Our mission is to create a pathway to financial stability and wealth among low to moderate income individuals and small businesses, with an emphasis on the Black community in central Iowa, through loans and supporting services. As the growth and vitality of Des Moines and Polk County as a whole continue, racial disparities persist with little evidence of the gaps narrowing for Black Polk County. C
onsider the contrasts in these statistics when it comes to finances:
-- 22.1% of Black Des Moines residents are unbanked compared to 3% statewide
-- 31.8% of Black Des Moines residents are underbanked compared to 13.5% statewide
-- Blacks are denied loans at a rate 2.2x higher than the Polk County average (24.15% compared to 10.94%)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How OEFDC and Our Partners Work for Change
-- We provide personal financial coaching to help people understand the value of their money, protect against financial vultures, predatory lending, and payday lending.
-- We provide small-dollar loans to help individuals with necessary financial obligations, give them an alternative to predatory lending, and help them establish or build credit.
-- In collaboration with our partners, we offer an array of services to help Blacks and low-income individuals and entrepreneurs to start new businesses, grow existing businesses, and provide resources for them to be successful, viable businesses for their communities.
