Across & Beyond the Bay. A Capacity Building Project.

What is this project?
We were so excited about the possibility of bringing the Lending Circles model to other communities that we went out to get funding. It turned out that funders were as excited as we were. Starting in 2011, we’re bringing Lending Circles, our credit-building loan program, to diverse communities across the Bay Area. After a rigorous RFP process, selected partner organizations each will receive funding for an 18 month period to bring the Lending Circles opportunity to their community.

Who are our supporters?
Mission Asset Fund has teamed with the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), City of San Francisco’s Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE), and San Francisco State University’s César E. Chávez Institute to replicate Lending Circles throughout the Bay Area. The César E. Chávez Institute (CCI) will conduct a rigorous evaluation of the program’s effectiveness at increasing the financial capacity of participants in the Lending Circles.

Made possible with generous support from Center for Financial Services Innovation, The Ford Foundation, Levi Strauss Foundation, The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the Y&H Soda Foundation.

What do partners get from us?
Mission Asset Fund works closely with the selected organizations to provide training, financial capability curriculum, outreach and loan servicing tools, and technical support to enable communities across the Bay Area to take part in this unique credit-building loan program. Mission Asset Fund helps to service and process all loans.

What do partners do?
Partners provide education and support to Lending Circles participants in their communities to improve access to build credit histories, learn to use loans responsibly and increase their financial health. Partners will develop core knowledge of the Lending Circles program and adapt it to meet the needs of their specific community. Partners will provide financial capability education. They will build their financial proficiency and manage loans using provided tools. Partners will also contribute to the success of the project by recruiting control groups and collecting data.

Beyond the Bay: bringing Lending Circles to your community
Mission Asset Fund works with all kinds of community-based organizations and funders to bring Lending Circles to different communities. With the right kind of funding and support from Mission Asset Fund, Lending Circles has the ability to go anywhere.