How to benefit from corporate pledges to minority businesses

Since the start of 2020, companies from Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase to Google and Twitter have pledged billions of dollars to support entrepreneurs of color.

All those dollars don’t go directly into business owners’ pockets, however. Many are being invested in other financial institutions — particularly community development financial institutions, whose services include making small-business loans to borrowers underserved by traditional banks.

“We give folks a chance when others can’t or won’t,” says Martina Edwards, chief of strategic partnerships at ACE, a CDFI that supports entrepreneurs in Atlanta and north Georgia with low-interest loans, financial education and business development services.

Corporate and philanthropic support “allows us to accelerate the work that we’re doing,” including making more loans, Edwards says.

If you’re a business owner of color, here’s how these pledges can benefit you.

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