Bank Rhode Island gives to Capital Good Fund

PROVIDENCE – Bank Rhode Island last week provided the Capital Good Fund with a $7,500 grant, helping the organization expand a financial service program to more individuals and families.
The Capital Good Fund, a nonprofit, is a community development financial institution that has provided financial services to more than 2,000 low-income Rhode Islanders, according to a press release. Bank Rhode Island is a Brookline Bancorp subsidiary and its grant will allow Capital Good Fund to expand its “FC Plus” program, which comprises loans and financial advising, according to the press release.
“Everything that the Capital Good Fund does is done with the goal of creating pathways out of poverty for Rhode Islanders of limited means,” said Mark J. Meiklejohn, president and CEO of Bank Rhode Island, in a statement. “We are pleased to support such an innovative effort; one that not only helps families become more financially stable, but that also benefits our state.”
The grant is slated to go toward an effort to digitalize FC Plus and further integrate it onto the Capital Good Fund’s online lending platform, according to the release. The platform would allow Capital Good Fund clients to upload verification documents, electronically sign closing paperwork, view loan balances among other services. The bank says about 80 percent of FC Plus clients are under-banked and about 60 percent are food insecure. Average annual household income is less than $16,000.
But more than half of participants who complete the program improve their credit scores and one-third experience an increase in monthly income, according to the release.
“We know that we can’t empower underserved families without the support of community leaders like BankRI,” said Andy Posner, founder and CEO of Capital Good Fund, in a statement. “BankRI understands that equitable financial services can change lives for the better and by working together we are providing important opportunities for many of our neighbors.”

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