ABOUT
COMMON WEALTH
ATHENS
About
Our Impact
CWA's definition of success is our clients' attainment of financial stability through the mastery of important financial concepts, access to affordable financial services, improvement of credit scores, and growth in assets. Our program has been carefully designed to ensure we capture required data to quantify impact in each of these areas. The outcomes measured by CWA are:
1. Credit Score improvement
2. Increase in overall financial literacy
3. CWA Loan repayment / default rates
4. Number of CWA loan recipients who open a checking/savings bank account
5. Percent of loan recipients who create a viable budget to sustain living costs
The Ark loan program (CWA) has now been in existence since 2016 years and holds an impressive 90% repayment rate with the same population targeted by title pawn shops and without holding any kind of collateral or threat of repossession. Through our partnership with First American Bank and Trust, our current loan program offers a 6-month, Ark-backed loan at 3.5% interest regardless of credit score. Each loan holder completes an in-depth budget and credit counseling session before and throughout the loan to ensure maximum success and they may access the loan as many times as needed as long as the loan is repaid. Unlike title loans, Ark loans do report to the 3 major credit bureaus which can provide a much-needed credit boost to participant’s scores. Many Ark loan holders have gone on to refinance cars and even procure mortgages after seeing a significant boost in their creditworthiness in just 1-2 years.
CWA has served 1,654 individuals, provided over 3,308 hours of financial education, as well as provided $128,000.00 in Opportunity Loans to individuals with limited credit. As a result of these efforts, CWA boasts a 90% re-payment rate and individuals report an average credit score increase of 50 points.* Our programs showcase The Ark's commitment to providing opportunities that foster economic and social advancement for Athens residents. (*Last updated February 2025)
Banking Partner
Common Wealth Athens partners with First American Bank and Trust to provide Opportunity Loans of up to $1500 with a six-month term and 3.5% interest available through a donor-provided loan fund. Proceeds from this loan can be used for refinancing neighbors out of high-interest predatory debt or establishing credit where the issue is lack of open accounts on the credit report leading to a low or "no score". The successful repayment of this loan often also materially increases a client's credit score. CWA loans report to of all three major credit bureaus.
Financial Education Partners
Common Wealth Athens serves as the exclusive financial education/asset-building collaborative partner for following agencies. CWA provides multi-level financial education, re-banking and emergency loan services at no cost to these partners. Our education services are placed-based, with CWA staff conducting sessions at partner locations, giving clients ready access to all of its resources. In addition, CWA offers a number of "open" sessions throughout each month allowing non-aligned clients the ability to engage our resources.
