What you need to know
- Apple is deploying $25 million from its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to support underserved communities in the U.S.
- The funds will be made available through fintech company CNote as cash deposits to credit unions and community banking institutions.
- The first round of deposits has already landed in communities in Georgia, Colorado, Alabama, Louisiana, and more.
Apple is deploying some $25 million from its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to underserved communities in the U.S. through fintech company CNote.
The latter announced in a press release Thursday:
Today, CNote, an Oakland-based fintech, announced that Apple will use the CNote platform to deploy $25 million into underserved communities across the country.Apple's $25 million commitment is part of its broader Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, an effort to address systemic racism in America and expand opportunities for communities of color. The new funding builds on Apple's previously announced commitments to expand economic empowerment and support entrepreneurs of color.
Apple's SVP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson said that Apple was committed "to helping ensure that everyone has access to the opportunity to pursue their dreams and create our shared future" and that working with CNote would enable it to get funds directly to "historically under-resourced communities through their local financial institutions, we can support equity, entrepreneurship and access."
CNote says it has already deployed an initial round of Apple deposits to "mission-driven financial institutions" including:
ANECA Federal Credit Union in Louisiana; Bank of Cherokee County in Oklahoma; Carver State Bank in Georgia; Education Credit Union in Texas; First Southwest Bank in Colorado; Hope Credit Union, which serves Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee; Kaua'i Federal Credit Union in Hawai'i; Latino Community Credit Union in North Carolina; Legacy Bank in Missouri; Optus Bank in South Carolina; Self-Help Federal Credit Union, with locations in California, Illinois, Washington and Wisconsin; and VCC Bank in Virginia.
The money comes from Apple's previously-announced $130 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, $50 million of which is earmarked for supporting venture capital and banking institutions that give capital to minority-owned businesses.
You can read the full press release here.
