Our Mission

Mission-Driven Banking That Builds Community Resilience

Championing affordable housing, nonprofit growth, and small business development in underinvested communities through strategic financing that closes capital gaps and fuels lasting impact.

WHO WE ARE

Founded to Close Capital Gaps

We are a mission driven commercial bank with a singular focus on the benefit and economic empowerment of our customers and communities. We exist to empower organizations and individuals with more limited access to traditional commercial finance and banking services.

Mission-Locked by Design

Our purpose is safeguarded through mission-aligned investors, partners, certifications, and legal structure.
As a certified B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation, we balance people, planet, and profit.
As a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), we focus on serving low- and moderate-income communities.

WHAT WE DO

Financing That Fuels Impact

We use finance as a tool for lasting community development—supporting mission-aligned businesses and nonprofits through strategic lending and partnerships.

70%+ of Lending to Mission-Focused Initiatives

We prioritize funding that advances economic and social opportunity in underinvested communities.
As a nationally chartered community development bank, we provide commercial financing for affordable housing, nonprofits, and small businesses.

WHY IT MATTERS

Banking is a powerful engine for building economic strength and community resilience, especially in underinvested communities. But it takes all of us.

Mission-driven banking thrives through the collective commitment of our stakeholders:

Investors who prioritize impact alongside returns
Depositors who align their money with their values
Community partners who help identify and meet local needs
Public and private sector partners who advance inclusive financial systems
Employees and leadership who carry out the mission daily

Together, we can continue to use finance as a force for good—channeling capital where it’s needed most and creating lasting opportunity for all.

Customer Success Stories

So Others Might Eat (SOME)

The Marshall Heights community, located in the far eastern corner of the nation’s capital in Ward 7, began as an informal “shantytown” settlement of African Americans because it was one of the few areas in the city that did not have housing covenants excluding blacks from owning property.

YMCA Anthony Bowen

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the YMCA Anthony Bowen (Y), founded in 1853 and originally built in 1912, anchored DC’s historically prosperous black U Street corridor. Anthony Bowen, the Y’s founder and namesake, purchased his family’s freedom in 1830.

Martha’s Table

Barry Farm is today known for the 432 dilapidated housing units built in 1943 by the National Capital Housing Administration. However, the African American community traces its history to 1867 when the Freedmen’s Bureau acquired 375 acres of land in Southeast DC. This land was divided into smaller plots and purchased by African Americans over time.

Bread for the City

Since 1976, Bread for the City (Bread) has served homeless, indigent and impoverished families in DC’s Shaw neighborhood, which was devastated for decades after the 1968 riots. Bread’s Shaw center supports over 2,500 clients monthly with food, clothing, medical and dental care, legal services and case management.

Thurgood Marshall Academy

Nestled on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, in Anacostia, a word that loosely translates to “village trading center” and a neighborhood that acknowledges the Anacostan (Nacochtank) Native Americans, the Thurgood Marshall Academy is a reminder that justice endures.

01/01