This year has been unlike any in our recent history - unpredictable, challenging and exhausting. Back in the early Spring, we couldn't have imagined the full scale of the pandemics impact. Yet what Community Financial Resources (CFR) did understand immediately was that many un- and underbanked BIPOC communities would be unable to access desperately needed stimulus and emergency funds because they lacked access to direct deposit and our partners lacked the infrastructure to disburse it.

That's why, within just a few weeks, CFR launched a program to facilitate the safe and efficient transfer of $1.4 million in emergency relief funds from over 20 partners to more than 3,000 families, regardless of their documentation status. By providing funds through products such as our Focus Card, a Visa prepaid debit card, we were able to disburse funds quickly and ensure that un/underbanked people didn't have to put themselves at risk to visit high-fee check cashing businesses in the midst of the pandemic. CFR's Focus Card also enabled over 5,000 low-income households to receive $9 million in economic stimulus and tax refunds by direct deposit.

Yet as important as these cash infusions have been, at CFR we know that the path to economic justice and financial inclusion cannot be traveled solely on immediate but temporary relief. Our work towards deep systems change carries on.

That's why we launched this campaign.

CFR's financial products and tools enable low-income, low-wealth BIPOC communities to travel the road from un/underbanked to banked, from poor or no credit to strong credit, from financial marginalization to financial inclusion. CFR envisions a world where everyone has the tools needed to have financial stability, protect their assets, and establish a foundation to build wealth. That is why we are asking you to join us in this vision by donating to our Be a Community Resource campaign. Our hope is that you'll make a contribution to support this important work and then enlist your friends, family and colleagues, with a goal of raising $20,000.

What does it mean to be a community resource?

By joining us in this campaign, you are supporting an interconnected web of people helping to bring about systems change. When you act as a community resource, you harness the power of your own networks to ensure that everyone, regardless of income or background, has the tools they need to achieve financial stability, protect assets and establish a foundation for building wealth.

The team at CFR recognizes that we have all given so much already this year, of our time, our funds, our spirits. Today, it is not easy to ask you to do more. Yet we hope you will invest in making our vision of economic and racial justice a reality.

Please join us, by bringing together your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues, to raise $20,000 and help make this vision a reality!

Learn more about some of the programs you'll be supporting at communityfinancialresources.org or by watching the video below.