This just gives us another reason to say THANK YOU. We are honored to be awarded as Best for the World for our Customers for the second year in a row by B Lab, the nonprofit organization who certifies B Corps. Among the 2500+ B Corps across 67 countries, we’ve scored 55 points in the Customer Section of the B Impact Assessment during our 2018 re-certification.
In the case you’re not totally familiar with what a B Corp is or why any of this matters to us, here’s a quick breakdown (and hopefully, useful information if you’re business is considering certifying). First, becoming a B Corp—as in filling out the B Impact Assessment (BIA) and organizing the documentation–requires executive buy-in and commitment to resources like employee time. Melanie Stern, our Director of Consumer Lending, has fearlessly led us through the BIA twice.
“It’s a tough assessment process. For us, we are honored to have a third party, nonprofit affirm that the work we do is valuable,” says Melanie.
Some of the points on the BIA—which is broken into five sections: Governance, Workers, Community, Environment and Customers– will be easy to obtain because it’s likely you’re already doing these things. For us, serving underbanked customers is our focus. We are continually innovating to better meet their needs. So scoring 30 points for “Serving in Need Populations” was easy for us. Our affordable, small personal loans are designed to help people build credit and save money. But we don’t go it alone. Our partnerships with financial literacy organizations, like Green Path Financial Wellness and Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, support the financial health of our customers. These partnerships helped us score another 11.4 points in the Customer Sections called Targeted for Investment and Leadership and Outreach which ask questions about loan size, communication with clients, services and industry certifications and ratings. Our CDFI (Community Development Fund Institution) certification, for example, pulled in another 5 points.
To us, the BIA simply verifies that we are on the right path to achieving our mission of financial inclusion and prosperity-building by serving the needs of under-served consumers and small businesses in New York City with affordable and transparent banking products. The BIA and our integrity to create value for the B Corp community keep us accountable to walking the talk.
We are grateful to be part of such an innovative movement of business leaders. And to have the best customers in the world. Thank you for trusting us with your finances, for supporting us as a local community partner and for working hard to make NYC the best city in the world.
Read about the other companies like Patagonia, King Arthur Flour and Green Mountain Power who have also been awarded as Best for the World. And if you’re part of a B Corp in the NYC metro region, join the B Local NYC Chapter! Contact our Director of Marketing, Julie Fahnestock, at 718-879-5000 for more information.
Proud & Grateful,
The Spring Bank Team
