As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Freedom First is positioned to funnel secondary capital and other funding sources back into our community for even greater impact. Freedom First acquires outside funding, often from the national level, that is then brought into our region through initiatives that meet our community’s needs. This means that we are not only keeping our members’ money local, but we are also bringing new capital into our region for local benefit.
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Installment or payday loans can be deceptively expensive. Customers are pushed by predatory lenders to renew their loans over and over again, which causes mountains of interest debt to accrue. According to Pew Research and The Economist, every 90 seconds, $67,000 in new payday loan debt is issued in the U.S. and roughly 2.5 million American households use payday loans each year, making it a $40 billion industry. That’s why Freedom First offers payday loan alternatives and debt consolidation options to our members.
For example, Freedom First’s Payday Relief and Flash Cash loans act as a tool for people who have already fallen into a cycle of mounting high-interest debt to pay off their loans at a more manageable interest rate, which in turn can give them the room they need to break out of the predatory lending cycle.
One way Freedom First gives back is by engaging in community redevelopment and rehabilitation projects, by providing capital to developers who invest in neighborhoods facing continued disinvestment. Freedom First’s commercial and business banking teams are an integral part of the organization’s mission to give back to the community. Every local business that we help by providing necessary capital often means more local jobs. Every commercial loan funded in a target reinvestment area means more economic vitality, which will in turn encourage more businesses to follow. It’s a ripple effect.
