Better Car, Better Job, Better Life

We are working to solve a barrier to many - lack of transportation. It's the number reason why people lose jobs and is a question asked on many job applications, "Do you have access to reliable transportation?"

Along with this, those who we serve are not considered credit worthy and then are prone to predatory lenders.

Our purpose is to ensure that working families have access to affordable reliable transportation through our program.

While many think mass transit is a solution for all, ridership is down significantly and typically does not go to where jobs are, e.g. logistic, warehouse jobs. 

We attempt to remove this as a barrier through a transformational loan.

Our solution is simple. Provide access to an affordable and reliable vehicle. We evaluate a person's grit and resiliency and ability to repay a loan. Many of our clients are subprime or deep subprime. We believe in people and that we all deserve a second chance. We match a vehicle with what a person can actually afford and our vehicles are typically 2-4 years old with less than 60,000 miles.

Through our financial coaching and mentoring, our clients are able to increase their credit score and save thousands of dollars with our option versus a buy-here, pay-here dealer. 

We are incorporating AI into our process where our historical data is used to inform if we would approve someone - but, a person will still evaluate and determine if they are worth taking a risk on through conversations.

Over 80% of our clients are BIPOC and have traditionally been targeted with predatory lending. A vehicle can be transformational - opening up access to credit and creating opportunities to be a part of the larger community. A third party evaluation conducted by the University of New Hampshire validated the effectiveness of our program and its significant impact on the quality of life of our clients.

Our team lead, President, comes from our target population and has a lived experience of being in a transportation challenged home. His family got a car from a neighbor who could no longer drive for a nominal amount and it opened up opportunities for him and his sibling. It also reduced stress within their household and their vehicle became an extended family asset where uncles borrowed it to get groceries etc. 

We intentionally work with nonprofits and others who are proximate to the community and have a level of trust with those we serve. Many for good reason are healthy skeptics. 

We are in constant communication with our clients on how we can improve and form a relationship that exists over the life of the loan.

We currently serve nearly 2,000 people who have received loans through us. 

We seek Solve's support to help us scale our program. We are currently in 4 states with requests to provide our services in other states. Transportation is a significant barrier to families being able to live their best lives throughout the United States in rural and urban populations alike. 

No one else is doing what we are doing. We are attempting to disrupt how people are viewed - that people are more than a credit score. This has the potential to change the landscape for historically underserved populations and equalize opportunity.

Our solution is simple. Give a person another chance to take on the responsibility of vehicle ownership. And, then provide support to ensure their success.

This can serve as a bridge to prime credit and opportunity for home ownership or small business ownership, mechanisms to create family wealth.

We expect to be a force multiplier in people's lives through access to quality transportation which opens up avenues of opportunity. Through one of our transformational loans, our clients on average have been able to increase their credit score by 157 points and save $20,000 over the life of a loan (typically 5 years).

Through the third party evaluation work, we have tracked how people's lives have improved through increased income, improved mental health and other improved facets of health - due to having an affordable reliable vehicle.

We track many items, mostly measures of family's financial wellness, like income, credit scores, jobs, and other quality of life measures.

We also track improved fuel efficiency of our client's vehicles that we provide to them.

Our theory of change is simple. We place someone in a 2-4 year old vehicle with less than 60,000 miles, along with an extended warranty. Prior to this, we make sure that their budget can take on the responsibility of a vehicle loan - considering the car note amount, insurance, gas, etc. Affordability and reliability are the tenets of our clients being successful. Since many have budget constraints, a vehicle that matches their budget and does not require costly repairs over the life of the loan, ensures our clients' success.

Our clientele are transportation challenged so are customer experience is virtual. We are continually looking for ways to automate processes to be able to serve more as well as to enhance the customer experience. We are working to integrate AI to help us in our decisioning where we are looking at our historical data to inform future decisioning.

We would love to find other ways to incorporate technology to improve customer experience and serve more clients through our unique approach.

Embedded in our work is a focus on equity and access. We are keenly aware of systems of inequality that serve as barriers to people being able to live their best lives. We attempt to overcome those on a family basis through an opportunity to be treated with dignity and respect. Through our program, families are able to overcome historical barriers and able to access healthier foods. 

Our board, staff and leadership are all reflective of the clients who we serve and we have a commitment to continue to be better.

We provide a vehicle loan. Our Community Development Financial Institution provides the loan and services the loan. Our nonprofit provides the financial coaching/mentoring and vehicle selection assistance. Through these two entities who work in tandem, we are able to serve our clients with a significantly lower cost product than what our clients would receive in the marketplace, 50-60% cheaper. Our model allows us to provide this lower cost with intensive support.

Our vision is to be 100% self-sustainable within the next 5 years. 40% of our revenue is earned income through interest income. We remain dependent on corporate, financial institutions, foundation and government grant support.

We have consistently received support from financial institutions to help them meet their CRA regulatory obligations. We also have several high worth individuals who believe in what we do and are interested in increasing their level of support.

Capital One, Chase, GM and many others provide us continued support where we are able to help each other meet collective goals.