Solid partnerships build stronger communities

With financial wellness as a growing concern in many communities throughout the United States, Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) recently expanded its collaboration with First Independence Bank (FIB) of Twin Cities to form a partnership and make available low-interest rate loans to small Black-owned businesses based in the Minneapolis – St. Paul, Minnesota, area.

"It has been a great experience partnering with First Independence Bank to provide resources and now be able to offer low-interest rate loans to Black-owned businesses in the Twin Cities," said Jason Stanford, Cummins Director Digital Product Management. "And it's very exciting to witness the positive impact that the CARE program is having on the community."

Actions against injustice

Cummins Inc. has a deeply rooted history of fighting for social justice, serving its communities and living the company's core value of diversity, equity and inclusion. CARE was launched by Cummins over three years ago as a first step in the company's effort to undo systemic discrimination. Since its creation, the company has developed strategies and created and executed numerous actions within many Cummins' communities in the United States that focus on: police reform, criminal justice reform, creating economic empowerment by building wealth and income for depressed ethnicities and drive social justice reform in healthcare, housing, workforce development and civil rights, including voting rights and education.

Partnering to create change

First Independence Bank is the seventh largest Black-owned commercial bank in the United States. Opening its doors in 1970 in Detroit, Michigan, FIB has been serving the banking needs of the Detroit Metropolitan area for over 50 years. Since opening its Twin Cities location in the spring of 2022, FIB has provided the region BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) owned businesses with access to resources that will help their businesses to scale up and expand. One such resource is FIB’s partnership with Operation HOPE, which empowers people through financial coaching, debt counseling, financial education and awareness and other community programs. Given Cummins’ employee presence in the community with the Cummins Fridley Plant, and community need for assistance, Cummins leadership and employee volunteers became involved with FIB early on by serving on its board, sponsoring financial workshops and participating in volunteer opportunities.

CARE's latest collaboration with FIB is taking Cummins' involvement and support even further by partnering to make available low-interest loans to Black-owned businesses. As part of the CARE Economic Empowerment initiative, aiming to lend funds to business organizations and sole proprietorships that are at least 51% Black-owned, the partnership serves as another example of Cummins' commitment to the company's core value and another step forward in creating racial equity.

Olujimi Scott, Off Highway Machine Integration Product Specialist, at Cummins, who has a long-standing relationship with FIB and its efforts, volunteering time and counsel for both the Detroit and Twin Cities locations, shares his perspective. "It's an honor to help a Black-owned bank better serve our communities. This program feels like a small but significant step toward dismantling and addressing the systemic oppression that Black-business owners have historically faced. I'm proud of the efforts our company and employees are making through our CARE initiatives in this community and many others in the United States we have a presence."

As a result of the partnership, a recent success story involves a Twin Cities luxury designer streetwear brand - Levels. The business was destroyed in the unrest following the killing of George Floyd. The business was not only able to be rebuilt and expand with locations in Mall of America and Rochester's Apache Mall, but, last October, Levels was recognized as one of America's Top Small Businesses of 2023 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

"Our goal is to contribute to systemic change which leads to financial wellness in the region," says Damon Jenkins, Senior Vice President and Twin Cities Regional Market President of FIB. "We anticipate the unique partnership between the bank and Cummins will continue yielding positive results and increase the financial footprint of a business such as Levels."

The 2023 numbers aren’t out yet, but here are some impressive results at of the end of 2022 regarding the impact CARE made in just two years after launching: 730 black-owned enterprises positively impacted, 17 law and policy changes achieved through initiatives with CARE volunteers or support, 40 advocacy efforts realized involving CARE volunteers or support and 150 Cummins volunteers supporting the program.

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