Additional capital to spur lending to Minority and Women Business Entrepreneurs
NEW YORK, Feb. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Carver Federal Savings Bank (“Carver” or the “Bank”), a certified Minority Depository Institution (“MDI”), and John Hope Bryant, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, announced today that Operation HOPE, Inc. and The Promise Homes Company are collectively making a sizeable long-term deposit in Carver to support economic empowerment in communities of color.
Carver is a historic, Black-managed bank founded by a group of civically minded community leaders in 1948 and has consistently had its headquarters located in Harlem. The Bank continues to pay its mission forward, focusing on Minority and Women Business Entrepreneurs (“MWBEs”). It proudly reinvests approximately $0.80 of each deposit dollar it takes in back into the diverse communities it operates in through competitively priced loans.
John Hope Bryant, the Founder and CEO of both Operation HOPE, Inc. and The Promise Homes Company, is passionate about providing minority communities with the tools to build wealth – financial literacy, financial inclusion, and economic empowerment. “It is a true honor to make a deposit into one of the largest Black-managed financial institutions in the nation on behalf of Operation HOPE and The Promise Homes Company,” said John Hope Bryant, principal founder of both organizations. “This investment marks a full circle moment for me, proving that if I can go from homelessness at age 18, to making a significant deposit in a Minority Depository Institution, there is nothing that young Black and Brown strivers today can’t do.
“Banks like Carver have been instrumental in economic self-sufficiency for Black Americans, investing in and uplifting Black communities across the nation and creating opportunities for aspiring Black entrepreneurs. I, along with Operation HOPE and The Promise Homes Company, believe that when you give back to your community, you’ll get back even more. This deposit is just the beginning of a new chapter as we look to launch HOPE 1MBB, our focus on standing up 1 Million Black Businesses by 2030.”
“It’s terrific news for communities of color when business leaders like John Hope Bryant direct their companies to make a long-term deposit in a Black-managed bank such as Carver,” said Michael T. Pugh, President and CEO of Carver. “We celebrate Black History Month this February and recognize the importance of making attractively priced loan capital available to MWBEs, which are the economic engines in our communities. Our bankers are ready to deploy these deposit dollars back to those micro and small businesses that need our support more than ever. On behalf of Carver, I wish to thank John Hope Bryant and his team for making this commitment to Carver and supporting our mission.”
About Carver Bancorp, Inc.Carver Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARV) is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a federally chartered stock savings bank. Headquartered in Harlem, NY, Carver was founded in 1948 to serve African-American communities whose residents, businesses, and institutions had limited access to mainstream financial services. The U.S. Treasury Department has designated Carver as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) because of its community-focused banking services and dedication to its local community’s economic viability and revitalization. Carver is the largest African- and Caribbean-American managed Bank in the United States. The Bank recently expanded its online presence to include consumer checking and savings accounts across nine states, from Massachusetts to Virginia, and Washington, D.C. For further information, please visit the Company’s website at www.carverbank.com. Be sure to connect with Carver on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to “silver rights” with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through our community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $3.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. Project 5117 is our multi-year four-pronged approach to combating economic inequality that aims to improve financial literacy, increase business role models and business internships for youth in underserved communities, and stabilize the American dream by boosting FICO scores. Operation HOPE recently received its seventh consecutive 4-star charity rating for fiscal management and commitment to transparency and accountability by the prestigious non-profit evaluator, Charity Navigator. For more information: www.OperationHOPE.org. Follow Operation HOPE on Twitter and Facebook @operationhope
Media:
Michael Herley for Carver
203.308.1409
mediainquiries@carverbank.com
Omar Renta for John Hope Bryant
646.675.8151
renta@sunshinesachs.com
Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, risks, and uncertainties. More information about these factors, risks, and uncertainties is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Carver Federal Savings Bank
