Racial Equity Funds

Racial Equity Grant Fund

Launched in 2020 as the Inclusiv Resilience Grant Fund, the Inclusiv Racial Equity Grant Fund helps credit unions - specifically those led by and serving people of color - provide financial relief to consumers and small businesses affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.  In the past three years, Inclusiv has awarded grants totaling $2.1 million to Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and financial cooperatives in Puerto Rico known as cooperativas.

Credit unions have used these flexible grants to cover the cost of obtaining Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) certification as well as investing in technology enhancements, developing marketing plans and materials, establishing financial coaching and counseling programs, and hiring consultants for strategic  business planning.  Additionally, Inclusiv staff members provide grantees with ongoing technical assistance and capacity-building support to help strengthen the credit unions’ operations.

In the most recent Racial Equity Grant funding round in Spring 2023, 53 MDIs and cooperativas were awarded $530,000.  Click here for a list of Racial Equity Fund grantees.

Funding for the Racial Equity Grant Fund has been made possible by: Annie E. Casey Foundation, Bank of America, Capital One Financial Corporation, Citi, Inclusiv, JPMorgan Chase, NerdWallet, PNC Bank, and Prudential Financial.  Inclusiv will continue to raise resources from philanthropic organizations to support the Racial Equity Grant Fund on an ongoing basis.

Racial Equity Investment Fund

In January 2021, as part of a COVID-19 Emergency Relief Package, $12 billion in federal funding was dedicated for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) ensuring resources will be directed to some of the communities hardest hit by the pandemic.  Inclusiv has launched a $20 million Racial Equity Investment Fund deploying secondary capital investments to expand economic relief and financial inclusion for credit unions that serve communities of color.  This unprecedented level of investment into MDIs and CDFIs represents a huge opportunity in the years ahead.