CGF Blog

The Swearing In of Eva, Our First Citizenship Borrower!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Authored by Andy Posner, CGF’s Co-Founder and Director


Andy Posner poses with Eva after the ceremony

On Thursday, September 17 Eva, our first citizenship borrower, officially became a United States citizen during a moving swearing in ceremony at the International Institute of Rhode Island (IIRI).  CGF’s loan of $875 covered Eva’s cost of applying for citizenship, as well as what the IIRI charges for legal representation and citizenship classes throughout the process. This special day—which was special for Eva, CGF and the 24 other immigrants who finally became naturalized citizens—was made even more special by the fact that it was also citizen and constitution day, a fact whose significance was not lost on the speakers and members of the audience.  After taking an oath of allegiance to the United States, the new citizens received certificates and celebrated their new status! Read on for more photos from and thoughts about the event.

Capital Good Fund’s Mission: A Perfect Match for the City of Providence

Sunday, September 06, 2009

David Cicilline, Mayor of Providence, recently wrote, in the on-line magazine Social Enterprise, that the city is fast becoming a ‘hot bed for young social entrepreneurs’ and that social enterprise is a ‘key ingredient to our future success’, highlighting the Capital Good Fund as an example of this burgeoning sector. Mayor Cicilline points out that his administration will be ‘paying particular attention to the need of social enterprises and how municipal government can play a role in helping them achieve their goals.’ Nurturing social enterprise, small businesses, and non-profits is a critical component to the city’s economic future, an idea captured by its recent rebranding as the The Creative Capital.

Microfinance Through the Eyes of an Intern, or What I Learned at CGF this Summer

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Authored by Julie Siwicki

For one: credit reports are complicated. As a summer intern, one of my first tasks involved finding resources about building credit. CGF staff planned to study them, internalize them, and then begin providing credit counseling to our borrowers.  With the help of an asset-building organization in St. Louis, MO, Justine Petersen, LLC, CGF received several trainings in reading credit reports. We learned a lot – like how long it takes for a bad line of credit to fall off your score, and why starting a new line can be better than paying off old debt. I was baffled by the amount of information each sample report contained. The trainings made me feel much more confident about my personal finances, and I realized that Providence’s low-income residents stand to benefit from them markedly more than I did.