‘We’re here to help you move to where you want’
Community Growth Fund’s Ways to Work program offers auto-purchase assistance to western Pa. residents
In 2019, Letitia Loftis’ car was repossessed, leaving her without transportation to get herself to college or her three children to school and other activities.
A social services agency referred Ms. Loftis, 43, of McKees Rocks, to the Community Growth Fund — a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the Hill District serving 10 counties in southwestern Pennsylvania — and its Ways to Work program for people who need a car loan but may be deniedby traditional lenders.
“Having a car puts any family or any person in financial independence, period,” Ms. Loftis said. “Because it opens you up to be able to make more money and make better decisions about where you’re going to work or even pick a better job. You can do different things. And if you have a family, it gives them opportunities to do things.”
Ways to Work does more than simply hand out loans.
To qualify, borrowers are required to go through multiple financial literacy sessions over a threemonth period to learn how to budget, build a credit score and better understandthe banking system.
The classes, officials said, enable program participants not only to prove their ability to pay off the loan but to acquire the skills needed to be financially independent after the money is paid back.
“It meets with the mission of the Community Growth Fund,” said Walter Burlack, executive director of the fund. “Part of our mission is to work in communities to elevate the health of the community and work with individuals to help them move to the next step. So we took on the program as part of that.”
‘Improve their financial condition’
The Ways to Work auto loan program offers financing of up to $10,000 for a used car or $4,500 for
car repairs, at an 8% interest rate. Applicants must have a valid Pennsylvania driver’s license, be employed for at least three months and have no current car loan.
The program was originally operated by Wesley Family Services, a western Pa.-based nonprofit. Community Growth Fund took over in 2019.
“We’re only aware of five other programs nationally, that still exist, that match our program,” Mr. Burlack said. “It’s really dependent on the resources that an organization has available to make this kind of thing work.”
Most people who turn to the Community Growth Fund have credit scores of 575 or lower, he said, which makes securing a loan from a bank less likely.
“We’re funded specifically to work with folks with this kind of credit score because our job is to help them not only get a car, but improve their financial condition,” he said.
The need for such programs is great. In 2023, more than 1,000 people in Western Pa. applied to Ways to Work, said Corey Sage, chief financial officer of the Community Growth Fund. Those enrolled in the program must go through oneon-one counseling with Ms. Sage.
“I can actually ask what happened,” Ms. Sage said. “We let them see what their finances are right now, versus what it’s going to be when we get a car. We let them come into the meeting with the idea that they need, or want a car (but) they can leave that meeting and decide maybe they don’t need the car right now. I’m allowing them to get to that conclusion.
“At the end of it, if they feel good about it, we can get this loan and these people aren’t having problems paying. They feel confident in their growth. And that step is where it really touches a lot of our mission and the mission of all the community members around us.”
The process of getting a loan through the Community Growth Fund takes up to three months. Mr. Burlack said the process is methodical by design, to ensure clients get the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the financial world.
“Connecting them with other support services is a critical part of the program,” he said. “A lot of our clients have never been in a bank. They’re afraid of the system. We have a lot of clients that have no credit scores at all.”
The loan applications are reviewed by a committee made up of bankers and community representatives.
“We have a default rate of less than 2 percent,” Mr. Burlack said. “A lot of that is the amount of handholding that occurs. Because it’s not only while you’re going through the first part of the program — after you get the car, we stay in touch, and we work with you.
“It’s about the relationship that we’ve built. The individual understands what their responsibility is. So it’s a two-way street.”
‘Diamond in the rough’
That was the case for Ms. Loftis, who returned to the Community Growth Fund this year when she needed a loan for a car repair.
“This program is a diamond in the rough,” she said. “It was pressing that we had a car. We needed it to take it to the next step. When you understand the process of it all, it just turns into another good habit. If you’re trying to grow, you have to be able to manage your time and your money. And having a car and a budget does those two things.”
The Community Growth Fund partners with the U.S. Treasury, Credit Builders Alliance, First Commonwealth Bank, First National Bank, Huntington Bank, KeyBank Foundation and multiple community nonprofit organizations, including the Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group. They also work with 15 car dealerships across western Pa.
“We spend as much time as we can trying to make sure that the dealerships that folks are working with really care about the client, but also the program,” Ms. Sage said. “Because the worst thing that can occur is somebody has gone through three months of this, they buy a car and then it breaks down weeks after and the dealership won’t stand behind that. So there’s all this other little stuff that goes along with it.”
Partnerships help the Growth Fund access resources to help clients in other ways. Eighty percent of clients are women, Ms. Sage noted; most are single mothers.
“Sixty percent of the people that come through our program are in some kind of social service program,” Mr. Burlack said. “There is hesitancy. A lot of the individuals that have come through the program have been in financial, physical and emotionally abusive situations. Or they have been in prison or struggled with drug issues.
“We’re not here to judge you. We’re here to help you.”