Social Impact Tech Startup for Banks and Non Profits Receives Funding for National Expansion
Louisville, Kentucky (PRWEB) December 05, 2015 -- Although the partnership is only a few months old, findCRA has already begun work with community partners in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Talks have begun with national partners focused on affordable housing, financial literacy and community services supporting communities as diverse as Harlem, Camden and Appalachia.
A social impact platform, findCRA identifies and promotes community needs that qualify under the Community Reinvestment Act and seeks the right bank partners to fulfill those needs. CDC is a network administrator of institutional deposits placed in banks through its relationship with a law firm (Charity Services Centers, P.A.) that works with over 300 charitable organizations in 11 states. Deposits are held by the law firm in trust accounts that benefit the local organizations in the form of donations that come from the interest on the deposits. Each community bank can select the organization or organizations to which the donation is made, so the process strengthens the relationship between banks and service organizations in their community.
Several national banking institutions are anxious to find an easier more efficient way to meet their community reinvestment needs. “In my career experience, matching bank investment with projects that deliver both a financial and social-economic return has been a challenge. The innovators at findCRA provide the impetus for a more targeted focus that delivers a successful outcome for all investment partners,” said Maria Hampton, retired Regional Executive of the Louisville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
findCRA has grown rapidly in Kentucky and Indiana receiving national attention from several major financial institutions and national community organizations. CEO/President of Living Cities, Ben Hecht describes it this way, “findCRA, like other mainstream web platforms such as Craig’s List, acts like a market-maker. Those looking for funding and resources can post what they are looking for on the site and those looking to provide resources and funding can see all the possible deals. They have the potential to be revolutionary.”
William Burdette, CDC’s CEO stated “Our mission is to support community-building projects, which is why an investment in findCRA was so exciting to us. The relationship offers a platform that helps to locate organizations that do the work needed in each community. Improving the links between those organizations and community banks was seen as a significant value, so we were willing to commit financial resources to help findCRA expand its national market presence. CDC works with hundreds of banks throughout the United States.”
“We knew that we needed help to grow beyond Louisville, and CDC brought not only the funding but an existing regional network of offices as well as a passionate interest in fulfilling our objective of creating impact in each community. It would have taken us years to build that network,” added CEO, Ben Loehle who along with Brian Waters founded findCRA.
Brian Waters, findCRA, http://www.findCRA.com, +1 5026812657, [email protected]
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