MISSION ASSET FUND

Based in San Francisco, Mission Asset Fund (MAF) helps low-income and immigrant communities become visible, active, and successful in their financial lives. MAF’s award-winning Lending Circles formalize the global tradition of social lending, combining zero-interest, small dollar loans with financial education to help people build credit, save money, and improve their financial health. MAF’s client-focused approach to design and development reflects the organization’s core values: meeting people where they are, respecting their expertise and priorities, and building on their strengths and innovations. Responding to the pressing needs of low-income and immigrant communities, MAF offers programs and services to help people launch small businesses, cover immigration application fees, and access digital financial services. MAF brings these programs to low-income and immigrant communities across the U.S. through a national network of nonprofit partners and technology-based solutions, including MAF’s own mobile app.

Across the organization's work in programs, research, and technology, MAF is striving to uproot the conventional narrative around people living in poverty. Instead, MAF serves them an alternative – a reality acknowledging that people are financial savvy, experts in their own lives, and innovative in their approach to managing their money.

MAF is bringing our credit-building loans and culturally relevant financial education to low-income and immigrant communities across the U.S. We are doing this by scaling intelligently: combining the power of technology and community to enable people across the country to access MAF’s Lending Circles programs and financial education. MAF began building its network in 2011 with 5 nonprofit partners in the Bay Area; by 2021, the network had grown to 78 partners in 21 U.S. states and Washington D.C. While MAF will continue growing its partnership network, scaling through technology is also a growing focus. In 2018, MAF launched the MyMAF app, a mobile application designed to deliver culturally-relevant, bilingual financial education and planning tools to those whom the mainstream institutions overlook.

MAF continues to learn and evolve to serve the needs of low-income and immigrant communities. In 2017, this included adding an emergency program for immigrants navigating abrupt changes in immigration policy; in 2018, MAF’s immigration loan portfolio expanded to cover a variety of USCIS fees; in 2019, MAF launched a new client application and continued work on the MyMAF app to improve the reach and accessibility of its programs; and in 2020, MAF launched a nationwide COVID-19 relief program to offer direct cash assistance to low wage workers, students, and immigrant families excluded from federal relief.

MAF has played a significant role in local, regional, and federal thought leadership since our inception – through board appointments, policy sponsorship, and media attention. MAF’s in-house R&D lab – the MAF Lab – produces research and leverages design processes that serve as a model for other practitioners in the field. MAF channels these learnings into actionable market and policy solutions to bring down the barriers that keep people from achieving their full economic potential. MAF will continue to be a strong, leading voice in the field of socially responsible financial services on a national scale, fortifying our presence in industry knowledge sharing, collaborative efforts, policy advocacy, design, and implementation.

Staff: MAF brings together a talented, technologically savvy, and multilingual team to serve low-income and immigrant communities with empathy and respect. Staff contribute diverse perspectives and skills from their work across the fields of immigrant rights, community development, technology, and public policy. The members of MAF’s staff reflect the communities MAF serves, and their empathy and respect stems from experiencing shared challenges.

Programs: MAF’s signature Lending Circles program transforms a time-honored tradition of social lending into an innovative credit-building activity. Since starting Lending Circles, MAF has expanded to provide a suite of financial programs that combine zero-interest, small dollar loans with financial education and coaching. Working in collaboration with 78 nonprofit partners across 21 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, our programs are helping low income and immigrant families build credit, increase savings, and start small businesses.

MyMAF: MyMAF enables MAF to bring reliable, culturally-relevant products and services to low-income and immigrant communities across the country. With the app, users can access the financial education, tools, and resources that are relevant to their lives, when and where they want, and in their preferred language. The app enables users to track their program participation and progress toward self-defined goals.

MAF Lab: MAF’s in-house tech team (MAF Lab) designs products and services specifically for the people that mainstream financial institutions overlook. The Lab employs best in class design thinking practices to build MAF’s cutting-edge financial tools and services that adapt to the needs of low income and immigrant communities.

Research: MAF’s research leverages the rich data and insights gathered while serving over 10,000 clients. MAF shares learnings with the broader community to illuminate the strength and innovations found within low-income and immigrant communities. In doing so, this work enables MAF to model and advocate best practices among other practitioners and financial service providers. At the same time, it provides a platform for MAF to guide policy development in ways that address the challenges people in low-income and immigrant communities face in their financial lives.

Policy: MAF’s policy work is focused on bringing effective solutions to scale. In collaboration with California policymakers, MAF has been able to expand the asset-building field for nonprofits delivering safe, affordable, and effective financial education and products. MAF’s policy initiatives include sponsorship for SB 896, which established a new regulatory framework for California nonprofit providers delivering zero-interest credit-building loans, and SB 455, which will create the California Financial Empowerment Fund to support a statewide infrastructure of nonprofits delivering effective financial education and empowerment tools.

In the past 14 years, MAF has provided more than 14,500 zero-interest loans totaling nearly $13M, delivered financial education and coaching to over 85,000 low-income people, and awarded $4.3 million in grants to 8,700 DACA recipients across the U.S. MAF’s zero-interest loans have saved clients $2 million in fees and interest. In 2020, our work took on new urgency as we stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide more than $40M in direct cash assistance to low wage workers, students, and immigrant families excluded from federal assistance. Over 75 partners in MAF’s affiliate network are bringing Lending Circles and other critical financial resources to 21 states and Washington D.C.

MAF’s Lending Circle programs are helping people across the country step out of the financial shadows: 90 percent of clients without a credit score establish one for the first time during their Lending Circle, and, on average, clients reduce debt by $1,000 and unlock three additional tradelines. MAF’s Lending Circle programs boast a 99.3 percent repayment rate, well above the 80 – 85 percent microlending industry standard.

In 2021, MAF is focused on designing and launching a new Immigrant Families Recovery Program to provide long-term support to immigrant families with children who were denied federal relief. The Fund will provide 3,000 families across the country with a guaranteed income of $400 for up to 24 months to help them rebuild and recover from the COVID-19 crisis. But we're doing even more, pairing cash with one-on-one financial coaching, self-advocacy training, and access to MAF’s suite of zero interest, credit-building loans to help rebuild their financial lives faster.