By Sister Marilín Llanes, OP
Portfolio Manager of Community Impact Investments, 
Portfolio Advisory Board

Imagine this situation: Mariela, 41, a Latina with limited resources living with an adult child scrambling to pay legal expenses for a divorce. Where will she go for help to get a small consumer loan in the big metro city of Miami, Florida? During this difficult time for Mariela, she turned to Capital Good Fund for a $3,500 Impact PLUS Fund instead of going with payday lenders that take advantage of people in such dire situations. 

“Capital Good Fund made me feel supported, empowered, and confident,” she said. “Capital Good Fund offered options and solutions instead of creating problems. The tools are there. There are people willing to help you.”

Andy Posner, Founder & CEO Capital Good Fund

The Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) welcomed in March 2023 Capital Good Fund as new partner borrower. Andy Posner, Founder and CEO launched the nonprofit certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2009 with a mission to create pathways out of poverty and advance a green economy through inclusive financial services. It grants loans nationally – in Rhode Island, Florida, Massachusetts, Delaware, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, New Jersey, and Connecticut – and is incorporated in Providence, Rhode Island.  

The PAB is especially pleased to partner with Capital Good for its commitment to address racial equity and its recognition that racism, discrimination, poverty, and financial exclusion are all linked.  

Capital Good Fund’s mission is well aligned with the Congregation’s 2022 Enactment on Diversity, which calls the Adrian Dominican Sisters to “build the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger and hate.”

Capital Good engages daily with underserved families and provides tools for savings, building credit, investing in themselves, and avoiding high-interest debt to be able to reach their goals.  

All loans are offered through a financial technology (fintech) platform. Fintech transactions are efficient, reliable, and easily accessible to the client who is often living with time and energy constraints, and limited resources. The array of products Capital Good offers range from car loans, immigration loans to cover cost like green card acquisition and citizenship; consumer loans, weatherization loans to make homes more efficient and emergency loans for unexpected expenses like in Mariela’s story.

                     
Ana came to the United States with a dream: to start her own business, buy a house, and create a better life for her children. But she had a problem: she needed $5,000 to get her work permit. That's where Good Fund came in. By providing the loan, Capital Good enabled Ana to get a work permit and launch her business. This opportunity for Ana boosted her credit score, allowing her eventually to buy her own home for her husband and two children. Watch Ana tell her story here.

Mariela and Ana are two of the thousands of individuals and families serviced by the Capital Good Fund team.  

Learn more about Capital Good Fund at https://capitalgoodfund.org/en/.