Recently, Exodus Lending surpassed 500 participants enrolled all-time! For these 500 participants, our program has refinanced more than $400,000 of predatory payday, auto-title, or other loans all-time. We estimate that these efforts have saved our participants more than $1.2 million in exploitative interest and fees.
While our aggregate numbers are certainly a cause for celebration, we intentionally designed our program to work at the individual level. Exodus Lending is committed to helping Minnesotans, one by one, break free from predatory debt because everyone’s financial situation and needs are different. Our team seeks to honor those differences by centering our borrower’s unique voices in our service provision and advocacy work. We do this because we know participants appreciate this people-first model, as Vanessa and Graham can attest:
“I really do believe and feel that Exodus Lending is an organization that at least for me personally, not only got me out of a bind, but really helped me stay alive. Financial problems really can get people into a depressive mode that nobody wants to be in. I think that because of you guys’s help and support, I was able to get out of that and realize that debt issues don’t define me, that there were other people out there who could help and who believe that I could do this.”
– Vanessa*, Exodus Lending Program Graduate
“After my third month, I realized it was the real deal. I realized that there is no BS with this. It’s been one of the best things that I’ve done, one of the best choices I’ve made – going through Exodus.”
– Graham*, Exodus Lending Program Graduate
*Name has been changed for confidentiality
Exodus Lending’s growth extends beyond our programming, as our team itself is experiencing a few significant transitions. Firstly, please join us in thanking our departing Program Coordinator, Anna Witt! Over her three years in this role, Anna was a fierce advocate for our participants. Our participants and staff alike sincerely appreciated her dedication to empathic service and passion for economic justice. Thank you, Anna!
We are also excited to welcome Logan Rathjen to our team as our Interim Program Assistant! Logan will be working to enroll new participants into our program and help do outreach in the community.
Lastly, if you missed our big announcement last month, our Executive Director, Sara Nelson-Pallmeyer, plans to retire in early 2022. Exodus Lending is currently working with Mighty Consulting to find our next leader. If you have any input, questions, or concerns about this transition, please contact us at [email protected].
In case you missed it, here are some of the latest news items on predatory lending:
Exodus Lending E-Newsletter: October 2021