Table of Contents
- 1 2018 Impact Metrics At A Glance
- 2 Over 1,400 Jobs Created/Maintained
- 3 Over 250 Small Businesses Funded
- 4 For Each Dollar Invested in CNote:
- 5 A Few Words From CNote’s CEO
- 6 Some Small Business Success Stories From 2018
- 6.1 Sustainable Investment Strategies Treasurers Can Use
- 6.2 How Karla Villanueva Grew Her Gymnastics Studio with Her Credit Union’s Support
- 6.3 How Kaua’i Federal Credit Union’s Rent Relief Program Has Stabilized Local Small Businesses—And Local Culture
- 6.4 How Freedom First Credit Union Is Leveraging Creative, Character-Based Lending To Approve Community Members For Auto Loans
- 6.5 How Jayme Murray is Creating Food Sovereignty for the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe.
- 6.6 Meet David Akinniyi, the Baltimore Developer who’s Transforming his Adopted City with Each New Building
- 6.7 Meet Flywheel Development, The Company Striving To Create Sustainable Communities In Washington D.C.
- 6.8 How Riff Raff Brewing Company Remains Down-to-Earth As Its Earth-Powered Beer Takes Off
- 6.9 Meet DREAM, Where Students Are Family, Families Are Community, And Community Is Front-And-Center
2018 Impact Metrics At A Glance
Over 1,400 Jobs Created/Maintained
Over 250 Small Businesses Funded
For Each Dollar Invested in CNote:
A Few Words From CNote’s CEO
2018 was a time of significant growth for CNote. The total number of users on our platform grew substantially and we took on institutional investments from amazing partners like the Sierra Club Foundation.
This influx of capital meant we were able to deploy more assets to our network of non-profit lenders across America. Those CNote-investment dollars funded loans that helped individuals pursue their dreams of starting small businesses, helped build affordable housing, and helped to bring economic development to communities that need it most.
Our intention is to continue to deliver competitive financial returns while generating measurable and significant positive social impact. To that end, we’ve roughly doubled our impact metrics from 2017, across the board. While pleased with the 800 jobs created/maintained in 2017, we are thrilled that we nearly doubled that number to more than 1,400 in 2018.
Additionally, our growing network of partners that now covers 37 states, allowed us to deploy capital with even more intention in 2018. This meant that for every dollar you invested in CNote we were able to deliver significant targeted impact. To illustrate, historically around 4.4% of all small business funding goes to women-owned firms. 1 Meanwhile 43% of CNote’s investment dollars were deployed to women-led businesses, almost 10x the norm. It is radical shifts in capital access like this that will build a more inclusive and robust American economy–which is our overarching mission at CNote.
Finally, on the financial front, starting in January 2019, the rate of return on all CNote accounts will be increasing to 2.75%. This is in furtherance of our goal to prove that impactful investing can be profitable as well.
Wishing you a prosperous and impactful 2019!
Cat Berman
Some Small Business Success Stories From 2018
