As a Community Development Financial Institution, CommunityWorks is dedicated to improving the financial well-being of underserved communities in South Carolina. Through affordable housing development loans and small business lending, CommunityWorks helps create stability and wealth in these communities. Additionally, support services such as financial education help empower individuals to grow their financial acumen and achieve their goals. Whether you’re a small business owner looking to expand or a resident dreaming of homeownership, a CDFI can be the partner you need to succeed. Listen to learn more.
Transcript
Katy Smith
When we think about a vibrant Greenville County, it includes thriving small businesses and homegrown entrepreneurs, and desirable and affordable homes for all residents. But those things need investment to get started. And not every mainstream bank or investor is willing to take a risk on an inexperienced business person turning a side hustle into an enterprise or a housing complex for people making less than the average household. This is where a community development financial institution or CDFI comes in. CommunityWorks is one of those right here in the upstate. CommunityWorks is one of many CDFIs across the nation that provides resources supporting small business growth, entrepreneurship, affordable housing, and home ownership. If you are a small business owner interested in expanding or you wanting to turn a hobby into a business, or you dream of buying your first home, CommunityWorks could be the partner for you. And if you’re a person with financial resources who wants to help those folks I just mentioned, CommunityWorks can also be your vehicle for providing financial backing to your Greenville neighbors. Today we’ll hear from LaTorrie Geer, the Chief Executive Officer of CommunityWorks, about the many ways CDFIs make our community better.
Katy Smith
LaTorrie thank you so much for being with us today.
LaTorrie Geer
Thank you for having me.
Katy Smith
Can you start by giving us an overview of CommunityWorks mission and programs?
LaTorrie Geer
Absolutely. So CommunityWorks is a nonprofit financial institution. And we are committed to creating a brighter future for financially underserved people and places in South Carolina by providing equitable financial products and services to build wealth. And we do that through a couple of ways through small business lending, affordable housing, development loans, and also support services like the Women’s Business Center, financial education, to help people grow their financial acumen to start their businesses.
Katy Smith
That’s great. I bet it would help people to picture a couple of folks that are examples of people who benefit from involvement with CommunityWorks. Can you share a couple stories?
LaTorrie Geer
Absolutely. So talking about the Women’s Business Center, we had one lady who was just dynamic. a social worker, and came to us wanting to start her own business, just a napkin idea. And she attended several of our trainings, the micro entrepreneurship training. And from there, she was able to create her business plan, as well as develop her financial acumen around profit and loss statements. And I’m happy to say that she has since obtained her first contract for social work.
Katy Smith
That’s so great. I do think there’s a lot of people out there who have a great idea and the skill to execute on the idea. But all the other things that make a business successful, they might not naturally know. So you’re there to surround them with those skills and support.
LaTorrie Geer
Absolutely. And then after the education component, if they need capital, we’re able to provide loans to support their needs. Additionally, we have a first time homebuyer program, a downpayment assistance program. And, you know, the American Dream is still the American dream to be a homeowner and it’s one of the quickest ways to build wealth. And one story that I have is, you know, a lady who came to us who had never been a homeowner. You know, just worked all her life and just happy to say at this point in her life, she’s approaching retirement after saving and saving, she now has her has purchased her first home, and it’s so exciting for her to have a yard and have somewhere stable where she’s not having to pay rent. This is something that she can also pass down to her family members.
Katy Smith
Yes, that is so exciting. That’s such security for her in her retirement to know she knows where she’s going to be. And like you say, I mean that is where wealth grows so when you can move from renting to home owning, they have a gift to pass on. That’s really cool. So what happens when a small business owner or budding entrepreneur comes to CommunityWorks for support?
LaTorrie Geer
Okay, well, I would like to say that they first should probably do a little research if they want to, by going to our website, because it has a wealth of information about how you can apply and the different types of loan products that we have, and also the coaching services that we provide. But if you do decide to walk through the door, we have several team members, loan officers, as well as business coaches who are able to sit down with you and talk to you about all the products and services that we have. And when you come in, and if you are looking for capital, it’s best to before applying making, make sure that you have all those documents together. Not necessarily a full blown business plan, but you need to have an overview that concept, as well as a budget in mind. Additionally, we look at your bank statements as well as your tax returns, and then talk to you about what it means to obtain capital. And for us, when we’re looking at loans, we’re not looking at credit, we’re looking at how you’re able to pay bills, and if you can’t afford the capital that you need. Because our desire is not to, you know, allow putting anyone in a position that’s going to create even more hardship for them. So once they come in, and they’re able to sit down and go through the loan documents, even if they don’t have all of them together, we do have coaches that can sit down with them and allow them to work together to create a profit and loss statement or work together to create a cash flow statement. And so we’re happy to be able to, to provide that support upfront, but also provide support services on the back end throughout the life of the loan.
Katy Smith
That’s outstanding. Well, if someone wants to buy a first home, what can they expect when they come to CommunityWorks?
LaTorrie Geer
So again, coming through our doors is more about what we’re able to offer to you as an individual and also to the community at large. But our homebuyer program or our first time homeowner program, you need to already be pre qualified for a loan. Have a house already identified. And what your lender would do would then contact CommunityWorks. Or, because you know about CommunityWorks, you can let your lender know that this is a program that is offered and available for first time homebuyers. And from that point, we work with the lender to make sure that the home is affordable, make sure that it passes inspection because it needs to be a safe home as well. And then from there, it’s us working with your lender to get you across the finish line.
Katy Smith
Outstanding. You know, if you’re listening to this, and you’ve thought, this is the time, I’m going to take my idea from a little hobby to a business, or this is the year I want to look into buying a home. Is there any advice you would give that might be separate from what you’ve already said?
LaTorrie Geer
Make sure that you feel like you’re prepared. You may not know everything that you need to know, but just come committed. And I would say as far as the home owner, becoming a homeowner, I would definitely say you need to sit down and look at where you stand financially. Right? Do you have the credit score? Because obtaining a mortgage is definitely related to.. it’s credit score driven. And I think at this point, you need to have a credit score or 640 or higher. And so making sure you have the knowledge of what your credit looks like, your budget, and how much of a home you can afford. Because we also want to make sure that we’re promoting savings, so that if there’s a repair for the home, you have the funding to be able to cover those expenses. For a small business. I would say the advice I would give them is, again, come in with an open mind. There’s not a lot of grants that are out there. You know, the grant season is kind of over and done and so yeah.
Katy Smith
If somebody’s listening and they are renting and they feel like this is the year they want to pursue homeownership, what could be their first steps with CommunityWorks?
LaTorrie Geer
We’re able to sit down with them, our personal financial coach is able to sit down with them, and kind of give them a little assessment of where they are as it relates to their credit, as it relates to budgeting, and give them you know, tools that will help them, if there are credit blemishes, giving them tools that will help them be able to reach their goal. If they have not identified a lender, selfhelp is right across the street from our office. And they have some great products for first time homebuyers as well.
Katy Smith
LaTorrie, you are so knowledgeable, and you are so good at this work. And you’re new in the seat of CEO. Can you tell us about your background and what you love about the work that you do?
LaTorrie Geer
Yes, thank you. So less than or a little over 60 days in the new position, but of course, been with the organization for 10 years on the 28th of November. So it’s been a long a long journey. But from that, my background has always been in nonprofit management, and really working with seniors at the time. And when I came to CommunityWorks. I just fell in love with the programming. And I truly felt like this was a movement that was happening, as related to, you know, removing… being this organization that was helping to provide access to capital for people who are underserved. And so I feel like it is a part of my personal ministry is the mission of CommunityWorks. And, and I’m just happy to be able to continue to lead this organization as we continue to help provide equitable financial products and services that are truly intended to build wealth
Katy Smith
Outstanding. So if you are a person listening, who already has a bank, and has funds that could be used to support this great work and be part of that mission, what can those folks do?
LaTorrie Geer
You could always, if you’re looking to do some low interest investments, those investments would be able to help CommunityWorks provide additional capital into communities that need them. You know, affordable housing is a huge topic. And we are working with developers who are committed to providing affordable housing to low to moderate income folks, and so your funds could potentially be able to help us provide that service.
Katy Smith
That’s so great. I just want to underscore what LaTorre just said that if you already donate funds to help nonprofits do things that LaTorre talked about, you could go an extra mile and give an investment of your assets to help CommunityWorks turn your money around and impact community. So I strongly encourage you to reach out to CommunityWorks to see how you can help. LaTorrie thank you so much for joining us today and for all that you do to make Greenville great.
LaTorrie Geer
Thanks so much. Thanks for having me.
Catherine Puckett
Simple Civics: Greenville County is a project of Greater Good Greenville. Greater Good Greenville was catalyzed by the merger of the nonprofit Alliance and the Greenville partnership for philanthropy. You can learn more on our website at greatergoodgreenville.org This is a production of the Greenville podcast company.
