By Chris Capato
At Independence Public Media Foundation (IPMF) we are committed to centering racial equity in our operations, governance, and funding while continuing to practice unlearning philanthropic processes and decisions that are harmful and extractive. We have implemented many tenets of trust-based philanthropy to redistribute power to the communities we serve including but not limited to multi-year unrestricted funding, community-led grantmaking, and streamlined applications and reporting.
We approach our work from a liberatory perspective, shifting away from the traditional philanthropy model. We recognize how the existence of historic wealth extraction and systemic racism has played a role in the amount of assets amassed and controlled by philanthropic organizations. We strive to contribute to the dismantling of these systems entrenched in philanthropy through our grantmaking, investing, and business operations.
We didn’t see any reason to stop at grantmaking and endowment management. We began to think about our normal business operations and ask questions about how we could center racial equity in that work, specifically selecting vendors:
- Were there any key vendor relationships that could be reviewed and ultimately replaced with local providers?
- Could these providers offer more customized services and better represent the communities that we serve?
- Could these vendors be less extractive and address systematic financial inequity and racism in their fields?
In short, yes, yes and yes.
Moving to a New Bank
The first vendor we replaced was our depository bank. For years we banked with a national organization that maintains a large presence in Philadelphia. While the daily operations ran smoothly, any special service requests often posed cumbersome and time-consuming experiences for IPMF staff. We desired a banking relationship with a smaller institution where we could develop a strong rapport with a banker who could easily navigate their organization, be a decision-maker, or have direct access to them.
With simplified operations and electronic payment processing through Bill.com and ACH payments and receipts, we relied on minimal transactions from our bank. The need for “analysis” and associated fees seemed unnecessary, so we sought a bank that would not impose these services upon us. We also wished to engage a bank that has historically served communities negatively impacted by systematic financial inequity.
We found all this with United Bank of Philadelphia, the only Black-owned bank operating in town. We moved all deposits in August 2023 and haven’t looked back. The service is first-rate where our banker most often provides the information or service we need or connects us flawlessly within the organization when necessary. Our banker truly understands and appreciates what we are trying to accomplish at IPMF and operates more like a partner than a vendor. Aside from easily fulfilling routine service requests, the bank is actively helping us make local impact investments. The process of switching banks was easy thanks to their proactive approach to account opening and our already efficient electronic payments being in place. Icing on the cake, fees dropped to almost zero.
Below is an interview with Dimitria Davenport, vice president of community banking and compliance at United Bank of Philadelphia, explaining how the bank approaches its work and customer service. She is our banker and my main contact, for which I am grateful.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Chris: Dimitria, can you share the United Bank of Philadelphia’s founding story, size and service footprint? Also, can you give us a brief insight into the bank’s service model and how you all build and maintain relationships with clients?
Dimitria: Founded in March 1992, United Bank of Philadelphia is a state-chartered, African American-owned and -managed community bank that serves the greater Philadelphia region. It has been certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (“CDFI”) that provides access to affordable financial products and services to underserved populations with a focus on understanding and building relationships with its customers. Because we are headquartered in Philadelphia, we truly understand the unique aspects of the community it serves. Under the current leadership of our President and CEO Evelyn Smalls, our motto is “so much more than banking.”
We practice a relational business model that propels our delivery of quality banking products and services. In this digital age, many banks have lost this personal touch; however, we seek to balance technology with relationship banking. We understand the need to provide convenient and accessible banking products and services including online banking while offering a personalized approach by gaining an intimate understanding of our customer’s business before delving into transactions. For us, this work is so much more than transactions, we want to know our customers and their individual financial service needs.
Chris: How can a philanthropic organization benefit from banking with the United Bank of Philadelphia? Conversely, how can the bank benefit from its depository relationships with regional funders?
Dimitria: Coupled with its relational approach, we have developed affordable products and services curated specifically for philanthropic organizations, like IPMF. Our nonprofit checking deposit account product has no fees and minimum balance requirements. We support philanthropic organizations because we understand the importance of their work in the Philadelphia community. As a result, we would like to ensure that they continue to thrive and are not burdened with significant expenses associated with maintaining their banking relationships. In addition, we also provide loans and other financing opportunities for 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations (who would be your grantees) including gap financing to support their operations while awaiting grant funding.
We view philanthropic organizations, like IPMF, as pillars of strength in our communities. There is a mutual benefit to the financial success of these organizations and their relationship with us. Long-term operational funds held on deposit from these organizations help us to grow and thrive. This growth will ensure that we continue to provide affordable financial services and products including loans to small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the region that impact the communities in which we live, work, and worship.
Chris: Our transition to the bank was much easier than expected. Will you please explain how you can help other organizations experience the same?
Dimitria: Consistent with our relational approach to business, before IPMF transitioned to the Bank, the team spent time discussing the mission and operations of both entities to ensure that your banking needs could be met. We quickly discovered the alignment in our work and knew that we needed to make this relationship work. The goal is to use this same approach with every customer we meet. Our products are affordable and competitively priced compared to other financial institutions. In addition, what sets us apart is the ability to have direct access to your banker, local decision-making and a team of individuals who care about the success of your organization.
Chris: How is the bank serving individuals and businesses negatively impacted by systematic financial inequity?
Dimitria: Our founding mission was to foster community development by providing quality banking services to consumers and businesses with a sensitivity to those groups that had been traditionally underserved including African Americans, Latinxs, and women. Our impact was felt around the region during the pandemic. The team worked tirelessly to minimize the closures of historically disadvantaged businesses impacted by COVID-19. Funding from the CARES Act enabled Pennsylvania to establish a Statewide Small Business Assistance Grant Program. In collaboration with the PA CDFI Network, our team distributed grants to small business owners for which the majority were to historically disadvantaged businesses and low to moderate-income owners. In addition, we were instrumental in originating a significant number of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and provided other SBA services to ensure businesses did not shut down during the pandemic. We continue to be intentional about promoting economic inclusion and access to essential financial services and affordable capital.
Chris: We look forward to many more years of our relationship with the United Bank of Philadelphia. We feel as though you all are real partners and understand our business.
Dimitria: We appreciate the opportunity to participate in a partnership that is mutually beneficial to both the organizations and the communities we serve. We recognize that collaborations of like-minded organizations like ours are needed to break the systematic financial inequities faced by underserved communities in the region. As a mission-driven bank, community reinvestment is our priority, and we are committed to the work of ensuring small businesses and other community organizations have access to capital and affordable banking products and services.
In Conclusion and Hopeful Action
If any of our peers are considering similar changes to their business operations, I encourage you to do so without delay. The minimal effort to make these changes pales in comparison to the centuries of harm caused by concentrated wealth-building and hoarding among what we now call the one-percenters, including philanthropy’s very own role in sustaining systematic financial racism. A colleague I respect once told me a few years ago about impact investing…just do it!
If you have any questions or comments feel free to reach out at chris@independencemedia.org.
