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How Toni Hopkins Embraced Her Entrepreneurial Side To Open Cool J’s Apparel During The Pandemic
In the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toni Hopkins and her husband talked about moving from their home in Springfield, Illinois to North Carolina to pursue what she describes as “something different.” They’d even gone as far as to meet with a real estate agent to explore selling their house. Ultimately, the couple…
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How Project Fighting Chance Is Going Beyond The Boxing Ring To Build Trauma Resiliency In San Bernardino’s Youth
When Terry Boykins was first approached to serve on the board of directors for a nonprofit called Project Fighting Chance, the social entrepreneur politely said “thanks, but no thanks.” It wasn’t because Terry wasn’t aligned with Project Fighting Chance’s mission to function as a viable safe space and trauma resilience support system for youth in…
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Impact Platform CNote Announces Conversion to Public Benefit Corporation
New legal designation affirms CNote’s longstanding commitment to closing the wealth gap and uplifting communities with sustainable solutions. March 30, 2022 // Oakland, CA // CNote, a woman-led impact platform, has announced its official conversion to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC). Since its founding in 2016, CNote’s fixed income and cash products have streamlined millions…
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Meet Michelle Corson, ‘The Car Lady’ Behind the CDFI That Gets Clients On the Road
Since she was a little girl in Texas, Michelle Corson has always loved cars, something that befuddled her parents. “It’s not like I was chauffeured around town or anything,” Michelle laughed. “My mom drove a Honda and my dad drove a Buick, and they were like ‘who are you and why do you like cars…
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Meet Mellaney Williams, The Big Dreamer Behind American Home and Commercial Services
When Mellaney Williams and her husband graduated college and moved to South Carolina in 2001, Mellaney’s husband got himself involved in the irrigation installation trade. However, what started as a side hustle quickly turned into something much bigger, as demand for him and his services grew. Soon, American Home and Commercial Services LLC was doing…
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Investing In Black-owned Small Businesses To Close the Racial Wealth Gap
There is a staggering disparity between the wealth of Black communities and their white counterparts in the United States where wealth is the difference between financial and social mobility and terminal economic insecurity. In 2019, Black households, on average, had 14.5 percent of the wealth of the average white household. This disparity is reflected throughout…
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These Maine CDFIs Are Showing Mainstream Lenders How to Open Doors For Muslim Borrowers
When Yassin arrived in western Maine in 2008 as a refugee from Djibouti, he knew that he wanted to start his own business one day. In recent decades, Maine has become a destination for a growing population of immigrants like Yassin, who are seeking to build a life for themselves in the U.S. According to…
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Free Resources for Growth in 2022
On January 26th, 2022 CNote hosted a webinar alongside Inclusiv and CUNA Strategic Services where they discussed key resources to help mission driven community financial institutions grow in 2022 and deepen their community impact. Title: Deepening Community Impact: A Discussion on Key Resources to Help Your Organization Grow in 2022 Brief Summary: Credit unions and…
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Meet Danielle Mahon, The Entrepreneur Whose Company, Topsail Steamer, Has The Wind At Its Back
Although Danielle Mahon identifies as a late-in-life entrepreneur, she’s more of a waiting-for-the-right-idea entrepreneur. Danielle grew up in southern New Jersey, and she spent her summers on the Jersey Shore with friends and family. Danielle pursued a career in sales, but it was her husband’s job that took her and her children to Raleigh, North…
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How Credit Unions Rose To The Challenges Presented By PPP Loan Issuance And Forgiveness
When Jim Barnhart pushed pause on his 34-year-long career in banking, he never could have imagined that a global pandemic was right around the corner. Instead, Jim was looking forward to some quality time at home with his family, particularly so he could help his son, a senior in high school, transition to college. As…
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Where finance meets impact.