Empowering communities with diverse financial solutions and guidance.

Rex came to one of our South Carolina branches carrying an auto loan at 33.98% interest. This is the kind of rate that keeps borrowers trapped in a debt cycle, as they struggle to make high monthly payments before even making a dent in the principal. Rex’s Self-Help loan officer, Alejandra, worked with him to refinance the loan at 10%, reducing the monthly payment from $668 to $482, an annual savings of $2,232, which would translate to more than $10,000 over the life of the loan.

Self-Help Ventures Fund is providing a $14 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation toward the construction of a new seven-story facility for the Ronald McDonald House, located just steps from Holtz Children’s Hospital. The $35 million project will nearly double the House’s capacity. Construction is underway with completion expected in 2027.

The Community for the Advancement of Family Education (CAFÉ) was founded in 2005 to fill a gap; Latino, immigrant and multilingual families in Washington’s Wenatchee Valley had nowhere to turn for English classes, help navigating paperwork or basic community information. A conversation between the founders and other community leaders was already underway around the need for an expanded community center when they identified a building to purchase. To finance it, they reached out to Self-Help. With a $625,000 loan from Self-Help as well as support from the Community Foundation of North Central Washington, CAFÉ purchased its new building, just up the street from their original location.

Brooke lives in Asheville, North Carolina, a city nestled in one of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the country. It’s also the site of much flooding and damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024. Self-Help offered Brooke a competitive rate on a solar panel project and helped Brooke access available clean energy incentives, making the project more affordable. Brooke felt the value of his decision almost immediately when a hard freeze hit Asheville not long after his panels were installed. Many of Brooke’s neighbors lost power, but Brooke’s family could rely on solar energy to power their whole home.