finance Archives - The Narrative Matters

Racial Equity in the Corporate World, 2022 Edition

Making a commitment to change and actually effecting that change is two very different tasks. The motivation and desire to do right was a critical first step on the path to promoting racial equity.

Innovative Partnerships with Community Development Financial Institutions

Yonina Gray is the Director of External Relations at Reinvestment Fund and a Chicago native with over a decade of experience building catalytic relationships with communities, governments, institutions and everything in between.

Our racial equity commitments, one year later

One year ago today, we announced commitments to build sustainable equity for Google’s Black community and beyond, and make our products and programs more helpful to Black users. Since then, we've been working to translate our commitments into lasting meaningful change. Today we’re sharing more updates on our progress.

More Than 30 Black CDFI CEOs Team Up to Shrink the Racial Wealth Gap

Most see wealth inequality, especially between Black and white Americans, as too long-standing and intractable to be solved in any meaningful way. Lenwood V. Long, Sr. isn’t one of them.

How Twin Cities’ new Chase community manager can empower your financial journey

We sat down with Tessa to discuss plans to help the Twin Cities’ Black communities grow, the changes the new branch is expected to bring, and how you can work with her to chart your path forward and meet your financial goals.

Is loan forgiveness in the future.

Financing multicultural media: New collaboration positions publishers of color as catalysts for equitable community development (The finale of 6 Parts)

“Trusted local information and the people and systems that gather and distribute it are critical infrastructure for communities, just like the people and systems necessary to provide housing, roads, electricity, clean air and water, healthy food, reliable broadband data networks, schools, healthcare and cultural institutions,” Nachison says.

Financing multicultural media: New collaboration positions publishers of color as catalysts for equitable community development (Part 5)

CDFIs aren’t the only institutions that would benefit from investments in community media. Banks and other lenders, under the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 (CRA), are required to meet the credit needs of the communities where they do business, including low- and moderate-income communities. The Act was a response to redlining — the discriminatory practice of denying loans to residents and business owners based on their race or ethnicity. Every two to five years, banks have to undergo an audit by federal banking regulators to see how well they are meeting the terms of the CRA. Banks that do not meet the requirements face heavy regulatory scrutiny and can have difficulty getting approval for mergers or expansions.

Financing multicultural media: New collaboration positions publishers of color as catalysts for equitable community development Part 4

Dynasty Consulting, is a multicultural brand marketing firm co-founded and led by David Beckford, owner operator and advisor to more than 100 African American multi-media platforms including radio, print and OTT platforms. Since 2019, Dynasty has generated more than $1 million for its clients through general advertising, sponsored content, profit-sharing and other strategies and by leveraging their combined reach through the Dynasty Media Portal.

Financing multicultural media: New collaboration positions publishers of color as catalysts for equitable community development Part 3

The Local Media Association (LMA) has made sustainability for publishers of color one of its four strategic pillars, building capacity through its Digital Transformation Lab, the Fund for Black Journalism, and the Word In Black collaborative. And Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers through its Tiny News Collective is making critical support more accessible to first time founders that are underrepresented in the news landscape.

Financing multicultural media: New collaboration positions publishers of color as catalysts for equitable community development Part 2

Financing multicultural media: New collaboration positions publishers of color as catalysts for equitable community development Part 1

As part of RJI’s Inclusive Media and Economies Project, RJI, the Multicultural Media and Correspondents Association (MMCA) and Dynasty Consulting are teaming up to help publishers of color tap into community development, revitalization and reinvestment funds, and then use those investments to test new revenue strategies and build more sustainable business models.

NAAIA-St. Louis Announces Partnership with the Urban League of Metropolitan St Louis

During the presentation, members of NAAIA met with Tom Bailey, Vice President of Development for the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. “The Urban League thanks NAAIA for their contribution, and we are looking forward to their continued partnership and support of our programmatic goals and initiatives,” Bailey said.

The Most Diverse & Inclusive Financial Institutions

Help Your Kids Get Financially Fit

Multiple studies have shown that the earlier kids develop healthy money habits, the better their prospects of having strong financial health into adulthood.