Ways to Work, Inc., a federally-certified Community Development Financial Institution, was established as a sister organization to the Alliance to help interested Alliance member agencies replicate the Ways to Work loan program (formerly known as the “family loan program”).  Ways to Work programs provide small loans to low-income families that are commonly used for automobile purchase or repair, mortgage or housing expenses, or child care–all to help parents keep a job or stay in school.

Since Minnesota’s McKnight Foundation launched the program as the “family loan program” in 1984, small loan programs have served communities in over 20 states, providing over 20,000 families with over $26 million in loans.  More than $12 million of that total has been loaned since just 1996 to over 5,000 families through the Alliance’s own Ways to Work loan program.  As of today, the program has thoroughly established itself and is poised to experience significant growth.

With major support from the McKnight Foundation and Bank of America, Ways to Work, Inc. has embarked on a 10-year expansion plan that aims to provide start-up and ongoing capital, as well as technical assistance to 65 new and existing program sites.  Once established, these sites aim to lend a total of $100 million to a projected 50,000 families.  In addition to providing technical assistance, the national office helped Alliance members raise more than $30 million in grant support for local Ways to Work programs.  

For the fifth consecutive year, the Ways to Work, Inc. staff in 2003 helped get congress to appropriate funding specifically for the loan program in the fiscal year 2004 U.S. Department of Transportation budget. The funding will be used for implementing the program in communities in various states.

More information is available at the following hyperlinks:

• The Program

• Local Sites 

• How Ways to Work Can Help

• Funding your Local Program

• Success Stories