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 are 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 who are 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 creative and innovative 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 blog to share about their mission and why creative partnerships like these are an essential part to their work in the community.

At First Financial Bank (FFB), we believe that entrepreneurs are truly the lifeblood of our community and economy. FFB has chosen 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, FFB is 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. Entrepreneurs in the program are set up with business banking services that set them on the right track to build healthy financial practices and qualify for additional financing options as they mature.  

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 that is 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 the ways in which we can jointly build a plan to meet specific needs and help further their missions.

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

First Financial Bank and First Financial Foundation support organizations that work towards the development of communities and neighborhoods, workforce development, and education. In addition, the First Financial Foundation also supports culture and the arts that provide economic opportunity and contribute to the vitality and livability of communities. Established funding priorities guide the dollars that are invested into our communities, including Louisville and Southern Indiana, with a specific focus on Economic Development, Education and Neighborhood Development. Our support goes to nonprofit organizations, small business incubators and community economic development groups that help stabilize communities, attract and retain businesses and residents for the community.

There are many unique needs that exist within each community. 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 specifically on community-oriented economic development and improved small business financial management. Examples of small business investments include the funding of micro-loan pools, guiding development corporations, advising entrepreneurs on financial planning, and assisting with incubation efforts.

Our education-focused resources primarily target financial literacy efforts and provide support to economically disadvantaged groups. Because education is a tool for success, we support financial education programs designed for all ages as it is essential to empowering people to achieve personal and household financial well-being. Additionally, First Financial will support programs for students who would otherwise struggle or be unable to continue in school. We are particularly interested in programs that prepare students for professional work experiences in financial services. 

We dedicate our time, energy and financial resources to organizations that provide counseling and other services, which can help individuals and communities maintain their housing, offer transitional housing units and programs, and/or offer credit counseling assistance to individuals. Our Neighborhood Development projects may range from capital improvements to programming, particularly when they address unmet needs for financial services or economic development. We will assist families in finding affordable housing through financing programs and education regarding homeownership.

As Community Development Advisors, we are located in Louisville and Southern Indiana with the specific mission to connect with local players in order to better serve the unique needs of individuals and businesses. Assisting our communities through our ALIVE strategy means different things based on different needs. 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 balances. For an individual with poor credit history, we might be able to 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. We have an opportunity to volunteer and give back to our communities.  We really love seeing our customers grow and our communities thrive! 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 the members of our community.

One of First Financial’s bankers, Jessica Soncrant, experienced one of many such examples last year. While assisting a client with a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, she was able to deliver the call to her client announcing that the Small Business Administration (SBA) had approved the PPP loan and reserved the relief funds for their business. The client choked up on the phone with Jessica and thanked her endlessly. The client shared that they had been awake all night with worry and felt like they had the weight of an elephant sitting on their chest. They only had enough funds to pay their employees for the current week and they were distraught to know that they would need to lay off many employees soon. With the boost from their PPP loan, the business was able to retain and maintain their staffing levels to get through the first couple of months during the pandemic. By the end of the call, Jessica had to take a moment to have a “happy” cry, knowing she 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. If you want to learn more about our Community Outreach efforts, you can reach out to us here:

Sabira Becirovic, Advisory/Community Outreach Officer, AVP
Louisville Market
sabira.becirovic@bankatfirst.com

Walter Baynard, Community Outreach Officer, 
Indiana: New Albany, Georgetown, Jeffersonville
walter.baynard@bankatfirst.com

Glenda Carnes, Emerging Market President
South Central Indiana and Louisville
glenda.carnes@bankatfirst.com