New Project Alert: Exodus Lending
Payday lending’s predatory and toxic impact on our communities can be equated to a modern form of slavery. According to research, the average family in payday debt is trapped in revolving payday debt for at least 5 months out of the year. This cycle hinders individual financial well-being as well as deters them from pursuing any financial future outside of paying off debt.
Research in Action is excited to announce a new project with Exodus Lending, a non-profit organization that works with financially excluded Minnesotans to advance economic justice through consumer lending, community organizing, and advocacy.
Through its Refinancing Loan and Resiliency Loan programs, EL provides 0% interest, character-based small-dollar credit in partnership with trusted community organizations, while organizing to dismantle predatory lending practices statewide.
To assess its current model and chart a path toward expansion, EL has contracted with Research in Action to conduct a community-centered evaluation of its program.
EL's Resiliency Loan program operates through a growing network of community partners across Minnesota. As EL looks to deepen and expand this work, the organization needs to understand how its model functions in practice, what borrowers and partners experience, and what it will take to bring this approach to new communities. RIA will use our Equity in Action process model to assess key questions, including:
How closely does the Resiliency Loan model operate in alignment with its intended goals and values?
How effectively do community partners function as trusted access points with capacity for wraparound support?
What organizational and relational infrastructure does EL need to scale sustainably while maintaining fidelity to its values?
Stay tuned for more on this exciting project in coming months!