I was recently joined by Bernel Hall, President & CEO of New Jersey Community Capital, for another episode of “The Impact” on FinTech TV.
We discussed how to maximize the impact of government funding and New Jersey Community Capital’s mission to advance equity and opportunity through strategic investment in traditionally underserved communities. Watch our interview and read a partial transcript below.
Jeff Gitterman: Hi, and good morning. This is Jeff Gitterman on the Impact on FinTech TV down on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. I’m joined this morning by Bernell Hall. Bernell is CEO and President of New Jersey Community Capital. Bernell, thanks for joining me today.
Bernel Hall: Thanks for having me, Jeff.
Gitterman: So on this show, we have a little tradition of at least starting out with how people manage to go from traditional finance into the world of impact and saving the world. Tell us a little bit about your background story.
Hall: Sure, sure. I’m from a single-family home in eastern North Carolina. And early on I realized that through financial engineering and just a strong work ethic, there was an ability to really move from being in a low-income household to really being in a position to create generational wealth for my family. And so in going through that journey, I actually found my purpose, which is really to create that socioeconomic commute for others. And that’s why I ended up where I am as President and CEO of New Jersey Community Capital.
Gitterman: Tell me a little bit about what that company does or the organization does.
Hall: Sure. Thanks for the question. New Jersey Community Capital is a 36-year-old CDFI, and that means community development financial institution, based in New Jersey, but serving communities nationwide. We have three lines of business, one being our loan fund, which makes loans for small business growth, affordable housing, as well as charter schools and other educational vehicles. But we also have ASBIC, a private equity business that focuses on impact investments as well as a nonprofit real estate development company, which builds mixed-income housing throughout the country.
Gitterman: So talk to me a little bit about, one of what I think is the biggest challenges that this country faces, and a big reason really why the election, went the way it went this time, is this growing wealth disparity that exists in this country is a huge problem that neither party actually addressed well during the election cycle. And it’s up to really organizations like you and nonprofits to try to deal with this, which is a huge burden for organizations of your size. But what are you guys doing to try to really address this problem?
Hall: Yeah, we look at it clinically. I mean, one of the things that we really refer to often is a Citigroup study on the economic impact of racism and underserved communities and having people not participate in the economy. In 2020, they estimated that $16 trillion in GDP was lost over the prior 20 years because of economic racism and people not participating fully in our economy. So the thing we try to look at is what are the best ways in which people create wealth in an efficient manner, obviously education, but also really investing in small businesses which tend to hire locally, buy supplies locally, and as they grow, they stay local. The other thing is providing different types of housing for people at different parts of the socioeconomic cycle.
To catch the full conversation, you can watch my interview with Bernel Hall.
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