COVID-19 Response Lending Program

Disclaimer: With this lending program, the primary rationale is the opportunity cost of not providing additional affordable consumer credit to underserved communities. The main alternative for people is credit card debt with high APR costs between 20% - 30% or other high-interest loan products. By offering this program as an affordable alternative, we seek to support communities to access resources that cover short term cash flow needs and save over the long term relative to credit card or other high-cost (e.g. payday) financing alternatives. This is one of several important short-term stop-gaps our local communities can access to address immediate financial instability. But, we must not lose sight of the root causes of this instability and continue to work across all sectors to build better structures for all people. As always, we see the long-term solution as systemic change within the financial system that prioritizes people with fewer resources, rather than charging a poverty premium.

During this challenging time, many families in our community are struggling to make ends meet. We are encouraged by the numerous resources that are being made available, but we know that more funding and support is and will continue to be needed in the coming weeks and months. To add to the ongoing local support, we are announcing another financial resource for our local community.

In partnership with local non-profit organizations, including Hopelink, Global to Local, and Denkyem Coop, Community Credit Lab is launching a $75,000 Loan Fund to provide 0% interest loans to families that are being impacted by COVID-19. People working with participating referral partners will be able to access loans up to $2,000 for personal living expenses, with a 6-month deferral period for repayments.

We are in the process of continuing to identify non-profit organizations who will be referral partners for this loan program. Referral partners will help people in their community understand if they can qualify to receive a loan and if so, support them to apply. As with all our loan programs, referral partners are instrumental in getting capital to their communities. If you are a non-profit interested in becoming a referral partner, please reach out directly (sandhya@communitycreditlab.org).

Finally, we want to thank Credit Builders Alliance for providing the financial resources that made this loan fund possible.