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.

Banking on America

Friday, August 21, 2009

Authored by Nabeel Gillani

According to a recent story by the AP, nearly 10,000 new bank branches were opened throughout the U.S. in the past five years (1).  However, only 1 out of every 10 of these branches was opened in an inner city neighborhood.  Instead of focusing on low-income neighborhoods, most banks gravitate towards middle to high-income areas, undoubtedly because they assume the risk of banking to higher income individuals is significantly less.  At the same time, when banks do offer their services to lower-income customers, they tend to charge them the most for overdraft and other fees.  In fact, in 2008 banks made a record $38.5 billion from overdraft fees, however “the most cash-strapped customers are the hardest hit by such fees, with 90 per cent of overdraft revenues coming from 10 per cent of the 130m checking accounts in the US.” (2)  Given a paradigm in which lower-income populations lack access to the benefits of the banking system—and even when they do gain that access, they face high fees—it isn’t surprising that these population mistrust the banking sector. The result is a system that effectively shuts out millions of Americans from accessing mainstream financial services—and inhibits many more from taking the steps they need to raise their standards of living. 

Reducing “The High Cost of Being Poor”

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Authored by Andy Posner

Here’s a simple dilemma that plagues many American families: how does someone that lives from paycheck to paycheck and is without a credit score—and therefore without a credit card—afford to cover unexpected expenses between paychecks, such as fixing a flat tire, a doctor’s visit, or even regular expenses such as groceries and phone bills?  For higher-income families, this simply is not a problem.  For one thing, consider how often you use a credit card to make purchases; doing so enables you to delay paying for the item until you have received your paycheck and can afford it.  And of course, being higher-income by definition means that one can most likely already afford most expenses that occur between paychecks.  But in the case of lower and moderate-income families, a lack of access to credit combined with a lack of savings forces them to so-called payday lenders to make ends meet during the week

Partnerships Through a Market-Based Approach

Friday, August 07, 2009

Authoredy by Haley Jordahl

Throughout the past decade, market-based approaches have emerged as important components of any program attempting to ameliorate domestic or international poverty at the household level.  These solutions come in all shapes and sizes, from micro-loans to enhanced market linkages for small-scale enterprises; however, advocates of a market-based approach to development generally view market integration as a key building block of economic opportunity, and therefore a primary factor in the eradication of poverty.

Why Capital Good Fund Believes in Green Collar Entrepreneurs

Friday, July 31, 2009

Authored by Andy Posner

The idea of green collar jobs—defined by Green for All as jobs that do something for the planet, pay living wages and provide opportunities for upward mobility—has become ubiquitous among politicians, social and environmental advocates and businesses.  This should come as no surprise, particularly in the current economic climate: after all, who can argue against creating more jobs for American families—jobs that also enhance our infrastructure, national security and environment? 

The Many Faces of Microfinance

Friday, July 24, 2009

Authored by Jason Kaye

As the microfinance industry grows on both a domestic and an international scale, the forms and functions of microfinance institutions (MFIs) worldwide are evolving. There is a growing effort on the part of MFIs and academics to specifically define microfinance. As MFIs adapt to better address the diverse financial needs of the global unbanked, this becomes increasingly difficult. It is clear that microfinance – simply a term for small-scale financial services generally provided for low-income individuals – comes in many shapes and sizes.

Charity vs. Business

Friday, July 17, 2009

Authored by Raisa Aziz

CGF recently launched its $100 000 campaign- we’re hoping to generate enough funds by September to finance another 30 loans! All this fundraising talk has brought back discussions of financial sustainability and what that means to a socially-oriented organization.

The Popping Point

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Authored by Nabeel Gillani

The growth of the microfinance industry worldwide has led to measurable improvements in the standards of living of millions of individuals.  A recent blog post in Newsweek however, questions exactly how measurable or drastic these improvements have been.  Critics suggest that the social impact claims of many MFIs around the world hyperbolize the true impact, and that the worldwide popularity of this $25 billion industry brings back eerie memories of the recent housing and dotcom bubbles.  The post fails to recognize, however, what really is at the core of microlending:  A high touch approach, upward mobility, and value creation through economic inclusion.