August 24, 2020

We are more than halfway through the year and we continue to focus on responding to COVID-19 through Crisis Relief Loans; Emergency Financial Coaching; and helping existing borrowers by offering deferments and connecting them to other resources. We feel for all those who are suffering during this difficult time: the tens of millions who have lost their jobs, the five million who have contracted the disease, and, most of all, the 175,000+ who have lost their lives to the virus. We encourage everyone to come together during this time and to listen to public health officials: by wearing masks, by practicing physical distancing, and by staying home whenever possible, we can, like so many other countries have done, get this pandemic under control.

We are thankful to have the opportunity to do our part. Last month, we set another record for volume, financing 176 loans for $390,000. So far this year, we’ve already done 995 loans for over $2 million, and we are just starting to ramp up.

A special thank you to CITI for the $75,000 grant for Crisis Relief Loans throughout Florida; to PNC Bank for the $10,000 to support Crisis Loans in Brevard and Okeechobee Counties, FL; and to Truist Bank for the $30,000 for Crisis Loans throughout Florida as well. Thank you also to all those who have donated to, invested in, and otherwise supported us this year. We are rising to the challenge because of you!

In other news, Michelle Fox of CNBC.com recently featured us and two of our clients in an excellent article titled “This lender wants to close the racial wealth gap and ‘’put poverty out of business.'” Thank you to our clients Michele and Shirley for sharing their impactful stories!

Last but not least, congratulations to our Sr. Director of Loan Origination, Heiry Bulux, on the birth of her daughter, Belèn Marina Bulux, on August 1st at 3:17pm. Mom and baby are doing great! We can’t wait to see you when you’re back from maternity leave!

We’ve Upgraded!

This month we made some exciting upgrades to our technology platform to allow faster, more efficient loan processing for our clients. Although our systems were down from August 5th-August 16th, we are excited to start serving our communities again. Some of the highlights of our newly refreshed system include: 

• Faster application process
• Quicker loan decisions
• More user-friendly Coaching content
• Streamlined workflows