Capital Good Fund

Capital Good Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Providence, Rhode Island that encourages entrepreneurship through microfinancing and other innovative financing methods. It focuses on the latino business community and provides 100% of US citizenship costs to entrepreneurs.^[1]

According to the Brown Daily Herald, the startup had dispersed more than $100,000 in 70 loans to Providence entrepreneurs by January, 2011.^[2] By the middle of May, 2011, the Capital Good Fund, which began as a college class project, had awarded its 100th loan.^[3]

History

The organization was founded in 2009 by Brown University students Andy Posner and Mollie West. It was a student run organization until 2010 when Posner became the first full-time employee. Since then, they have grown to a staff of five, including 2 AmeriCorps volunteers.

Recently, the Bank of Rhode Island has announced that it is awarding a $2,000 grant to the Capital Good Fund to "support financial coaching for low-income Providence residents".^[4]

Products

Financial Coaching

Capital Good Fund offers financial coaching to low and moderate income Rhode Islanders. This year-long relationship with a CGF fellow consists of three finance sessions and two "check-in" sessions, at the 6 month and 12 month marks. Sessions cover topics such as banking, credit, debt, savings, and budgeting. Capital Good Fund charges $120 for financial coaching. This payment is treated as a loan from CGF that clients pay back in $10 monthly payments. These payments are then reported to the credit bureau TransUnion, building the credit of financial coaching clients. After completing the financial coaching program, clients often go on to take a business or consumer loan to continue on their pathway out of poverty.^[5]

Programs

TECH Project

Although CGF focuses on delivering financial services to low-income community members, they also offer other programs and services. The TECH Project is a collaboration project between CGF, Broadband Rhode Island(BBRI), and three Rhode Island schools: Pleasant View Elementary School, Times Squared Academy, and Highlander Charter. This program aims to connect teachers, students, and parents in order to create a better learning environment for students. It has been found that " family participation in education was twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socioeconomic status".

The TECH Pilot will provide families with:

• Free digital literacy training for parents, with an emphasis on how to utilize the Internet to save money, seek employment, communicate with friends and family, and increase access to educational resources that will help their children learn.
• Low-cost, one-on-one financial coaching, which will help families learn to budget, build their credit, manage their debt, and save for their future.
• The option to access affordable loans, starting at $12/month, for the purchase of a laptop computer and/or Internet service.

The TECH Pilot aims to deeply integrate the aforementioned products and services into the participant school’s plans for improving educational outcomes. To achieve this, each school is asked to develop a plan for connecting teachers and parents via web-based platforms; provide a space at the school for parents to use their new computers for both Digital Literacy Training and one-on-one Financial Coaching; and commit to working closely with community partners, CGF & BBRI, to ensure maximum impact and success.

Loans

Small business

Digital Equity

Residency

DoubleGreen

Citizenship

Other Consumer

Free Tax Preparation

CGF is a certified IRS VITA site

Supporters

The Hitachi Foundation recently recognized the work of founder, Andy Posner, by awarding him with a prestigious Young Entrepreneur award ^[6] BankRI also awarded CGF a grant in 2010^[7]

In the Media

The work of CGF has been mentioned in The Providence Journal,^[8] Providence Business News,^[9] and the Boston Herald ^[10]