Clean Energy Credit Union’s field of membership includes a variety of mission-aligned organizations focused on clean energy, environmental protection, and diversity. Therefore, members of any of those 23 organizations are eligible to join the credit union. Those field of membership partners include groups like Solar United Neighbors, American Solar Energy Society, and EVHybridNoire. “We’re very fortunate that there are a lot of like-minded individuals and organizations that believe in what we’re doing and want to be a part of it,” said Nicole.

In support of their work making clean energy more accessible, Clean Energy Credit Union recently became a CNote Climate Cash™ partner. Climate Cash™ is the industry’s first 100% Carbon Positive deposit solution, enabling corporations to enjoy FDIC or NCUA insurance and competitive returns while contributing to carbon-reduction lending activities. Climate Cash™ enables corporations to deploy cash in the form of deposits into a network of mission-driven banks and credit unions like Clean Energy Credit Union to combat climate change. Importantly, participating corporations can monitor, administer, and report their Climate Cash™ through a single interface.

Looking to the future, Nicole says that Clean Energy Credit Union wants to continue to remain at the forefront of green financing and to expand its loan offerings. For example, one new loan program that the credit union is investing in is called Clean Energy for All, which aims to increase access to affordable clean energy loans for Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC), as well as for low-income individuals and those who have faced credit challenges, systemic racism, economic injustice, and/or other forms of injustice. Specifically, the loan program offers borrowers a 0.50%+ rate discount on all of the credit union’s loan types. 

Since its launch, Clean Energy Credit Union has deployed $1.2 million through its Clean Energy for All loan program: a number that Nicole and her team plan to grow, whether that be through grant dollars, deposits, or another way, with the help of the credit union’s partners. She’s also hopeful that one day, the credit union can work with its partners to increase the rate discount . “We recognize that 50 basis points isn’t going to be what makes someone able to afford solar, but it’s a step in the right direction” she said. “We’ve gotten the program off the ground, and now it’s time for us to expand it, to get more organizations involved, and hopefully to make a bigger impact in these communities that really want to invest in clean energy, but struggle to do so.” 

As new challenges arise in the climate landscape and more consumers embrace the green economy, Clean Energy Credit Union will continue to be a steadfast partner. Their work in making solar installations, energy-efficient home upgrades, and EV and bike loans affordable is not just incremental progress but a sustainable approach to chipping away at the larger problem. We try really hard to keep up with what is going on in the industry and to listen to our members,” Nicole says. “People might not feel like they’re making that big of a difference, but collectively, our loan dollars are having a huge impact on the environment.”

Learn More:

• Climate Cash™ is the industry’s first 100% Carbon Positive deposit solution, enabling corporations to enjoy FDIC or NCUA insurance and competitive returns while contributing to carbon-reduction lending activities.
• Clean Energy Credit Union is a federally chartered, low-income designated, not-for-profit financial cooperative that provides affordable loans for solar energy systems, electric vehicles, and other clean energy technologies, helping members across the U.S. finance their transition to renewable energy.

Over the span of 48 hours in mid-July 2023, most of Vermont was battered with record amounts of rainfall, resulting in catastrophic flash flooding. As the state’s rivers swelled, homes were submerged, roads and bridges were washed out, and, tragically, at least two lives were lost. The 500-year flooding event devastated communities across The Green Mountain State, and it touched the lives of every Vermonter, regardless of race, citizenship status, and socioeconomics. Although FEMA was able to offer some assistance, the federal agency didn’t cover all of the build-back costs, which compounded the devastation for low-income community members, many of whom were uninsured. Whether it was remediating mold or rebuilding retaining walls, many Vermonters were left to tackle the flood’s after effects on their own.

That’s where Opportunities Credit Union, with its motto of “we don’t say ‘no,’ we say ‘when,’” entered the equation. Opportunities Credit Union is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) focused on improving the financial stability of community members in 220 towns across Vermont. For the past 35 years, the low-income credit union has been providing its members with innovative and affordable loan and deposit programs for credit building and repair, business and home ownership, as well as tailored financial education and Housing and Urban Development-certified housing counseling. Additionally, for more than 15 years, Opportunities Credit Union has worked alongside a robust network of partners to deploy energy improvement and efficiency loans through its energy loan program. Those partners include Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, Vermont Economic Development Authority, the Vermont Department of Public Service, and many others.

Another one of Opportunity Credit Union’s partners has been Efficiency Vermont’s Efficiency Excellence Network, which the CDFI works with to deploy Home Energy Loans. These loans allow low-income Vermonters to pursue up to $20,000 in financing for heating and home efficiency upgrades, including cold-climate heat pumps, central wood pellet systems, solar domestic hot water systems, and weatherization improvements. There’s no minimum loan amount, and Opportunities Credit Union offers the loans with interest rates based on a sliding scale that go as low as 0% APR. Incredibly, the loan application review process typically takes as little as one business day, and loan recipients are eligible to qualify for additional rebates and incentives through Efficiency Vermont, saving them even more. “We’re able to connect with these people because they’re low-income with a low-credit rating,” said Kate Laud, Opportunities Credit Union’s CEO. “Because of that, we’re able to offer them interest rates on a sliding scale as far down as 0%, which can really improve their lives.”

Opportunity Credit Union’s Home Energy Loans aren’t the only loans it offers with interest rates as low as 0%. According to Kate, these zero-interest loans are made possible through grant dollars and funds that the credit union can access as a CDFI. For example, the credit union received a grant from Opportunity’s Finance Network to deploy an energy efficient appliance loan program, which has no minimum loan amount, up to $4,000 financing, with rates as low as 0%. The CDFI also offers a Citizenship Loan at 0%, as well as BIPOC business loans and electric bike loans.

Given that Opportunities Credit Union is Vermont’s only CDFI credit union, it’s in a unique position to receive and administer grant dollars. Kate says that the credit union has earned a reputation in Vermont as both a community financial institution and a grant recipient institution. For example, Vermont state agencies require income verification as part of their programs. Because Opportunities Credit Union already uses income verification to deploy its income-based interest-rate loans, the CDFI is on state agencies’ short list of financial institutions capable of meeting their grant compliance and administration standards, whether that’s for funds to remove and replace underground residential petroleum tanks or for funds to modify vehicles to make them accessible to disabled community members. “We have a lot of partnerships in Vermont,” Kate said, “because people don’t view each other as competition. Here, people work together for the common good.”

Deploying Loans to Combat Climate Change

In the aftermath of the The Great Vermont Flood of 2023, Opportunities Credit Union has continued to establish new collaborations with partners to deploy loans for energy improvements so that as Vermonters rebuild, they can do so not only to be more impervious to future floods, but to lower their energy costs. For Kate, the CDFI’s flood response was a further impetus for Opportunities Credit Union to deepen its work at the nexus of addressing climate change and serving low-income individuals. It’s also one of the reasons why the credit union became a CNote Climate Cash™ partner.

Climate Cash™ is the industry’s first 100% Carbon Positive deposit solution, enabling corporations to enjoy FDIC or NCUA insurance and competitive returns while contributing to carbon-reduction lending activities. Climate Cash™ enables corporations to deploy cash in the form of deposits into a network of mission-driven banks and credit unions like Opportunities Credit Union to combat climate change. Importantly, participating corporations can monitor, administer, and report their Climate Cash™ through a single interface. Example initiatives supported by the Climate Cash™ solution include installing affordable solar power in low-income communities, funding energy-efficient appliances and green home upgrades, and increasing access to electric vehicle financing to reduce emissions.

“At Opportunities Credit Union, almost all of the home improvement loans we’ve made in recent history have been for energy improvement,” Kate said. “That’s because that’s a budget-saver for low-income people. They’re not trying to be the first person in their neighborhood to have a geothermal well or to have solar panels on their roof. They’re truly trying to save money, and that’s what leads them to energy efficiency—that’s what leads them to us.”

Learn More:

• Climate Cash™ is the industry’s first 100% Carbon Positive deposit solution, enabling corporations to enjoy FDIC or NCUA insurance and competitive returns while contributing to carbon-reduction lending activities.
• Opportunities Credit Union is a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) focused on improving the financial stability of community members in 220 towns across Vermont.

ChoiceOne Bank’s vision isn’t a secret: it’s front and center on its website. “We want to be the best bank in Michigan,” said Adom Greenland, the bank’s chief financial officer. “That means really making an impact in our communities.”

ChoiceOne Bank was established in 1898 as a farm bank, and the bank operates in some of the most diverse and abundant agricultural regions in the United States. Over the years, its footprint has grown to encompass urban areas like Grand Rapids; however, despite being located in a metroplex of roughly one million people, ChoiceOne hasn’t lost touch with its rural roots. The community bank continues to serve towns with fewer than 15,000 residents, where ChoiceOne is often the last bank left standing. At one of its branches, ChoiceOne Bank even has a hitching post, which gets frequent use for tying up horses.

Today, as an agricultural lending partner, ChoiceOne Bank serves hundreds of agricultural businesses in Michigan, from local farms to international distributors that produce everything from apples to asparagus and blueberries to dairy products. In fact, outside of California, Michigan has the most number of agricultural products of any other state in the country.

Prior to joining ChoiceOne Bank as its chief lending officer, Brad Henion worked in both the Chicago and California markets before coming home to Michigan. According to him, ChoiceOne Bank’s farming customers face a host of challenges, including securing labor, paying for equipment, and keeping up with ever-evolving technology—not to mention managing familial succession plans that can stretch back centuries. Despite those realities, Brad and his team are confident that they’re able to meet their customers’ needs.

For example, ChoiceOne knows that unforeseen events, such as extreme weather, can either reduce yields or completely wipe out crops. In those situations, the bank will do things like delay payments for a year, which provides farmers enough time to plant and harvest other crops that can support the earlier payment.

ChoiceOne Bank’s Chief Lending Officer, Brad Henion

Another example of how ChoiceOne has adapted its practices to better meet the needs of its customers is how it lends to apple-farming operations. When an apple farmer plants a tree, they know they won’t get a harvest for four years. In other words: the farmer will have no revenue for four years, just growing costs. Therefore, ChoiceOne developed a loan program where farmers make interest-only payments until they begin to earn revenue. “A lot of banks don’t feel comfortable underwriting the types of inconsistent revenue streams that farmers have,” Brad said, “but we’ve been doing this for 125 years. It takes a bank like us to understand the farming industry, create unique products, and really work with farmers.”

Using Direct Deposits to Sow Seeds of Trust

Many farms in ChoiceOne Banks’ footprint rely on help from seasonal workers who enter the United States legally to assist in the various labor-intensive aspects of agricultural operations. These unbanked workers tend to travel from Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America, although some come from as far away as South Africa. Beginning around 2015, there was an influx of the number of skilled workers traveling to Michigan farms as part of the government-sponsored H-2A Visa program.

At first, farmers paid these H-2A workers using paper checks; however, that created three problems. First, it was time-consuming for the farmers to manually run and issue physical checks. Second, it was time-consuming for the workers, who had to be bussed in from farms to wait in line at a bank in order to cash their checks. Lastly, given the amount of cash earnings they had on them, these workers were particularly at-risk for losing their seasonal earnings, whether through robberies or scams, in Michigan, while traveling home, or in their countries of origin.

Carrie Olson, ChoiceOne Bank’s Treasury Management Officer

That’s when ChoiceOne Bank saw an opportunity both to serve its agricultural customers and to help build trust in the United States’ financial services industry. In 2018, the bank launched the Growers Program, a deposit program created for ChoiceOne’s farming customers to be able to provide their H-2A visa-holding workers with safe and efficient banking. Through the Growers Program, workers can choose between one of two direct deposit options. The first is a pay card program through a bank partner. The second is a checking account with ChoiceOne Bank. Should they choose the latter, workers get mobile banking access (with no minimum balances or monthly service fees), free electronic statements, and two ATM/debit cards: one for them and one for their family in their home country. Regardless of which option a worker chooses, they also receive access to Spanish-speaking customer service.

Carrie Olson, ChoiceOne Bank’s treasury management officer, has been with the bank for more than 12 years. She helped to bring the program to life. According to her, early on, it took a lot of convincing to get farm workers to try out the program. Despite the fact that she traveled from barn to barn with a bilingual colleague, workers were skeptical of the banking industry. Her and her team, however, remained persistent as they coached workers through the ins-and-outs of direct deposit, where to find ATMs in countries like Mexico, and how to use them. Today, thanks to their early efforts, when Carrie and her colleagues go to a field to present to farm workers now, many of those returning workers from past seasons are doing the majority of the talking. “We’ve really been able to build that trust,” Carrie said. “We’ve taken people from underbanked and impossible-to-bank to fully banked and safer for everybody.”

Growing Empathy Through Spanish-Language Services

Since 2018, ChoiceOne Bank has continued to see measured, linear growth to its Growers Program in a way that very much complements its agricultural portfolio and embodies its mission. ChoiceOne Bank is not only seeing fewer Growers Program accounts go dormant, but more accounts are receiving direct deposits from farms in other states, including Florida and Washington, as seasonal workers move around the country following different planting seasons.

Additionally, investing in Spanish-speaking services for the Growers Program has subsequently helped Spanish-speaking permanent residents in ChoiceOne Banks’ communities who’ve historically struggled to get financial services in their preferred language. For example, the bank has placed an emphasis on recruiting bilingual employees. Also, in years past, ChoiceOne Bank brought in a bilingual Spanish teacher after hours to work with any interested employees. Employees were paid for their time, and many customer-facing team members took advantage of the opportunity to gain those language skills to better connect with their customers.

Going forward, Carrie says that she and her team would like to continue to grow the Growers Program at a pace of a farm-a-year and to develop more bilingual resources to help community members—whether permanent residents or seasonal workers—continue to overcome language barriers. Adom agrees. “Offering these services in Spanish has helped us have more empathy,” he said. “Serving these folks better has helped us serve everybody else. It’s allowing us to better serve our community and be a better community bank.”

Learn More:

• ChoiceOne Bank
• CNote is a women-led investment platform that empowers individuals and institutions to invest locally to further economic equality, racial justice, gender equity, and address climate change.

In a word, Tina Miao-Granatt would describe her life as “blessed.” Her family moved from Taiwan to Philadelphia when she was 12 years old. There, her parents owned and operated a successful Chinese restaurant. As the small business grew and grew, so too did Tina’s list of responsibilities, from dishwasher, to busser, to waitress. Although she spent most of her weekends working in her parent’s restaurant as a teenager, it turned out to be a formative experience for Tina. “I understand the struggle for small business owners,” she said, “especially in minority communities. I know it’s really, really hard for them to succeed.”

Tina’s ability to empathize and connect with small business owners is ultimately what led her to getting a job at Asian Bank, a CDFI and Asian-owned Minority Depository Institution headquartered in Philadelphia’s Chinatown. Asian Bank was founded in 1999 to serve low- to moderate-income, BIPOC, and immigrant communities. Since its inception, Asian Bank has grown to two, soon-to-be three, branch locations and $515 million in total assets while working to increase banking access to those that are un- or underbanked. Additionally, the bank provides lending on small business, real estate, and affordable housing.

Tina Miao-Granatt, Community Outreach Liaison at Asian Bank

A cornerstone to Asian Bank’s lending approach is to be flexible in underwriting small business and real estate loans, which requires not just knowing community members’ stories, but understanding those stories and knowing where and how to provide assistance. That’s where Tina comes in. In 2023, Tina moved from California to Philadelphia without a job. Because she lived close to one of Asian Bank’s branches, she applied for a teller position; however, her interviewers looked at her past small business experience and decided to create a position for her: community outreach liaison.

In her role at Asian Bank, Tina works one-on-one with clients to open accounts, apply for residential mortgages, get a secure safety deposit box, and purchase CDs; however, an equally important part of her job is to provide individual support to small business owners to help them through the lending process, regardless of what language they speak. For example, recently, Tina has primarily been working with bodega owners. Despite not speaking Spanish, Tina has forged a close relationship with the Dominican Grocery Association, and she relies on Google Translate to text with Spanish-speaking small business owners in her community who are looking for business loans but who’re too intimidated to approach large, national banks. Additionally, Tina has made a point to have all of Asian Bank’s loan document requirements to be translated into Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and other languages that reflect the surrounding community’s linguistic diversity.

All the photos for this interview were captured at a financial literacy seminar hosted by Asian Bank for the Dominican Grocery Association

When Tina first connects with a small business owner who wants to apply for a loan at Asian Bank, she has to get a sense of their financial well-being. That includes going through their tax returns and, oftentimes, discussing their low credit scores. According to Tina, many small business owners in Asian Bank’s footprint are exactly like her parents; that is, they primarily use cash and do not have credit cards, open lines of credit, or debt. Therefore, many individuals that Tina works with have low credit scores that hinder their ability to be approved for loans, especially from traditional banks, which often require a credit score of at least 700. However, by investing time to get to know small business owners in her community, Tina can get a more complete picture of someone’s financial and personal histories. That allows her to get the documentation and narrative she needs to work with Asian Bank’s loan officers and underwriters to in turn get those loans approved.

Even after a loan closes, Tina continues to touch base with Asian Bank’s loan recipients to see how they’re doing. “I let them know they can text me anytime they want,” she said, “and it doesn’t have anything to do with their loan. I help them answer their questions about reporting taxes, credit card rates, building credit. That’s really important, especially with minority communities that don’t have anybody to turn to when it comes to their finances.”

Individualized Support for Community Impact

In addition to coaching small business owners through Asian Bank’s loan application process, Tina similarly assists entrepreneurs in her community in applying for local grants. For example, there’s a grant program through the Philadelphia Business Lending Network that’s available to local small business owners with five or fewer employees and less than $250,000 in revenue. Selected recipients qualify for either up to 50% of their loan amounts or $35,000, whichever is less. What Tina will do is help small business owners get approved for a loan through Asian Bank, and then she’ll work with them to apply for the citywide grant. For a small business owner looking to purchase new equipment and expand their business, the loan-grant combination can be transformative.

Tina shared one story about a local small business owner named Kim, a single mother, who wanted to expand her beauty salon, Four Season Nail and Spa LLC. Tina helped Kim to get a $70,000 loan through Asian Bank and then $35,000 through the Philadelphia Business Lending Network grant program. The key to making that happen, Tina said, was working with Kim to itemize exactly how the money would be spent. In other words, Tina and Kim spent hours researching how much it would cost to purchase everything from styling chairs and massage tables to nail polish and face towels. “We want to help the people that really appreciate and need this grant,” Tina said. “That means really getting to know our clients and really understanding where they’re going with their vision so that we can be a part of it.”

Unsurprisingly, an important aspect of Tina’s job at Asian Bank also happens to be one of her passions: financial literacy. According to Tina, she wants to help people “break the cycle” of low credit scores and all-cash retirement savings. To do that, this year, Tina will begin hosting a free financial literacy seminar series in different communities around Philadelphia. Individual seminar topics will include tax reporting, successful small business ownership, and credit building. Additionally, Tina and Asian Bank are partnering with the Small Business Development Center to also present the seminars in Spanish.

Very much like her years spent working weekends at her family’s restaurant in Philadelphia, today, Tina represents Asian Bank at various events, workshops, and community gatherings outside of traditional business hours. Alongside her colleagues at Asian Bank, she also serves as a pitch coach for Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and she volunteers with Black Squirrel Collective, a Philly-based organization committed to investing in Black-owned suppliers and creating sustainable neighborhood investment. In other words, as Asian Bank’s community outreach liaison, Tina is busy. “I really like what I do,” she said. “I like being in this position to connect people to the right products we offer, and I enjoy how I can help out my community.”

Learn More:

• Asian Bank, a CDFI and Asian-owned Minority Depository Institution headquartered in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.
• CNote is a women-led investment platform that empowers individuals and institutions to invest locally to further economic equality, racial justice, gender equity, and address climate change.

Rich Eckert never expected to become the president and CEO of a community bank. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-native aspired to work in collegiate athletic administration, which he did for a short while before moving with his wife to her hometown of Beardstown, Illinois to start a family. However, a chance encounter with the then head executive of Beardstown Savings ultimately changed Rich’s career trajectory and opened the door for him into the world of community finance. “He asked me if I wanted to work in the bank,” Rich recalled. “I said ‘I’ve only stepped my foot in a bank one time in my life, and that was to open my account.’”

Rich Eckert, President and CEO of Beardstown Savings

Rich interviewed for the position, and in late 2015, Beardstown Savings hired him as a loan officer. According to him, getting into banking felt both like a natural fit and a full-circle moment. Growing up, Rich’s parents had a house foreclosed on them, which was an experience that left a lasting impression on him. At Beardstown Savings, that formative memory translated into Rich wanting to do everything he could to help people in his community. “Community banks, as a whole, don’t want to pull the rug out from under our customers,” he said. “Personally, I’ve seen the other side of how that can destroy and displace a family. We don’t want to do that. We want to work with our community members through the whole process of the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

Despite Rich’s new-found passion for banking, he felt like he still had a lot to learn. According to Rich, he benefited from on-the-job training and mentorship from the bank’s leadership team, who encouraged him to attend banking school. Therefore, Rich enrolled in the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received high-level training in areas ranging from human resources and banking technology to marketing and leadership. Simultaneously, Rich continued to rise up the ranks at Beardstown Savings. By 2017 he was the vice president of lending, and a little over a year later, he took over as the bank’s president and CEO. The learning curve was steep, but Rich had no choice but to learn as quickly as he could. With the support—not to mention patience—from Beardstown Savings’ board and his colleagues, Rich was ultimately able to settle into his leadership role, develop his management style, and find new ways for Beardstown Savings to serve its community.

Banking the Whole Community

Beardstown Savings is a mutually owned bank that was founded in 1880. Today, the bank has two locations and 15 employees, including team members who’ve been there for decades and others who are work-study students just launching their careers. Unsurprisingly, the town in Central Illinois has transformed significantly since the bank’s inception, shifting from a small, rural, predominantly white community to a small, rural melting pot. Newcomers include migrant workers who are drawn to the area’s two largest employers: JBS Foods and Dot Foods. Rich estimates that between 70 and 80% of his community works for either of those two companies.

As Beardstown has changed over the years, so too has Beardstown Savings had to evolve to keep up with those shifting demographics. For example, the community bank has hired bilingual staff members who can better connect with and serve customers in both Spanish and French. Additionally, Beardstown Savings forged a partnership with Worldwide Tech Connections, thus becoming the first bank in the country to sign up with the translation services software company. According to Rich, although customers still prefer to be able to interact with a bilingual staff member in person, given the growing linguistic diversity of Beardstown’s residents, it’s not always possible to have someone on staff who speaks the same language as a community member. Today, through a mobile or desktop device, the bank can communicate one-on-one with customers, either through voice or text, in more than 50 different languages and dialects. The software also allows Rich and his team to translate letters, emails, notices, and signage within seconds to better serve customers, regardless of what languages they speak.

Last year, Beardstown Savings’ efforts were acknowledged by the Community Bankers Association of Illinois (CBAI), who selected the community bank’s entry, “Banking the WHOLE Community,” as the recipient of the Excellence and Innovation FORVIS Award. “We pride ourselves in offering bank services to all customers regardless of background or demographics, which includes language barriers,” Rich said. “As a small bank, we are accomplishing a lot and doing a lot of good work in our community with our limited resources, and we are tremendously honored to have received this award.”

Tackling the Housing Crisis

Language barriers, however, are by no means the Beardstown community’s biggest challenge. Instead, like the rest of the United States, the town is in the throes of a housing crisis. In Beardstown, the average mortgage for first-time home buyers hovers somewhere between $40,000 to $70,000. However, that’s not the problem. The challenge is that, as Rich puts it, “Beardstown doesn’t have that next home” for when people want to grow their families or move into a larger space. That issue is compounded by the reality that it costs more than $125,000 to build that next $125,000 home.

Subsequently, two things are happening. First, the pool of homes available to first-time homebuyers is shrinking. Second, Beardstown’s low housing inventory means that people are moving in with relatives, which can sometimes result in upwards of eight or nine people living together in the same small house, said Rich.”That’s unsafe in a lot of ways, but it’s not because these families don’t want to buy a house or that they’re skirting the system. They just don’t have anything to buy.”

To assist his community where he can, Rich is working with local leaders to change how Beardstown’s tax increment financing (TIF) programming works so that a portion of those monies can go toward creating new housing. Additionally, Beardstown Savings has partnered with Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago, CNote’s Impact Cash^® program, and others to channel both grant and investor’s impact dollars into helping to solve Beardstown’s housing woes. Such partnerships have allowed Beardstown Savings to keep its cost of funds as low as possible, which it then passes onto its customers in what Rich calls a “win-win-win” for everyone involved.

The impacts have been tangible. Given Beardstown’s small size, Rich says that Beardstown Savings is able to funnel outside dollars into its community very quickly, thus creating impact very quickly. “We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel, and we don’t need a fat bottom line,” said Rich. “We just need to be the service-oriented institution that we are, which means doing what we can to meet people where they’re at to solve these issues, not for Beardstown Savings, but for Beardstown the community.”

Learn More:

• Beardstown Savings is a mutually owned bank located in Beardstown, Illinois that was founded in 1880.  Beardstown Savings offers an extensive product line that includes checking and savings accounts, MMDAs, CDs, home mortgage loans, and consumer loans . 
• CNote is a women-led investment platform that empowers individuals and institutions to invest locally to further economic equality, racial justice, gender equity, and address climate change.

Thomas Domingue is passionate about opportunities. More specifically, the CEO of Labor Credit Union is passionate about creating opportunities for those around him. It’s a personal mantra that Thomas has woven through his professional journey, which, prior to joining Labor Credit Union, included 13 years working for various multibillion-dollar credit unions. Unsurprisingly, when Thomas joined Labor Credit Union in January 2020, he brought his personal mantra with him. For a credit union that’s been creating opportunities in its community for nearly 90 years, it’s been a perfect match.

Thomas Domingue, CEO of Labor Credit Union

Department of Labor Credit Union, better known as Labor Credit Union, was founded in 1935 to serve employees, retirees, and immediate families of The United States Department of Labor, including partnered organizations. Since its inception, the credit union’s roots have been firmly planted in the labor movement. In addition to offering its members a full suite of banking services, Labor Credit Union remains as committed to worker rights, financial literacy, and economic empowerment as it was when it was first established.

Hina Khalid, CFO of Labor Credit Union

When Thomas joined Labor Credit Union, he was one of 18 employees. Six months later, however, that number grew to 19 when the credit union hired Hina Khalid as its CFO. Prior to entering the credit union world, Hina’s 19 years of career journey took her through various financial services institutions and roles in energy, broadband and economic development. Upon joining Labor Credit Union, her goal was to leverage her  diverse professional experiences into forging innovative and strategic partnerships that would help the credit union to further its mission.

One such partnership began in 2023, when Hina attended a DEI event at CUNA’s Governmental Affairs Conference (GAC) in 2023. That’s where she learned about Dora Financial, a marketing and innovation credit union service organization (CUSO). Dora was founded by USALLIANCE Financial in 2021 as a bilingual neobank to serve the 50 million Americans currently not participating in mainstream banking. Dora’s app allows users to perform a range of financial transactions, including direct deposit, mobile check deposits, and bill pay in both Spanish and English. Dora charges no monthly fees and it doesn’t require a minimum balance. Additionally, Dora’s users have access to a surcharge-free network of more than 30,000 ATMs across the country. “I found Dora’s mission and what they’re trying to achieve to be very much aligned with our mission to reach underserved communities,” Hina said, “and I was impressed to hear the impact that Dora is making.” As of December 2023, nearly 7,000 individuals had opened accounts with Dora.

Hina pitched Dora to Thomas, who bought in right away. Labor Credit Union’s CEO was particularly interested in Dora’s willingness to connect with individuals who’ve been traditionally shut out of mainstream banking and to provide them with key financial services. “We’d been talking about serving underserved and underbanked demographics for a long time,” he said. “These demographics need financial services, but most banks won’t touch them, so this was a partnership that we really needed to pursue. It was important for us to put our money where our mouth is.”

Within a few months, Thomas, Hina, and Amber Mooney (VP of Member Experience), the Executive Team of Labor Credit Union, completed their due diligence and got their board’s approval to become a funding sponsor of Dora Financial, joining Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union, Digital Federal Credit Union, Inclusiv, Service Federal Credit Union, and USALLIANCE Financial. Not only is each of Dora’s six funding sponsors trying to bridge the economic gap that exists for those who do not have access to banking, but they also all bring a wealth of experience to the table. For example, members of each institution, including Hina, sit on Dora’s board and provide guidance on how to continue to grow the CUSO.

Those board members also advise Dora on how to achieve its goal to help people find a pathway to credit union membership, which is something that Thomas feels strongly about. According to him, Dora has the potential to help rebuild trust between underserved populations and mainstream financial institutions. One way that trust can be established is through financial coaching—something all Dora users can freely access. “Credit unions really excel at building relationships and making an impact,” he said. “Through Dora, we are able to directly help more individuals, improve and enhance their financial position, and achieve their long-term financial goals.”

For Labor Credit Union, however, its involvement with Dora isn’t about growing its membership: it’s about achieving its own long-term goals. Although Thomas and Hina’s 10-year vision for the credit union includes growing its membership numbers, increasing its assets, and expanding its footprint into new markets, those metrics are stepping stones toward Labor Credit Union’s ultimate objective: to have an impact and help people achieve financial success in as many communities as possible. Amber Mooney and her fully vested member engagement team also find this partnership to be directly aligned with their holistic approach towards serving the community. Her marketing team is also eager to partner with CNote’s Impact Cash^® platform to help reach and support underserved communities.

That, in part, is what led Labor Credit Union to create its own foundation, which spearheads the institution’s community outreach efforts. Labor Community Foundation aims to cultivate creative economic solutions and develop collaborative educational resources for its membership, through initiatives like scholarship programs and internship opportunities. “Everybody works hard,” said Thomas. “If we can be their partner to help show them how to leverage their hard-earned money into financial well-being, that’s what we want, because then, we’re able to make impacts not just in individual lives, but in households, families, and communities nationwide.”

“Our whole team is very much aligned with Thomas’ vision of creating opportunities for others,” Hina added. “Whether through Dora or our foundation, we want to create opportunities for underserved and underbanked communities throughout the country in every way that we can. We want to be the credit union that’s making a difference.”

Learn More: 

• Labor Credit Union was founded in 1935 and is organized by and for working people to help them build a foundation of financial strength and success. 
• Dora Financial is a Credit Union Service Organization (CUSO) founded by USALLIANCE Financial in August 2021 to serve the 50 million Americans currently not participating in mainstream banking. Dedicated to financial inclusion, the app features a fully bilingual digital banking experience that supports individuals with low to moderate income. The goal is to help people find the pathway to credit union membership.
• CNote’s Impact Cash^® platform is a cash management solution designed for FDIC and NCUA insurance coverage that provides institutions a single management point for deposits targeting positive social impact while generating returns. Impact Cash^® provides flexible liquidity and the peace of mind that comes from federally insured solutions. 

Mira Ness comes from humble beginnings: in her words, she was born into a very big family in a very small town in Kazakhstan. Still, Mira found a way to become the president of one of her country’s biggest banks. However, when she moved to the United States with her American husband, Mira found herself in a country that makes it difficult for immigrants to translate their professional skills into meaningful work. Mira struggled to find a financial services job that leveraged her leadership skills, and she was repeatedly passed over for manager positions because of her lack of “American experience.” 

Mira Ness, CEO of New York University (NYU) Federal Credit Union

Eventually, Mira took a job as a customer service representative for a commercial bank. After that, she took a job at an investment bank; however, when she learned that her position was being relocated to Florida, Mira started to look for a new job that would allow her to stay in New York City. That’s how she learned about New York University (NYU) Federal Credit Union, which was looking for a new CEO. Mira interviewed for the position, and in 2006, she was hired as the credit union’s CEO. She quickly discovered that she and NYU Federal Credit Union were a perfect match.

NYU Federal Credit Union was founded in August of 1982 by then-NYU president John Brademas for the benefit of the university’s employees. Since its inception, the credit union’s services have been extended to faculty, alumni, students, retirees, and their family members. When Mira joined the credit union in 2006, it had approximately 2,000 members and roughly $7 million in assets. Today, NYU Federal Credit Union has about 10,000 members and more than $70 million in assets. Additionally, the credit union is a CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution) with a Low-Income Designation, meaning that all interest it accrues is passed on to its members in the form of better rates on loans and lower- or no-fee financial services. According to Mira, 86% of NYU Federal Credit Union’s members are minorities and low-income, which in New York City, means that they make less than $96,000 a year. 

Over the years, NYU Federal Credit Union has expanded what it’s able to offer its members. That includes online banking, Zelle, and Apple Pay, as well as student loan consolidation, quick cash loans, and credit-builder loans. “We are able to provide the loans that our members need,” Mira said. “We’re constantly trying to listen to our members about what they want.” 

Mira Ness with two NYU Federal Credit Union members

One of the first additions that Mira made at NYU Federal Credit Union when she joined 17 years ago was a mortgage program. Within six months of joining, she added five mortgage loans to the credit union’s portfolio, which allowed the credit union to begin making money on interest “right away.” Since then, NYU Federal Credit Union has continued to expand its mortgage program to include mortgage preparedness loans, first-time homebuyers loans, and down-payment assistance loans, which has become the credit union’s most popular offering. 

Given the popularity of its mortgage programs, NYU Federal Credit Union offers numerous financial education and information seminars. Although much of the credit union’s business flows out of these seminars, Mira says that that’s not her and her team’s goal. “Our goal is education and to help people,” she said. “We want people to get the best possible deal, and if someone else is going to be able to give it to them, we tell them to go for it. Educating people and gaining trust is the most important thing.”

Growing Alongside Partners

NYU Federal Credit Union relies on a number of partnerships to serve its members. For example, the credit union partners with Citibank to give its members access to the bank’s sprawling network of ATMs, and it partners with Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC to host its financial education seminars about available housing grants for low income members. It even partners with Citi Bike NYC to provide its members with a considerable discount to access thousands of bikes across New York City, Jersey City, and Hoboken. However, one of NYU Federal Credit Union’s most innovative partner relationships is with United Nations Federal Credit Union, a large, international credit union that has a presence in New York City.

Although NYU Federal Credit Union’s assets have grown considerably since Mira joined in 2006, the credit union is still too small to carry a high number of mortgages on its balance sheet, despite the demand from its membership. Therefore, to meet its members’ needs, the credit union forged a partnership with the United Nations Federal Credit Union. NYU Federal Credit Union sells its mortgages to United Nations Federal Credit Union, but holds onto 10% of each loan. In return, United Nations Federal Credit Union gets to improve its balance sheet, while NYU Federal Credit Union gets to serve more members. Last year, the arrangement resulted in NYU Federal Credit Union earning approximately $400,000 in fees, which Mira says was a “huge boost” to the credit union’s bottom line.

Another partnership that’s proving to be beneficial for NYU Federal Credit Union is with CNote. In 2023, NYU Federal Credit Union became a CNote Impact Cash^® Partner. CNote invests Impact Cash^® dollars in mission-driven and FDIC- and NCUA-insured partners like NYU Federal Credit Union, generating returns on institutional investors’ cash allocations while supporting financially underserved communities across the country. “Because we need cash flow, and we have to have liquidity for our transactional mortgages,” Mira said, “CNote has been very helpful for us.”

The Right Team Today for Tomorrow

Currently, NYU Federal Credit Union has 14 employees, including Mira. However, in the next few years, she would like to be able to hire more people so that NYU Federal Credit Union can expand its product offerings and better serve its members from its two branch locations. Specifically, Mira would like to hire one or two full-time certified housing counselors to help grow the credit union’s most popular programs. Doing so, however, presents a chicken-egg scenario for the credit union: “you have to make more money to hire people,” said Mira, “and to make more money, you need more employees who can provide services. That’s where our challenge is right now.”

Despite that challenge, Mira is confident that she has both the right team and the right board alongside her to continue to find new and better ways to serve NYU Federal Credit Union’s growing membership. “These people devote their personal time and this team works very hard,” she said. “Nothing can be accomplished by one person.”

The NYU Federal Credit Union team

Learn More:

• New York University (NYU) Federal Credit Union is a financial cooperative that was created in 1982 by NYU employees under the leadership of James Ramsey, to exclusively serve the NYU faculty, staff, employees, students, alumni and retirees and their family members.
• CNote is a women-led investment platform that empowers individuals and institutions to invest locally to further economic equality, racial justice, gender equity, and address climate change.

Rjay Brunkow, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, has dedicated his career to economic development within Indian Country. Rjay served as an investment banker for Wells Fargo, focusing on government infrastructure, before serving as Solicitor General for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and chief legal counsel for his own tribe. However, in 2015, after having negotiated two separate casino agreements and dealing with gaming legalese, he had an epiphany. “I came to the realization that I could do a lot more good for a tribe on the finance side than I ever could do as legal counsel,” Rjay said. “I started looking around for an opportunity.”

Rjay Brunkow, CEO of Indian Land Capital Company

As it would turn out, Rjay’s next opportunity presented itself to him thanks to a quick internet search by his now-wife. Indian Land Capital Company (ILCC) was looking for a new CEO. The job description felt like a perfect fit, and Rjay applied; however, he had one concern: despite spending his entire life in Indian Country, he’d never once heard of ILCC or its work. To Rjay, that was an issue. During his interview with the organization’s board of directors, Rjay said that if he was hired, then the board needed to be prepared to spend a lot of money on marketing. Rjay’s honesty struck a nerve with the board, and he was offered the job.

ILCC was created in 2005 by the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF), a national, community-based nonprofit that serves American Indian nations and people in the recovery and control of their rightful homelands. ILCC is a certified Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides alternative loan options to Native Nations for tribal land acquisition and economic development projects. As a Native-owned and operated business, ILCC understands the unique needs of Native Nations and creates customized, flexible loan packages that suit the specific needs of the tribe and the unique circumstances of the purchase. ILCC also works with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation to provide technical assistance to tribes as they develop and execute land acquisition strategies.

Part of ILCC’s mission is to help Native nations to recover, manage, and gain jurisdiction over 90 million acres of alienated tribal land. That includes assisting Native nations in consolidating undivided interests in land with fractionated ownership, and eliminating what’s called “checkerboarding,” or mixed patterns of land ownership and jurisdictions on Indian reservations. A large portion of ILCC’s loan portfolio is with tribes located in Northern California; however, the CDFI lends nationwide, including in places like Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Incredibly, in its 18-year existence, ILCC has never had a tribe default on a loan. Despite that perfect repayment percentage, traditional lenders haven’t started deploying more loans to tribes. Instead, according to Rjay, for most of ILCC’s loans, the tribes have been turned down by the traditional banks that they’ve had decades-long relationships with, making the CDFI the only lender willing to work with them. “ILCC came about because of the lack of capital in Indian Country,” Rjay said, “and we were started to help prove to big banks that tribes were good credit and would make their payments. That hasn’t been getting through to banks, but we’re thankful for their ignorance, because ILCC is there to fill those gaps.”

Since Rjay joined ILCC in 2015, the CDFI has consistently deployed three to four loans each year. Most of those loans go to first-time borrowers, and ILCC’s deals range in size from roughly $1 million to $10.5 million, with a typical loan amount being approximately $2.5 million. According to Rjay, all but two loans in ILCC’s portfolio are land acquisition loans. That isn’t to say that the CDFI isn’t open to other economic development-related loans. With the exception of casino loans, ILCC is interested in taking on any loans that have to do with strengthening tribal communities and sovereignty and building tribal infrastructure. However, regardless of the kind of loan that ILCC deploys, they tend to be among the most momentous moments in the history of the tribe.  

(From left to right) Gabriela Campos, Accounting Assistant, Rjay Brunkow, CEO of ILCC, and Cris Stainbrook, President of Indian Land Tenure Foundation.

More Capital, More Impact

According to Rjay, ILCC knows that it can scale its impact, and it would love to deploy more loans in Indian Country; however, the CDFI currently doesn’t have the capital necessary to do that. In fact, Rjay calls capital the CDFI’s only constraint, saying that the minute money comes in, it goes out the door to a tribe in the form of a loan. Therefore, ILCC is constantly looking to raise capital. 

Going forward, however, Rjay has ambitious goals to change the way that the CDFI raises capital, allowing ILCC to access larger amounts of money at better rates. One forthcoming strategy is to approach “big-money tribes” to back up loans to ILCC by guaranteeing the CDFI’s debt. According to Rjay, ILCC has good relationships with many regional banks across the country; however, ILCC can’t qualify for the loan amounts it wants (e.g. $50 million), because the CDFI doesn’t have the resources to put up as collateral. Big-money tribes, on the other hand, do. 

Additionally, ILTF and ILCC are already in conversations with several foundations who are interested in providing similar guarantees. Securing such backing wouldn’t just be a win for ILCC, it would also be a win for these foundations, as they would otherwise have a very difficult time connecting with and gaining the trust of tribes. “We have instant credibility with tribes because we’re Native-owned and Native-run,” said Rjay. “We understand tribes, and we understand how to honor their sovereignty. Another organization is going to have to work 100 times harder to get a tribe’s trust.”

Unsurprisingly, Rjay spends a lot of time on the road, visiting tribes, speaking with potential partners, and attending tribal land dedication ceremonies. For most of his tenure at ILCC, Rjay has actually been the CDFI’s sole employee. Earlier this year, however, ILCC hired its first half-time employee: an in-house loan portfolio manager who does loan administration. It’s an important first step in growing ILCC’s loan portfolio.

Even with the new addition to the ILCC team, Rjay’s job description hasn’t changed: underwrite debt, raise capital, and keep the board of directors happy. “I found a job that pays me to travel around the country and talk to tribal leaders about their hopes and dreams to make their community a better place for their tribal members,” Rjay said. “That’s what I get to do for a living, and it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Learn More:

• CNote is a women-led investment platform that empowers individuals and institutions to invest locally to further economic equality, racial justice, gender equity, and address climate change.
• Indian Land Capital Company is a Native-owned, Certified Native Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) providing alternative loan options to Native Nations for tribal land acquisition and economic development projects.