CNote | Blog | Where Finance Meets Impact
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Where finance meets impact.
How Asian Bank Is Providing Personalized Support To Philadelphia’s Small Business Owners
In a word, Tina Miao-Granatt would describe her life as “blessed.” Her family moved from Taiwan to Philadelphia when she was 12 years old. There, her parents owned and operated a successful Chinese restaurant. As the small business grew and grew, so too did Tina’s list of responsibilities, from dishwasher, to busser, to waitress. Although…
CNote’s 2023 Annual Impact Report
CNote’s 2023 Annual Impact Report, documenting a year of robust growth and enduring commitment to economic and social justice! Despite the challenges posed by the SVB Bank crisis and other market turbulences, we’ve advanced our mission through impactful financial solutions and strong community partnerships, and were excited to share those achievements. This year’s report highlights:…
Meet Beardstown Savings, The Community Bank That’s Speaking The Same Language As Its Multilingual Community
Rich Eckert never expected to become the president and CEO of a community bank. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-native aspired to work in collegiate athletic administration, which he did for a short while before moving with his wife to her hometown of Beardstown, Illinois to start a family. However, a chance encounter with the then head executive…
How Labor Credit Union Is Creating Opportunities And Expanding Its Impact With Dora Financial
Thomas Domingue is passionate about opportunities. More specifically, the CEO of Labor Credit Union is passionate about creating opportunities for those around him. It’s a personal mantra that Thomas has woven through his professional journey, which, prior to joining Labor Credit Union, included 13 years working for various multibillion-dollar credit unions. Unsurprisingly, when Thomas joined…
How Freedom First’s Affordable Housing Program Is Taking A Non-Conforming Approach To Homeownership
Allison Wolf got her start in the financial services industry as a college student in 1998, when she took a job as a part-time teller in Long Beach, California. Many things caught Allison’s attention during those formative first few years; however, she found herself particularly entranced by the work of the branch’s loan officers. “It…
CNote’s Q4 2023 Impact Report
CNote is excited to share our Q4 2023 Impact Report! Check it out here. You’ll read more about CNote’s proprietary impact framework developed to assess the positive impact made by community financial institutions on our platform. We also share updates on CDFI loan funds’ capital challenges, and how impact-driven depository institutions are embracing fintech partnerships…
How NYU Federal Credit Union Is Forging Partnerships To Support Their Members
Mira Ness comes from humble beginnings: in her words, she was born into a very big family in a very small town in Kazakhstan. Still, Mira found a way to become the president of one of her country’s biggest banks. However, when she moved to the United States with her American husband, Mira found herself…
Resources for LID Credit Unions
What are Low Income Designated Credit Unions Low-Income Designated (LID) credit unions cater to communities predominantly falling within specific low-income thresholds, as determined by Census Bureau data and NCUA regulations. The NCUA specifically describes a credit union that can be designated as low-income when “a majority of the credit union’s potential or actual membership qualifies…
Creating an Impact Framework for Impact-Driven Depository Institutions
Impact-driven banks and credit unions provide vital services to under-resourced communities. However, in CNote’s extensive work with these institutions and community finance overall, we recognized the pressing need for a consistent impact framework for the industry. Existing impact measurement efforts have typically centered around either banks or credit unions or have been limited to CDFI-certified…
How Karla Villanueva Grew Her Gymnastics Studio with Her Credit Union’s Support
Karla Villanueva-Bernal has been passionate about gymnastics and practiced the discipline throughout her life. Her dream of opening her own gymnastics studio was finally realized in 2012 when she and her husband started what was then called Karla’s Gymnastics. Karla started teaching one class every Saturday in the All Saints Red Barn, a multi-use space…