2018 Third Quarter Report
Dear Friends:
Robust and responsible financial tools are an absolute necessity for closing the opportunity gaps that limit economic mobility. These resources enable businesses to provide jobs with a living wage and benefits, home mortgages that allow families to build wealth, financing for quality schools and health care facilities. When these tools exist, families thrive and communities prosper.
However, across the Deep South, and in persistent poverty communities across the nation, responsible financial services are sorely lacking, disproportionately thwarting economic mobility among women, people of color, and among low-income and rural residents.
Closing these gaps is at the core of HOPE’s mission. This quarter’s report highlights how the right financial tools eliminated barriers for a couple seeking to become first-time homeowners; helped a veterinarian clinic when it needed to expand; and enabled a small Louisiana town to open its first grocery in 35 years. This work, however, goes beyond transactions. HOPE is a partner to the communities we serve, often functioning as their community and economic development team, connecting local leaders with the public, private and philanthropic resources needed to improve lives in their communities.
Thank you for being our partner in this important work. When we work together, when we hope together, we all reap the benefits.
Please visit www.hopecu.org
to learn more and to read the full report.
Sincerely,
Bill Bynum, CEO, HOPE
HOPE in a New Home Memphis, TN
Menelik and Njeri are now the owners of a duplex they rented years ago thanks to HOPE. When they were ready to buy the home, they expected to encounter some obstacles, especially after reaching out to another financial institution without success. Then, someone referred them to HOPE, where the mortgage team soon had them on a path to homeownership. During the process, Njeri was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. “The whole thing was stressful, but when you’re dealing with something like this, it’s like the word ‘HOPE’ helped me pull through,” she says. The couple’s home is located near a bridge named for Menelik’s father, A.W. Willis, a civil rights lawyer and the first black state representative elected in Tennessee. “It’s like all the pieces fell together, including the name of the company that financed our home,” Njeri says.
A Ladder to Financial Stability Montgomery, AL
Over a period of several months, Genesia lost three loved ones, including her son, who had been hospitalized before his death. She was left with mounting medical bills, which forced her to file for bankruptcy. When she emerged from bankruptcy, Genesia set out on a mission to restore her credit and rebuild her life. Her first stop was HOPE. A team of financial navigators provided counseling to Genesia and approved her for a credit-building product, called the Borrow and Save Loan. Genesia, a college graduate who had struggled in the past to repay student debt, says she’s “starting off on the right foot” because of HOPE.
South Mississippi Animal Health Center Moss Point, MS
Dr. Brandy Womack believes veterinary medicine is about more than just the animals – it is about the bond owners have with their animals. That’s why she wanted to ensure her patients had access to the best possible treatment and facility. When she was ready to expand her business, South Mississippi Animal Health Center, she went to a bank for a loan, but the lenders were unable to meet her needs. She turned to HOPE and experienced what she described as “an uncomplicated process” of refinancing that provided the capital she needed to grow her business. The expansion allowed her to hire additional staff to care for the more than 1,500 animals who are treated at the clinic each year.
Ready for School New Orleans, LA
The start of school was looming and Jimese did not know where she would get the money to pay for school clothes for her daughters, one of which also needed tuition for dance school. She had used her clerk’s salary to pay off household bills. Jimese found out about HOPE after it merged with Michoud Federal Credit Union in 2017. She went to the branch, and within 24 hours, she was approved for a loan. “I was able to use the loan to pay off a debt and the remaining balance, I used to buy the school clothes and pay for the dance school,” she says. “Nowadays, kids get teased and I didn’t want the girls wearing uniforms from last year that were too small.”
3rd Quarter News
HOPE, NeigborWorks America Host Community Leadership Institute
More than 70 Mississippi town leaders joined together to generate ideas for transformational change in their communities during a place-based Community Leadership Institute sponsored by HOPE and NeighborWorks America. The institute, held in Greenville, Miss., was the first of its kind for HOPE. Dr. Timla G. Washington, a liaison from U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson’s office, emphasized the importance of diverse business ownership within communities and the need for strong leaders to have foresight. Shaw Mayor Evereth Stanton says it was “great to work with organizations that understand the challenges small, rural municipalities face.”
HOPE Financing Leads to 1st Grocery Store in Grambling, La., in 35 Years
For more than three decades, the families who lived in Grambling, La., and the students who attended the historically-black Grambling State University had to travel to another city to buy fresh food and shop at a full-service grocery store. An investment by HOPE has changed that and improved the lives of the community’s residents. HOPE recently joined Grambling officials and developers for the grand opening of Legends Market, the first fresh food retailer to open in Grambling in 35 years. HOPE was a financing partner on the project that is part of a larger retail shopping center developed by Baton Rouge, La.-based Kimble Development. The market will allow the municipality to generate approximately three times more revenue as residents had been traveling to nearby cities to purchase fresh produce and other grocery items. “Our town was a food desert. This grocery store gives residents convenient access to healthy food. It is also a signal of Grambling’s progress and growth,” Grambling Mayor Edward Jones said.
