Stewardship Report_Fall 2015

Creating Opportunity

ARKANSAS

LOUISIANA

Fall 2015 Report

MISSISSIPPI

TENNESSEE

Together there is...

Dear Friends, In 2012, we launched a $20 million, five-year campaign to deepen HOPE’s impact across our region. I’m very pleased to announce that because of your generosity we have reached our campaign goal more than a year ahead of schedule! These resources enabled HOPE to establish new offices in seven communities, serve 16,399 additional member-owners, originate 6,017 loans, and provide financing that has supported 2,967 jobs. Together we have increased access to affordable financial tools that are transforming lives in the nation’s most impoverished communities.

In this Stewardship Report, we highlight examples of HOPE’s impact on families and communities in the Mississippi Delta, where more than one out of five residents lives in poverty, where 40% of households are financially underserved, and where your support allowed us to open three new branches. While there is significant need in these communities, thanks to you there is also HOPE. Despite our progress, the need for our services remains high. As we push forward in our efforts to create opportunity where it is needed most; thank you for your ongoing support and for being a Friend of HOPE. Sincerely,

Bill Bynum, Chief Executive Officer

HOPE for a Growing Family “I was scared of buying a house” said Jessica, a mother of a 6-year-old boy. But when she and her husband, Darren, found out they were expecting another baby boy, she knew they needed a larger home. After several months of waiting, Jessica and Darren finally went to HOPE’s new Greenville Branch and talked to the team about a mortgage. Just seven weeks after their first meeting with HOPE, Jessica and Darren purchased a new home. “HOPE made it easy for me to express my needs and concerns and they reassured me that the day I closed would be the happiest day. And it was!”

HOPE for Getting Back on Track Like many HOPE members, Carolyn earns just enough to pay her bills. So when her employer cut her hours, she knew she was in trouble. “I just came up here on a hope and a prayer and when they told me they could help me I cried because I just needed a hand.” The team at HOPE’s Greenville branch helped Carolyn secure a personal loan that helped her catch up on her bills.

Today, Carolyn has paid off her HOPE loan and is back on track. She says, “I’ve been telling people on my job, you need to go over there and just get started, because if you need help they will help you.”

2015 Impact Snapshot ELIMINATING BANK DESERTS

PROGRESS UPDATE Jobs Supported

HOPE exceeded its $ 20 million fundraising goal by $9 million.

2,967 3,171

6,017

All Loans Originated

9,136

New Hope Members

Assets Preserved

16,399 22,511

26.74 Million

$

127.5 Million

$

TN AR

Locations

24 29

MS

29 Million

$

Funding

20 Million

$

LA

Jan. 2012 - June 2015 2016 Target

HOPE for Building Community The Belzoni community (population 2,139) will soon have 40 new, quality affordable homes. But it almost didn’t happen. The project was halted when the construction lender, a large national bank, received an appraisal which assigned a value of only $20,000 per home. The lender decided that they could not lend against the property with values so low. HOPE stepped in and found a local appraiser with significant experience valuing homes in the rural Mid South. They came in with a more realistic appraisal. With this in place, the construction proceeded. HOPE provided $1.3 million in permanent financing to the project.

HOPE for the Community For almost a century, Rosie, a retired teacher, has lived in Itta Bena, a community in the Mississippi Delta of about 2,000 people. In the 1940s, she joined a now long-gone credit union at Mississippi Valley State University that helped her pay for her education. Rosie was one of the first people to join HOPE after the new branch was announced in Itta Bena. It is now the only financial institution in town.

“I opened up a savings account with HOPE and I borrowed some money, I had no trouble. They let me have it on the spot. I borrowed the money to help my granddaughter out.”

Visit www.hopefriends.org to donate and help spread the word.

Together we...

Provide more housing.

72% of mortgages made to minorities 58% made to women 91% made to first-time homebuyers

Strengthen more communities.

HOPE financed healthcare facilities served 450,000+ patients • More than 1/3 of HOPE members were previously unbanked

Grow more businesses.

17,000 jobs saved or created 4,200 businesses and entrepreneurs assisted 86% of loans made in high-poverty areas

NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID JACKSON, MS PERMIT NO. 798

Hope Enterprise Corporation 4 Old River Place, Suite A Jackson, MS 39202