Microloans · Cooperatives · Land Trusts

"Before the grant. Before the headline.The work was already happening."

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Every loan is a seed. Every cooperative is a root system. Every land trust is a tree nobody can cut down.

The People Behind Every Dollar

One face. One number. One place.

No stock photos. No composites. Every portrait is taken where the person actually works — the kitchen table, the workshop floor, the corner lot. The stats are real. The names are real.

Darlene Okonkwo, a Black woman in her 40s, smiling in front of her daycare cooperative storefront with colorful murals
North Memphis, TN$1,200 microloan

Darlene Okonkwo

Daycare Cooperative Founder

"$1,200 loan → 14 families fed weekly"

Launched a 6-parent childcare co-op. Now operates 5 days a week.

Marcus Tillman, a Black man in his 30s, working on a bicycle in a community workshop surrounded by tools
East St. Louis, IL$800 microloan

Marcus Tillman

Tool-Sharing Collective Member

"$800 → 23 neighbors share one workshop"

Bought into a collective after release. Fixed 40 bikes this spring.

An older Latino couple, Rosario and Hector Fuentes, standing proudly in front of their modest family home with a garden
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles$3,500 microloan

Rosario & Hector Fuentes

Community Land Trust Homeowners

"$3,500 → Generational home stays in the family"

Kept their 1962 house off the auction block. Third generation still inside.

Priya Nair, a South Asian woman in her late 30s, sorting fresh vegetables at a community grocery cooperative table outdoors
Southwest Detroit, MI$2,100 microloan

Priya Nair

Grocery Cooperative Coordinator

"$2,100 → Fresh produce in a food desert"

Organized 11 families to co-buy wholesale. First fresh vegetables in 3 miles.

James Earl Watkins, an older Black man, kneeling in a lush community garden, hands in soil, smiling at camera
Southside Chicago, IL$650 microloan

James Earl Watkins

Community Garden Steward

"$650 → Vacant lot becomes 30-plot garden"

Turned a blighted corner into a neighborhood food source. 4th season running.

Where Every Dollar Landed

The ledger is open.

We don't hide the numbers in footnotes. Every dollar that came in, you can trace to a name, a neighborhood, and an outcome. This is what accountability looks like when the community is the investor.

Total Deployed
$0

In microloans, co-op buy-ins, and land trust contributions since 2019

Families Reached
0

Households with measurably improved housing security or food access

Cooperatives Launched
0

Worker-owned and family-owned collectives still operating today

Homes Protected
0

Generational properties kept out of speculative foreclosure

Avg. Loan Repaid
0%

Repayment rate — because people pay back what they choose to borrow

Cities Active
0

Neighborhoods in 11 states where Equity has placed capital

Data current as of February 2026 · Independent audit available on request · 501(c)(3) status confirmed

In Their Own Words

The proof is the voice.

Portrait of Darlene Okonkwo, a Black woman smiling warmly, outdoors
"Nobody from a bank had looked at my neighborhood in twenty years. Equity didn't ask me for a credit score. They asked me what I was building."
Darlene OkonkwoDaycare Co-op, North MemphisMemphis, TN
Portrait of Marcus Tillman, a Black man in his 30s, smiling in a workshop
"I came home with nothing except the knowledge that I could fix anything with the right tools. The collective gave me access before I could afford access."
Marcus TillmanTool-Sharing Collective, East St. LouisEast St. Louis, IL
Portrait of Hector Fuentes, a Latino man in his 60s, standing in front of his home
"My grandmother bought this house for $12,000. Someone offered me $400,000 to sell it. The land trust helped me say no without feeling like I was leaving money on the table."
Hector FuentesCommunity Land Trust, Boyle HeightsLos Angeles, CA

"The soil doesn't ask for credit. It just grows what you plant in it."

Put Money Where It Grows

Or become recurring soil — monthly giving, named impact, real accountability.