First Financial Bank, An Equitable Economy

As a regional strategy, Render Capital’s primary goal is to improve access to capital for entrepreneurs who aren’t served by the status quo of early-stage business financing. By providing investments to entrepreneurs in Louisville and Southern Indiana, we’re able to make an impact one company at a time, but we can’t move the needle alone. It’s through partnership with a myriad of regional organizations that we’re able to leverage our fund for an amplified impact.

Our longest-standing capital access program, the Growth Loan, provides microloans to local businesses based on entrepreneurial character and business growth potential. Over the last seven years, our Loan Committee has approved over $850,000 in character-based loans for early-stage entrepreneurs ready to take their ventures to the next level. For the last three years, First Financial Bank has partnered alongside our Growth Loan efforts by providing additional microloan funding and banking services for Growth Loan borrowers. Through this partnership, companies in the Render Capital portfolio are able to build a relationship with the local First Financial team and set the groundwork for becoming “bankable” by traditional standards.

This week, the First Financial Bank Community Outreach team joins us for a guest post to share their mission and why creative partnerships like these are an essential part of their work in the community.

A Note From First Financial Bank

At First Financial Bank, we believe that entrepreneurs are truly the lifeblood of our community and economy. We chose to partner with Render Capital because we share a common vision and mission to support entrepreneurs by providing the tools and resources necessary for them to grow and thrive. Through our microloan partnership with Render Capital and other similar organizations, we are able to serve the funding needs of local businesses very early in their development. We help businesses that receive the Growth Loan to additionally gain access to institutional lending in the form of a microloan, and we set entrepreneurs up with business banking services that put them on the right track to build healthy financial practices.

It’s important for First Financial Bank to support the creation of a more equitable economy for all, and to do that we stretch beyond the boundaries of entrepreneurial support. We have a Community Development team fully dedicated to supporting the financial needs of individuals, families, and local businesses in the communities we serve, especially in low-to-moderate income areas. We work in collaboration with organizations across Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio to identify ways to jointly build a plan to meet specific needs.

First Financial fulfills its mission guided by the ALIVE strategy. Its five priorities are: Access to banking services and products; Lending in the community; Investing in local initiatives and inclusion with the involvement and empowerment of all; Volunteering our time; and Education through facilitation opportunities to increase financial literacy. Each element has a purpose, defined activities, and measurements, and by monitoring our efforts against established goals we ensure that we meet the needs of the local community.

First Financial Bank and the First Financial Foundation support organizations that work toward the development of communities and neighborhoods, workforce development, and education. Established funding priorities guide the dollars invested into our communities, including Louisville and Southern Indiana, with a specific focus on economic development, education, and neighborhood development.

Improving living and working conditions, especially in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, is key to building and maintaining strong communities. Our economic development efforts focus on community-oriented economic development and improved small business financial management, funding micro-loan pools, guiding development corporations, advising entrepreneurs on financial planning, and assisting with incubation efforts. Our education-focused resources primarily target financial literacy and provide support to economically disadvantaged groups. And we dedicate our time, energy, and financial resources to organizations that help individuals and communities maintain their housing and access credit counseling.

As Community Development Advisors, we are located in Louisville and Southern Indiana with the specific mission of connecting with local players to better serve the unique needs of individuals and businesses. For a first-time business owner, we may provide equitable access to banking services by setting up a free business checking account with no minimum balance. For an individual with a poor credit history, we might establish a second-chance account that provides the access they need to improve their financial outlook.

Community Development is important to us because we are able to build relationships and change outcomes for individuals, families, and small businesses. First Financial is unique in that we do business on a very personal, human-centric level, each interaction or service we provide has the potential to have a real impact on members of our community.

One of First Financial’s bankers, Jessica Soncrant, experienced one such example. While assisting a client with a Paycheck Protection Program loan, she was able to deliver the call announcing that the Small Business Administration had approved the loan and reserved the relief funds. The client choked up on the phone and thanked her endlessly, they had been awake all night with worry, with only enough funds to pay their employees for the current week. With the boost from the PPP loan, the business was able to retain its staffing levels and get through the first months of the pandemic. By the end of the call, Jessica had to take a moment to have a “happy” cry, knowing she had helped make a positive impact on others’ lives.

The First Financial Community Outreach team exists to build relationships and initiatives that create opportunities for individuals in our community to thrive.