A Spring Bank Nonprofit Feature 

Contribute to the “Save Storyland Now” campaign!

The moment you meet Sulma, you know she’s an unstoppable leader with a vision. Sulma Arzu-Brown is an author, advocate, and the founder and Executive Director of Storyland, a one-of-a-kind children’s book lounge tucked inside the Bronx Terminal Market, and one of our nonprofit banking customers. 

No money changes hands, and no doom scrolling happens at Storyland. Kids come in, disconnect from their devices, spend two hours immersed in books –  often with live author experiences – and walk out with a complimentary book. Scholastic, Benchmark Literacy, and Harper Collins have all said the same thing about Storyland: they’ve never seen anything like it.

“’Free’ in our community implies cheap quality,” says Sulma. “If you’re sitting in first class on an airplane, they offer you complimentary water. We want our children to understand there’s a difference between free and complimentary. There’s nothing cheap about the people’s hearts who donate the books, and there’s nothing less than about the kids who receive them.”

Where It All Began

The story behind Storyland began with a babysitter who used the term “bad hair” to describe Sulma’s daughter’s curly afro. That moment stuck with Sulma and pushed her to look for a children’s book that her daughter could resonate with, but she couldn’t find one. 

The result? Pelo Malo No Existe, or Bad Hair Does Not Exist – Sulma’s picture book that found its way to the national stage via Essence, NBC Black, the Huffington Post, Telemundo, and eventually a national campaign with Unilever. When Sulma saw that no one else was going to tell this story with the integrity it deserved, she put herself in the driver’s seat.

Years later, that same grit led her back to her community — and to Storyland, rooted in the heart of the South Bronx. Still the poorest congressional district in the country, with some of the lowest literacy rates, the Bronx still ranks as the unhealthiest county designation out of 62 in New York.  When BTM’s General Manager, Janet Jimenez, showed Sulma an empty space at the Bronx Terminal Market and asked her to write a proposal to secure it, she almost said no. She was unemployed, at one of the lowest points in her professional life, and had no funding, but she wrote the proposal anyway. 

Sulma won the proposal, landing a 4,500-square-foot space provided rent-free for two years. And the good news didn’t stop there. The paint was donated by the maintenance team, the furniture came from a cancelled TV set, and the carpet once honored Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s office. Scholastic even became their first book donor. 

“I had no plan,” Sulma says, laughing. “But the vision was already in me.”

A Day at Storyland

Today, Storyland brings 30 to 50 students at a time through a two-hour program that includes mindful movement, positive affirmations, a live author reading, and a themed breakout session. Programs have featured authors writing about natural hair, books in braille read aloud by a legally blind child named Wani, and spoken-word sessions where kids wrote and performed their own poetry for the first time. 

Storyland has been recognized by the Drew Barrymore Show (twice), and TV personality Sunny Anderson made it the very first stop for her segment, “Sunny on the Streets.” Scholastic, Benchmark Literacy, and HarperCollins have all said the same thing: they have never seen a space or a program like this anywhere in the country. Storyland is, by every account, the first children’s book lounge of its kind in the United States.

What’s Next

The next chapter is already being written. This summer, Storyland launches Tell Your Story, a five-day spoken word curriculum led by three-time Emmy-nominated poet Trey Baker, culminating in a student recital at Kids Foot Locker. Separately, Write Your Story, already underway through May 2027, takes a cohort of 25 students through the process of writing and publishing their own books, to produce five published young authors. When those royalties come in, Sulma wants those youth to have a bank account waiting for them.

“That’s where we’re looking for with the partnership of Spring Bank,” she says. “We want the money to go directly to their accounts. Those kids are going to need to open a checking account, and they’re going to get the proceeds from when people buy their books.” 

Sulma’s vision doesn’t stop there, though. She also wants to franchise Storyland, with the hopes that educators will open their own locations.

“I give myself permission to dream now,” she says. “It took a lot to get here.”

Our Partnership 

Storyland became a Spring Bank customer not long after they opened their doors in late 2024, and it’s been inspiring to watch them grow. As a community bank in New York that’s dedicated to helping nonprofits prosper, we pay extra attention so that nothing stifles that growth. When check-washing fraud hit Storyland’s account, our team caught it immediately, froze the account, reordered their checkbooks, and kept Storyland from experiencing financial distress.

“Spring Bank has saved us multiple times,” Sulma says. “As a small organization that doesn’t have a lot of money yet, for someone to try to take the little bit we have — that would break us. And you guys are making sure that doesn’t happen. Anytime there’s a red flag, we’re getting a call immediately. I don’t even know how many times I’ve said thank you,” says Sulma. 

The feeling is mutual — we, and the entire community, are grateful for everything Storyland is building for the next generation of Bronx youth. We are proud to be Storyland’s banking partner, and we can’t wait to see those young authors’ names in print. 

Save Storyland Now
How You Can Help

Contribute to the “Save Storyland Now” campaign!

For nearly two years, the Bronx Terminal Market has generously donated their space. However, the organization has reached a critical crossroads: to survive, they must immediately secure their space by converting the temporary agreement into a paid lease.

While STORYLAND has proudly run on humble donations and volunteer power, they are running out of time. They must raise a minimum of $50K by mid-August to secure this lease. Despite securing some grants and sponsorships, they are simply not enough to keep our doors open. Donate to the “Save Storyland Now” campaign and support Bronx youth! 

Learn more about Storyland and support their mission here. Follow them on Instagram to see the poems, the authors, and the kids. If you’re in New York and have a skill, a story, or a few hours to spare, they’re always looking for volunteers.

If you’re a small business or nonprofit looking for a banking partner that’s as invested in your journey as you are, our doors are open. Learn how we can support your growth with tailored small business bank account solutions and mission-driven staff. 

Meet Executives, Changemakers, and Leaders Shaping Culture & Communities Across NYC 

May is Small Business Month, and here at Spring Bank, it’s a natural moment to reflect on the entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders who have built something extraordinary in the neighborhoods we serve. This month and all year long, we’re excited to shine the spotlight on a diverse group of woman-owned businesses and nonprofits who have trusted us as their banking partner. 

Whether it’s a small business cooking up nostalgic meals in the Bronx or a nonprofit empowering local youth in Brooklyn, the leaders we’ve had the privilege of working with are running businesses and shaping culture and communities. As a community bank in NYC, supporting women entrepreneurs with the financial tools they need to grow is at the heart of what we do. Read on to learn about and show your support for the amazing leaders behind these organizations: 

The Bronx

Small Businesses

Natalia M. Mendez — La Morada | Rooted in the Mott Haven neighborhood in the South Bronx, La Morada is a family-run Oaxacan restaurant preserving Indigenous Mexican cuisine and culture, one mole at a time. Natalia and her family have built not just a critically acclaimed kitchen, but a community institution committed to immigrant rights and local advocacy. 

Nneka Bell — Celebrities Quality Painting Inc. | Dr. Nneka Bell is a Navy veteran, construction trailblazer, and advocate for women of color in the trades. After recognizing that her experience as a military aircraft painter made her a natural fit for commercial work, she launched her MWBE-certified firm and hasn’t looked back. 

Yenny Castillo — Vineyard Avenue Corp | A Dominican-owned, real estate holding company based in West Nyack, New York, Yenny and her husband opened the business in 2017. 

Erica Garcia — Little Exploradores | Little Exploradores is a bilingual, play-based home daycare serving children from infancy through age 12 in the Bronx. Founded by Erica Garcia, the program offers a warm, culturally rich environment where children develop social, emotional, and academic skills through hands-on exploration in both English and Spanish. 

Robin Lewis — RL Hair Studio | Robin Lewis has spent over 30 years creating customized wigs for clients nationwide, but her work doesn’t stop at haircare. A licensed cosmetologist, Reiki practitioner, life coach, and podcaster, Robin built RL Hair Studio out of her own experience overcoming depression and self-doubt as a young female entrepreneur. Today, she uses that journey to guide others, offering community coaching sessions alongside her salon services and product line.

Chanel Agyei Oppong — Malina’s Kitchen | Malina’s Kitchen brings authentic West African cuisine to Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, serving traditional dishes like fufu, banku, and groundnut soup seven days a week. 

Nonprofits

Isabel Pradas—College Bridge Cafe | Co-founded with the late Kevin Anthony, Isabel Pradas and her team support Bronx residents through career-oriented educational counseling, mentoring, and referral services to access college and other post-secondary education options. Their mission is to motivate and prepare Bronx residents to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals for a better life. 

Aisha Norris — DREAM! | Co-founded by South Bronx native Aisha Norris, DREAM! uses restorative justice and arts-based programming to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. Aisha and her team knew that corrective discipline was not the answer to student conflicts, so they brought their own solution to NYC schools: restorative justice through the arts.

Sulma Arzu Brown — Storyland | Located at the Bronx Terminal Market, Storyland is the borough’s first book lounge designed for children and is a space built to cultivate a lifelong love of reading and learning. Founder Sulma Arzu-Brown has been a champion for literacy and youth development for over 15 years and has been recognized nationally for her work.

Brooklyn

Small Businesses

Sandra Snyder — Lundy’s | Sandra Snyder brought Brooklyn’s iconic Lundy Bros back to life after a 17-year absence, reopening the beloved seafood institution in Red Hook — just blocks from where she and her husband had one of their first dates at the original. 

Nonprofits

Carolina Salguero — PortSide New York | PortSide New York advocates for New York City’s working waterfront and connects underserved communities to the harbor’s economic, cultural, and educational resources. Founder Carolina Salguero operates from the historic tanker Mary A. Whalen in Red Hook and was honored by Congress and the White House for her advocacy and Hurricane Sandy relief work. 

Tiffiney Davis — Red Hook Art Project | Co-founded in 2009, the Red Hook Art Project provides free visual art, music, and wellness programming to youth ages 8 to 21 in one of Brooklyn’s most resilient neighborhoods. Executive Director Tiffiney Davis, a lifelong Red Hook resident, has secured $1 million in federal funding, expanded programming during the pandemic, and has been recognized with the 2023 Woman of Distinction Award for her work. 

Kristina Nagy — Swamp In The City | Founded by Kristina Nagy, Swamp in the City is NYC’s premier Cajun and Creole music festival, bringing the vibrant musical, culinary, and cultural traditions of Southwest Louisiana to the Red Hook waterfront every spring. 

Manhattan

Small Businesses

Sarina Prabasi — Buunni Coffee | Sarina Prabasi and her husband Elias Gurmu have built one of northern Manhattan’s most beloved independent coffee companies, with locations in Washington Heights and Inwood. Their ethically sourced Ethiopian beans, micro-roasted weekly, are now also produced out of The Roasting Room, a community co-roasting facility they opened in 2024 in the Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood. 

Evelyn’s Kitchen—Ayala Donchin | Launched in 2009, Evelyn’s Kitchen started with wholesale baked goods and private chef services. Sixteen years later, EK has grown into a beloved New York City brand, known for its signature Pudgies (delicious, soft, doughy cookies), top-tier catering services, and unwavering commitment to the community.

Jennifer Pawlitschek — Jennifer Pawlitschek Consulting | Jennifer Pawlitschek offers neuroscience-based executive coaching and leadership development for American and global professionals, with a focus on women and diverse populations, helping clients at organizations like Citibank, Bloomberg, and the United Nations move from expertise to impact.  

Kelsey Reeder — Kelsey G Reeder LCSW PLLC | Kelsey Reeder is a New York City-based licensed clinical social worker offering psychotherapy, clinical supervision, and specialized support for queer and trans family-building. Her practice is rooted in intersectional, anti-colonialist, and trans-liberatory care. 

Rukshinda Rizvi — MaxWell Medical | MaxWell Medical is a state-of-the-art physiotherapy practice founded by the three Rizvi sisters with the vision that Relief is Within Reach. All patients receive specialized care, with services like physical therapy, sports medicine, acupuncture, trigger point therapy, and much more. Rukshinda currently serves as the managing director alongside her sisters. 

Nicole A. Mackinlay — Reap What You Sew | Nicole Mackinlay Hahn is a transdisciplinary artist, filmmaker, and advocate whose Reap What You Sew project connects consumers to the human stories behind food, shelter, and clothing, with a particular focus on African artisans and garment workers. 

Beyond NYC 

Small Businesses

Daysi Briones — IQ Contracting Inc & Associates | Based in Ossining, New York, IQ Contracting is a DBE, WBE, and MWBE-certified general contractor with decades of experience delivering residential, commercial, and public construction projects on time and within budget. Founded by Daysi Briones, the firm handles everything from interior renovations to large-scale exterior restorations. 

Nonprofits

Alexandra Barrett — ATB Impact LLC | Based in Brooklyn, ATB Impact LLC provides B2B strategy consulting, supporting leaders with the resources, training, support, and systems that allow them to focus on expanding opportunity for the people they serve. They offer and design leadership development programs, facilitate strategic planning, build operational infrastructure, and create spaces for learning in community.

Janna Marie Hockenjos — Earth Friends Incorporated | Based in New Jersey, Earth Friends is a nonprofit dedicated to early childhood environmental education, offering a nature-based curriculum that teaches young children about ecological relationships, food systems, and their place in the web of life.

Crystal Cron — Presente! Maine | Based in Portland, Maine, Presente! Maine is a grassroots mutual aid organization by and for displaced and dispossessed Afro/Indigenous-Latine immigrants, running survival programs around food sovereignty, community health, and shared leadership. 

Bethany Yarrow — The Waterfall Center | Based in the Schoharie Valley of upstate New York, the Waterfall Center for Bioregional Learning is dedicated to land stewardship, Indigenous partnerships, and building community-rooted solutions to the environmental challenges of our time.

Banking Built for What You’re Building

Finding the best small business checking account in New York City means finding a bank that actually understands your community, and that’s exactly what we set out to be. At Spring Bank, our small business checking account options are built for the realities of running a business in this city, alongside small business loans and lines of credit built for businesses at various stages of growth. 

We even have tailored solutions for our nonprofit customers, who are often overlooked by traditional banks. As your bank in Bronx, NY, and Red Hook, Brooklyn, we offer personal checking accounts, high-yield savings accounts, and the full range of personal, business, and nonprofit banking solutions to help you and your organization thrive.

If you’re a woman or minority business owner navigating New York’s contracting landscape, a MWBE certification through NYC’s Small Business Services could open meaningful doors,  including access to government contracts and resources designed to level the playing field. We’re proud to partner with many of New York City’s certified MWBE businesses, and we’d love to support yours, too.

Learn more about small business banking at Spring Bank. 

College Bridge Cafe, A Spring Bank Nonprofit Feature

“One caring adult can change the trajectory of a student’s life. There is room for all of us working together to support Bronx students.” – Isabel Pradas, Co-Founder and Executive Director, College Bridge Cafe

There’s no place as collaborative as the Bronx. Community-based partnerships are the cornerstone of our resiliency, something we learned from day one of opening our headquarters on 167th. Also anchored here in the Bronx is our nonprofit client, College Bridge Cafe, an organization that supports Bronx residents through career-oriented educational counseling, mentoring, and referral services to access college and other post-secondary education options. Their mission is to motivate and prepare Bronx residents to pursue their dreams and achieve their goals for a better life. We are proud to be their partner.

First and foremost, we recognize the profound impact of the recent death of the co-founder, Kevin Anthony. Our hearts, prayers, and condolences are with co-founder and Executive Director Isabel Pradas and her team, and with every student Kevin Anthony served and supported for almost 30 years.  Learn in this feature how you can join us in keeping Kevin’s legacy alive by contributing to The Bridge Forward Campaign and the Kevin Anthony Memorial Scholarship, which provides direct financial support to graduating seniors as they take their next step into college or career pathways.

Founded in 2018, College Bridge Cafe provides in-school career development and college prep programming across six New York Public middle and high schools. College Bridge Cafe directly supports over 1,000 students. With a team of just six employees, they rely on their alliances with community partners, colleges, and higher education allies to reach more students.

“Many people don’t know that the Bronx has 13 institutions of higher education. It’s like a mini college town,” says Isabel.

The team at College Bridge Cafes provides class-based workshops, one-to-one support, college trip visits, career day experiences, and workforce development exploration. They recognize that not every student will go to college and help them identify alternative career options, connecting them with community colleges, certificate programs, and apprenticeships.

“We meet students where they are, and help them imagine their lives five, ten, twenty years from now. If traditional college is not for them, we help them identify the skills or credentials they will need, and what they will bring to the table to stand out to prospective employers,” says Isabel.

Last month, our team joined College Bridge Cafe at Storyland at the Bronx Terminal and students from four schools for a financial literacy workshop, diving into personal savings, credit-building, and personal financial management 101.  We look forward to hosting a series of workshops across their six schools.

“It’s been great to roll out a youth-focused financial literacy program with Spring Bank. Teens connected with leaders who had similar lived experiences and modeled potential career paths. I am very grateful for our banking relationship, and even more that we are working together to make an impact for Bronx students; it’s pretty special,” shares Isabel.

We feel the same way. If you are eager to invest in Bronx youth and the next generation of leaders, we encourage you to donate to the Kevin Anthony Memorial Scholarship. For the first year of the scholarship program, College Bridge Cafe will offer it to their six partner schools, about 400 students, and the award amounts will be based on the total they raise.  Rolling out in May, decisions will be made by June, and students will be awarded scholarships by the end of the summer.

“Raising funds to provide scholarships for seniors is something Kevin and I have been wanting to do for years,” says Isabel. “Directly giving students money to help them close the financial gap, or reduce their work hours, to make the load lighter for them, in Kevin’s honor, means everything.”

Learn more about the work and impact of College Bridge Cafe. Donate to their The Bridge Forward Campaign and Kevin Anthony Memorial Scholarship here.  Find more information about our Nonprofit Banking Program and how we can help your organization grow here.

This March, we celebrate one of our proudest accomplishments: joining the B Corp movement. In 2016, we became the first B Corp-certified bank in New York State, and today, we remain among the highest-rated B Corp banks in the country. 

The B Corp movement is built on the idea that business can be a force for good, meeting the needs of customers and communities while also achieving business goals. We’ve learned that real progress requires partnerships. For us, that has always meant showing up alongside the nonprofits, community organizations, and underserved communities that traditional banks have historically left behind.

Banking Where It’s Needed Most

Founded in 2007 in the South Bronx as the only bank to establish its base in the borough in over a quarter century, we set out to work in neighborhoods where high-cost check cashing and predatory lending were unfortunately the norm. 19 years later, our mission hasn’t changed. We continue to lead on our promise of community-first banking and are especially driven by our B Corp values. 

Most recently, we opened a new branch in Red Hook, Brooklyn, a neighborhood that had long been underserved by traditional financial institutions. Without a local bank for over a decade, residents and small businesses were forced to travel outside the neighborhood for every transaction or spend money on high-cost alternative financial services. Since opening the branch over a year ago, we’ve established partnerships with local organizations, including the Red Hook Initiative and Red Hook Art Project, and are working to build relations with the Red Hook community. 

Products and Partnerships That Move Our Communities Forward

Another way we put our B Corp values into action is by creating community-inspired products, like our Credit Builder Loan and Nonprofit Banking Program, that support the day-to-day financial health of all New Yorkers.

From fee-free nonprofit checking accounts and flexible working capital lines of credit to small business loans built for borrowers traditional banks turn away, every product we offer is intentionally designed. We know that a nonprofit waiting on a government contract reimbursement can’t afford to wait on their bank, too. We know that a delivery worker without a credit history still deserves access to a safe, reliable bike. So, we build our products accordingly.

Our GoGreen Cycle Loan especially embodies what it means to be a B Corp. Offered in partnership with local bike shops across the city, it provides affordable e-bike financing with no credit score requirement, making sustainable transportation accessible to the workers who need it most. How’d we get it done? Once again, thanks to our local nonprofit partnerships. As a founding member and board member of The E-Mobility Project (TEMP), a nonprofit working to advance mobility options and sustainability in New York City, we worked together to design and launch the GoGreen Cycle Loan, which was the first of its kind! 

The B Corp movement asks businesses to consider their impact on every stakeholder, including workers, communities, and the environment, and our work is a direct expression of that. We’ve spent nearly 20 years building relationships with mission-driven organizations across New York City that are doing the hard, essential work of keeping communities afloat. We’ve also supported – and continue to support – nonprofits, small businesses, and everyday New Yorkers with the financial tools they need to carry out essential daily tasks. 

So, whether you need a small business checking account, a personal checking account, or personal or business financing, we’ve got you covered with products that are community-focused and backed by our B Corp values. 

The B Is Just the Beginning

We’ve always understood that our B Corp certification isn’t a finish line, but a framework for continuous improvement, and one we hold ourselves to every single day. Here’s to many more years of community-first banking and to everything still ahead! Thank you for being part of our journey. 

Ready to bank with a purpose? Explore our personal and business banking options or learn more about our nonprofit banking program. You can also visit our B Corp profile to learn more about what our certification means and the standards we’re committed to upholding. 

In Partnership with Our Nonprofit Partner GreenPath Financial Wellness

It often starts with a moment of panic: a bill you didn’t plan for and not enough money to cover it before payday. In that stress, you may think you need to get a personal loan. Payday loans can feel like a lifeline—fast, simple, and there when you need it. But payday loans are not like other personal loans. Before you move forward, it helps to understand how payday loans typically work for many borrowers.

What Payday Loans Are (and Why They’re Risky)

A payday loan is a small, short-term loan (often a few hundred dollars) that is supposed to be repaid by your next payday. On the surface it looks like an easy way to cover a gap in your cash flows. However, the costs can be eye-popping!!

• Most payday loans carry extremely high interest rates—often as high as 391% APR—alarmingly higher than other kinds of credit.
• Because the repayment period is so short (usually about two weeks), and the loan is probably larger than your bi-weekly paycheck, many borrowers struggle to pay back the loan when it comes due. And here comes another application fee.
• Many customers end up repeatedly borrowing: A 2024 report from the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation found that about 27% of payday borrowers took out 10 or more payday loans in a year, and more than 75% of the total fees charged in the state came from people with seven or more transactions.

You are forced to keep “re-applying” and paying the fees for the same loan.  When you add all that up, payday loans can do more harm than good—especially if you’re already living paycheck-to-paycheck or managing other financial obligations.

How Payday Loans Can Impact Your Financial Health

Payday loans are designed for speed, and that can come with trade-offs that aren’t always obvious at first. Before you get a personal loan like a payday loan, remember:

Short repayment windows:
Paying back a loan in just a couple of weeks can be harder than it seems—especially if bills, rent, or food costs are already tight.

Risk of ongoing debt:
Rolling over or taking another payday loan to cover one you can’t repay on time adds up fast. Many borrowers end up paying more in fees than they originally borrowed.

High interest and fees:
Even a modest amount borrowed can end up being expensive when annualized. These aren’t small handling fees—they’re significant costs that can erode your budget.

Alternatives to Consider

Before opting for a payday loan, explore these more sustainable and potentially safer, options:

Short-term small loans from us
Like many other community banks in New York, we offer small dollar loans or “payday alternative loans” with much lower interest rates and better terms than payday lenders. These can be easier to repay, have sensible repayment periods and don’t trap you in cycles of renewing debt. Learn more about our Credit Builder Loan, and how to apply for personal loan with us.

Personal lines of credit or credit builder loans
If you qualify, these products offer credit on better terms and give you time to pay it back without extreme costs.

Talk to a financial counselor
Take advantage of Free financial counseling with our nonprofit partners, Ariva and GreenPath Financial Wellness. They can help you map out a budget, prioritize expenses, and explore debt repayment options you may not have considered.

No-Shame Support

Financial challenges happen to everyone. The key is choosing the path that protects your stability. If you’re considering a payday loan because you’re struggling to make ends meet, pause and consider this: there are resources that can help you find alternatives—and likely at a lower cost.

Get in Touch With Us:
✔  Ask about small-loan products.
✔  Explore budgeting and planning support.

Contact us here.

A Spring Bank Customer Feature 

The best part about opening a branch in Red Hook? Getting to know and be in service to Brooklynites—starting with our first customer, Nico. 

Five years ago, Nico, a TV and film music writer, moved from Manhattan to live in Red Hook. Not only did he relocate during the chaos of the pandemic, Nico was undergoing a few personal transitions. He knew Red Hook would be a great neighborhood to start his new beginning. The first time Nico visited Red Hook was in the back of a pick up truck in the early 90’s with a writer friend.

“Red Hook was not a place many people visited back then, and there were few small businesses. In fact, Sunny’s, the iconic bar and roots music venue, was only open once or twice a week and with no liquor license. And, it was cash only, at the end of the evening.” explains Nico. “There was a unique neighborhood quality then, that continues.” 

As soon as Nico moved to Red Hook, he quickly plugged into the community. From hosting meals, to getting involved in community issues, and joining local boards like the Red Hook Business Alliance, he was eager to give back. 

“This community has helped me in so many ways. Red Hook has helped me focus on purpose, within a community. It’s a neighborhood where everyone’s dogs know each other’s names,” Nico muses “We are a very purposeful, organized and tight knit community.” 

After Nico’s father passed away, he was left with some capital. His brother guided him to take out a CD (Certificate of Deposit) to accelerate his savings. He knew he was fed up with decades of experiencing the impersonal nature of much larger banks. Just one block from his house, he stopped by our branch, and introduced himself to ReyJane, our Red Hook Branch Manager. He was ready to open a checking account and explore personal savings account options.

“From day one, the team at Spring Bank was so welcoming. I am involved locally in various public service efforts, and the fact that they invest in the local community created a lot of value for me. It’s exactly the way a bank should be run. Right from the beginning, Spring Bank has become an important part of our community,” says Nico. 

We are so honored to work with you, Nico, and the entire Red Hook neighborhood. As we celebrate our first Brooklyn anniversary, we hope you’ll get to know more about our everyday, affordable banking products like our personal checking account, and high-interest savings.

Celebrating our first year in Red Hook, Brooklyn

We can hardly believe it’s already been one year since we opened the doors to our first branch in Brooklyn. When local leaders expanded into Red Hook Brooklyn, we saw it as an honor and a great opportunity to be the first bank in Red Hook in over 10 years, and one year in, we have learned a lot. Most importantly, we’ve learned how tight-knit, supportive, and collaborative the community is, and how welcoming they are to newcomers like us. Learn more about our grand opening in Red Hook here. 

Here are some of the things we have learned this year:

Stay present. Build trust.

We have loved getting to know the residents, change-makers, and leaders in Red Hook and across the borough. We knew that building trust required us to “show up” and support the work already happening here.

“It was really important in our first year to be present in the local community, to contribute and support as many leaders and initiatives as we can. Earning and building trust takes time, and we look forward to deepening community trust in our second, third and fourth years, too,” says ReyJane Gaudin, Red Hook Branch Manager.

Learn about the incredible work of Red Hook Art Project, Artolution, and Lundy Bros, to name a few of the organizations we love supporting.

All Brooklynites deserve to know their banker.

“When’s the last time you heard from your banker? When’s the last time your banker was able to support you, and you actually spoke to them on the phone and not to a bot on a 1-800 line?” asks ReyJane. “When it comes to any challenges you may have, at Spring Bank you always have a banker that you can speak to by name, and you will most likely know them by face as well.”

We value you and your family’s unique story, and we really enjoy getting to know our customers. As ReyJane notes you can reach us when you need to. A real-life, human banker will always be there to take your call or will call you back as soon as they can. We’ve heard that many of our new Brooklyn customers are shifting their relationships from big banks in Brooklyn to us because of our commitment to personalized service. You can count on us to never compromise a human touch for the sake of technological trends.

Transparency and affordability always win.

Speaking of keeping it human, our learning from opening our first branch in the Bronx also rings true in Brooklyn. You will never be surprised by an odd charge or how our products work. And most of our banking products offer fee-free or low-fee options. In addition to serving small businesses and nonprofits in Brooklyn with small business checking accounts and nonprofit accounts, we also exist to support everyday New Yorkers in building financial stability and wealth. 

In case you are still wondering what makes us unique among other banks in Brooklyn, check out our transparent and affordable products and services available to all Brooklyn residents: 

1. Free checking accounts with direct deposit: Our Green Checking Account lets you go paperless and offers zero maintenance fees and no overdraft fees, ever. 
2. Higher than average interest rates on our high-yield savings accounts.
3. Credit-building loan: If your credit is not where you want it to be, this small loan can help you get there and help you build savings, too. Learn more. 
4. Free financial counseling: Prefer to meet with someone in person? Take advantage of free financial counseling and housing application assistance with our nonprofit partner Ariva at our Red Hook branch for Money Talk Mondays. If you’d rather meet virtually or by phone, all Spring Bank customers also have access to free financial and low-cost debt management counseling with our national nonprofit partner, GreenPath Financial Wellness. 

Our Red Hook branch is for all Brooklyn residents. Whether you’re an entrepreneur in need of a small business checking account or are brand-new to banking and eager to open your first high-yield savings account, ReyJane, Israel, and our team are here to help you reach your financial goals. Stop by 356 Van Brunt Street to visit us. We’d love to meet you. 

We’re so excited to share that we’ve been awarded a grant to distribute to our small business and nonprofit customers through the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York’s (FHLBNY) Small Business Recovery Grant (SBRG) Program!

As a community bank in New York and proud members of the FHLBNY, supporting small businesses and nonprofits is fundamental to our mission to bring much-needed investment to the communities that need them most. This grant enables us to deliver on that mission by expanding the capacity of our small business and nonprofit customers.

The FHLBNY first created its SBRG Program to provide local support in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of the 2017 hurricane season, and redeployed the SBRG Program in 2020 to support local businesses, farms and non-profits throughout the FHLBNY’s District. Since 2020, the FHLBNY has awarded more than $25 million in SBRG Program funds. Through the SBRG program, FHLBNY members – like us – can provide grants of up to $10,000 to qualifying small businesses, including nonprofits, that have faced economic challenges due to the rate environment, inflation, supply-chain constraints, or rising energy costs.

“Small businesses are critical to the health and economic strength of their communities, and through our Small Business Recovery Grant Program, the FHLBNY is able to partner with members like Spring Bank to make a direct and positive impact for these vital local institutions,” said Michael Beifeld, Relationship Manager at the FHLBNY.

We most recently received a SBRG award in 2023 – a critical time for struggling small businesses – and are so grateful for this opportunity to once again provide support during another difficult economic climate. This year’s grantees are ten of our inspiring nonprofit and small business customers:

Ariva: Ariva is working to remove barriers to financial and economic access by providing free tax preparation in NYC and free financial counseling that includes education on budget management and building savings, and so much more. One of their permanent locations is right here at Spring Bank!

The Bronx River Alliance: Through equitable restoration, environmental protection, and public education, the Alliance is a notable nonprofit leader and longtime partner of ours, transforming the 23-mile-long river for present and future generations.

Celebrities Quality Painting: Owned by Navy vet Dr. Nneka Bell, Celebrities Quality Painting, also known as Celebrities Quality Construction, provides commercial real estate construction, carpentry, flooring, renovations, and a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee.

Community Voices Heard (CVH): CVH is a member-led organization that tackles challenging issues through grassroots organizing, leadership development, and advocacy for policy changes that benefit all New Yorkers.

College Bridge Café: Located in the Bronx, College Bridge Café provides career education counseling, mentoring, and referral services.

Custom Collaborative: A New York City-based nonprofit, Custom Collaborative is an entrepreneurship and workforce development organization that trains and supports women from low-income and immigrant communities in launching fashion careers and businesses.

Island Pops: Island Pops has brought Caribbean-inspired frozen treats to New York City and across the country since 2015. Through the help of our commercial lending team, Island Pops secured the funding they needed to relocate and expand.

Red Hook Art Project (RHAP): Founded in 2009, RHAP is a non-profit organization that provides free visual art, music, academic and stress management instruction to children and youth who live in and around Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Red Hook Initiative (RHI): RHI is a critical community resource in Red Hook, providing youth development programs, community building programs, and serving as one of the largest community employers.

South Bronx United: Starting as a grassroots soccer program, South Bronx United has transformed from a soccer program into a multifaceted organization, expanding its services far beyond the soccer field and now offering academic and career support, social work, and immigration services.

The ten beneficiaries of our Small Business Grant Recovery Program award serve a wide range of missions that include: the arts, financial empowerment, youth development, and the environment. We are so inspired by all of these recipients and are proud to support them as their New York banking partner.

To learn more about our dedication to supporting small businesses and nonprofits, discover our approach to small business lending and how we leverage customer deposits. You can also learn more about how our affordable small business bank accounts and free nonprofit checking accounts can support your organization.

Promoting Accessibility and Sustainability in New York City with The E-Mobility Project (TEMP)
Proud to be a Board Member of TEMP

We love New York, but we don’t love how difficult and unsustainable it is to commute throughout the city. Pollution is a problem, with 14% of the city’s PM2.5 particles, the most harmful air pollution for humans to breathe, coming from everyday car, bus, and truck traffic. While taking the subway is an alternative, it’s not the best fit for every New Yorker, which is why we are proud to be a founding member and board member of The E-Mobility Project (TEMP) (formerly known as The Equitable Commute Project) a nonprofit working to advance mobility options and sustainability in New York City.

How TEMP Advances Accessibility and Sustainability in New York City

TEMP works with the private and public sectors to implement pilot projects, advocate for policy, and conduct research to support electric mobility uptake. Spring Bank’s GoGreen Cycle Loan helps to facilitate usage.  And there is more to e-mobility than electric vehicles.

In our congested city, TEMP’s work is especially vital – micromobility vehicles have become a go-to transportation method for many, preferred for their cost-effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, and accessibility. With widespread adoption of micromobility, we could see reductions in air pollution and traffic congestion, but the city isn’t quite there yet. Not everyone can afford micromobility vehicles and fire safety concerns have been raised, but TEMP actively works to combat both of these issues. They’ve deployed a variety of successful projects, including NYC’s first e-bike subsidy program, a fire-safe E-bike program, and most recently, The Charge Program.

New from TEMP: Access Grants in NYC with The Charge Program

Are you a New York City property owner interested in expanding access to safe and secure micromobility charging? TEMP has partnered with PopWheels to offer grants in NYC and technical assistance to eligible property owners for the installation of universal charging cabinets through The Charge Program.

With The Charge Program, property owners can apply for up to $10,000 in grant money for the purchase of a certified, fire-safe charging infrastructure. Any building owner in New York City can apply up until the August 15th deadline.

Why should property owners apply? As we work toward a more sustainable NYC, we need to develop the infrastructure to support micromobility users. By installing universal charging cabinets, property owners in NYC can benefit from:

• Attracting and retaining tenants.
• Reducing fire risk from uncertified lithium-ion batteries inside apartments.
• Supporting NYC’s climate and transportation goals.
• Boosting property value.
• Offering enhanced amenities for delivery workers, residents, and e-bike users.

Apply before the deadline to be considered for this unique opportunity!

Our Work Together Over the Years

As a community bank in New York, we’re proud to partner with organizations that make sustainability in New York City a priority. Over the years, we’ve worked with TEMP on multiple e-bike projects:

• E-bike subsidy program: In 2021, we proudly partnered with TEMP as they piloted NYC’s first e-bike subsidy program.
• GoGreen Cycle Loan at Spring Bank: In 2023, we worked with TEMP to design and launch the first credit-building e-bike loan available regardless of credit history. Apply at any time to access safe and affordable financing for your next e-bike purchase.
• The Sustainable Affordable Fire-Safe E-bike (SAFE) program: In 2024, we hosted an e-bike exchange program to support delivery workers trading hazardous e-bikes and mopeds for UL-2849-certified models.

We’re so thankful for our partnership with The E-Mobility Project – by coming together, we’ve transformed the micromobility landscape in NYC and delivered on our promise of using finance for a positive, environmental impact. With the GoGreen Cycle Loan, more New Yorkers can get their hands on safe and reliable e-bikes and contribute to a more sustainable NYC. We look forward to many more projects together and hope that this sets the precedent for more banks in NY to participate in similar initiatives.

New York Banking for a Better Tomorrow

If you’re looking for a New York banking partner that cares about more than just the dollar sign, we’re here for you. As a bank with branch locations in areas that are continuously affected by pollution and climate change, we go above and beyond in helping improve our local environment. This is reflected in the projects we fund and the organizations we partner with – every action we take is with the intention of benefitting the communities we serve. We regularly partner with organizations like The E-Mobility Project that advance sustainability in New York City and youth-focused organizations like Rocking the Boat that spread environmental awareness and help revitalize our local waterways.

Whether you need a business bank account, a personal checking account, or just want to explore your options, we’re happy to answer any questions and learn more about your financial goals. Let’s get in touch!

A Spring Bank Nonprofit Feature

For five decades, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition (NWBCCC) has spearheaded grassroots leadership and transformation in the Bronx. Under the stewardship of Executive Director Sandra Lobo, the organization has been on the frontlines—confronting disinvestment, home abandonment, and, more recently, predatory development. Their work has transformed the lives of countless Bronx residents, and they continue to be a powerful force for economic and social justice. As NWBCC prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, they are not only reflecting on their long-standing impact but are charting a path forward to build a more inclusive and equitable Bronx.

“We’re really proud of the organizing work we’ve been doing for the last five decades. We see it as a legacy of resistance, particularly against disinvestment and abandonment in the 1970s and predatory equity and investment in more recent years,” says Lobo.

The NWBCCC’s membership model is a hybrid system. Through grassroots outreach, individual members go door-to-door, host town halls, and conduct surveys and small focus groups to understand the needs of the community. This personal, on-the-ground approach, ensures that the voices of local residents are heard and incorporated into the Coalition’s advocacy efforts. In addition, there are institutional members such as Christ Church Riverdale, Fordham University, and Local 79 who collaborate to align with the organization’s long-term vision. This model makes it easy for residents and organizations alike to get involved in shaping the future of their neighborhoods, ensuring that the Coalition’s efforts remain community-centered and inclusive.

“We believe that people impacted by community challenges should be at the center of decision-making. They know the issues the best from their own experience, so they need to be included as a partner in developing those solutions,” Lobo explains.

In recent years, the Coalition has adopted a proactive approach, shifting from “fighting back” against harmful development to “fighting forward” by working to scale shared ownership and collective governance over community assets. One of their most innovative steps was the creation of a community land trust in 2020, allowing tenants to own their buildings and ensure long-term affordability. This forward-thinking strategy empowers residents to step into leadership roles, developing policies, programs, and solutions that put community well-being at the forefront. However, this approach moves beyond simple advocacy.

“It goes beyond identifying the problem and demanding changes. We ask, ‘What would it look like if we collectively owned and governed this building? What decisions would we make differently from our negligent and absent landlord? How do we operate to sustain ownership and a safe and healthy building for all of us?’” Lobo says.

At a time when gentrification is pricing out long-time Bronx residents, NWBCCC’s work is more critical than ever. Studios are being built for over $3,000 per month—with “affordable” housing subsidies. In response, NWBCCC has been collaborating with partners like us, who see the power in helping nonprofits access loans and lines of credit to further their mission and strengthen the community.

We are proud to be one of the top banks in the Bronx, having provided critical support to NWBCCC and local businesses, particularly during challenging times like the pandemic. Our commitment to our nonprofit and business clients in the Bronx sets us apart from other banks in New York with our mission to serve communities that traditional financial institutions often overlook.

“A lot of businesses we organized sought out support for PPP loans from different banks, but most of them did not even get a callback. The one that did support them and worked with them to figure it out was Spring Bank,” says Lobo.

In the spirit of continuing its transformative work, NWBCCC is officially expanding its reach through a merger with the Bronx Cooperatives Development Initiatives (BCDI). This collaboration is a strategic step toward establishing a Bronx-wide impact as the two organizations unite to think critically about transforming the local economy. By merging, NWBCCC and BCDI are combining their planning and development capacity to secure more investment opportunities for the borough while focusing on empowering residents to take ownership of community assets. As one of the founding organizations of the BCDI, NWBCCC sees this merger as an opportunity to scale its work beyond traditional boundaries and strengthen the Bronx’s position as a thriving region of 1.5 million people.

Sandra Lobo reflects on the journey, stating, “As we think about where we are headed, we have made it very clear that we need to build the political and economic infrastructure necessary to transform the local economy and combat displacement and gentrification.”

As they continue to strengthen their leadership, grow their partnerships, and advocate for policies like the Community Land Act and the Tenant Opportunity Purchase Act, NWBCCC invites the community to join them in celebrating 50 years of building a better Bronx. Join us as we celebrate NWBCCC’s impact at their 50th Anniversary Gala this year. The gala will celebrate the organization’s rich history and powerfully remind attendees of the work that lies ahead.

Our partnership with NWBCCC exemplifies how local organizing and community banking can go hand-in-hand to create lasting change. As a community bank in New York, we offer various services tailored to nonprofits and small businesses, including business bank accounts and commercial real estate financing. Learn more about how we can support your mission, too.