Faith, Hope and Capital is a film that introduces the work of Community Development Financial Institutions by telling the stories of people around the country who have received loans from CDFIs.

Read a complete Transcript of the show.

Synopsis of the show

Seattle, Washington
The program opens with a look at the Cascadia Revolving Fund in Seattle, Washington. One of their borrowers, Jack Billman, is a logger who started a timber-thinning business when a large lumber company laid him off. With technical assistance from Cascadia, he and his wife, Marcia, are still in business, in spite of some tough times. Another Cascadia borrower, Sandy Ledray of Brookside Soap, was laughed at by commercial banks when she tried to get a loan for a wrapping machine. With the help of a loan from Cascadia, she got the equipment she needed and now provides jobs for a number of people.
Demopolis, Alabama
Eddie Ayers founded a credit union back in the 1960s when black people, working to get the right to vote, were cut off by local banks. Now, in addition to making loans for everyday necessities like car repairs, the credit union helps establish local businesses such as a black-owned radio station.
Chicago, Illinois
When African-Americans started moving into the neighborhood in the early 1970s, the original owners of Chicago's South Shore Bank tried to leave the area. A united community forced the bank to sell to a new group of owners. The new owners used the lending power of the bank to help local property owners like Dale Braithwaite. By maintaining and rehabilitating housing, the bank and people like Dale have helped keep South Shore a healthy community during a time when adjacent communities have lost banking services and suffered serious deterioration.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Reinvestment Fund helps revitalize some of the most distressed neighborhoods in the city. By lending to community organizations and companies like Home Care Associates, the Fund has developed low income housing and provided training and employment for people coming off welfare.

Wiscassett, Maine
Coastal Enterprises helped Lendall Alexander continue to support his family by fishing when federal regulations cut the traditional fishing season in half. Coastal Enterprises lent Alexander the money to buy the type of boat and gear he needed to get into a new kind of fishing.

 
Faith, Hope and Capital tells many success stories, but the job is just beginning. Although CDFIs have demonstrated winning strategies, they need to grow much larger to meet the challenge of extending America's prosperity to everyone.