We just completed another profile of yet another of our inspiring borrowers—Curtis Gomes of Curtis Gomes Painting & Construction. Click here to read the profile! And if you need any work done on your house be sure to contact Curtis!
Here’s our latest update on our accomplishments, by the numbers: we have made 28 loans totaling $47,165 (with only one default, of $1,500), and we have graduated 24 people through our business and financial literacy workshops. Not bad for our first year of operation. And now that we have two more full-time employees, we expect to see continued rapid growth.
In the last few weeks we have rapidly grown our loan portfolio, making 6 loans and bringing our total to 27 loans equaling $45,000. Four of these loans have been part of our innovative—and life-changing—partnership with Amos House (a fantastic social services agency in Providence), in which we provide capital to clients of theirs that have job offers (or offers of increased hours at their jobs), but need a drivers license to take advantage of those opportunities. Due to fines and fees associated with reinstating their licenses (about $1,000) these hardworking individuals are unable to get their licenses back. In response, CGF and Amos House created a group of seven handpicked individuals that meet weekly to support one another, request loans and make payments, and learn about financial literacy. The group-lending program has facilitated a forum for members to talk about their long-term financial and personal goals, which has inspired some group members to start saving up money in order to open a small business down the road.
We have given four loans to graduates of the Amos House Culinary Education Program. Borrower Troy Stevens is now able drive to and from work in the evenings after public transportation stops, and has increased his work hours a local restaurant as a result. Ruben Alicea is now a more valuable employee at a local café and has received a raise because he can now assist the business with emergency food pick-ups and catering. Additionally, borrower Damon Fowlkes, trained in carpentry, has just been hired by a landscaping company since he can now drive to and from clients’ houses. And borrower Nelson Rojas is able to work at two different locations for his storage company as a result of the reinstated license. He is grateful to be able to use the extra money to support his two-year-old daughter. All members of our “access-to-employment” loan and support program are excited to continue meeting for the next year, and the Capital Good Fund is grateful to be working with such inspiring borrowers and such a supportive organization like the Amos House.
The Capital Good Fund has been accepted as a finalist in Ashoka’s prestigious Revelation to Action contest! The competition aims to “find and help fund creative solutions for motivating local citizens to strengthen communities across New England and New York.” From an applicant pool of 358 organizations, CGF was chosen as one of fifteen finalists. Winning this award would help us to support our innovative Double Green Credit Builder Loan! The top ten winners will receive $5,000, so support CGF by voting for us at http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/revelation.
