Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
In 2023, Exodus Lending had 141 “enrollments” or loan closings, in our 0% interest Predatory Debt Refinancing Program. We paid off $151,000 of high-interest payday, installment, auto title, and other similar loans for enrolled borrowers and, in doing so, saved participants $505,000 (assuming these participants would have remained in the debt trap for a year). In January 2023, Exodus Lending piloted the Resiliency Loan Program which is an upstream, “anti-payday” loan offered through a network of trusted nonprofits partners. In the first three months of the year, we provided over $32,000 in Resiliency Loans to 28 participants. Alongside our direct lending services, our advocacy coalition, Minnesotans for Fair Lending (MFL), organized local communities to reclaim and leverage their power. MFL spent years advocating for a 36% interest rate cap on small dollar, short term consumer loans in Minnesota and won meaningful rate cap reform during the 2023 legislative session - effectively ending payday lending as we knew it in Minnesota by January 1, 2024 when the law took effect.
Current Goals
In 2024, Exodus Lending aims to relaunch our Resiliency Loan pilot with a cohort of at least five community partners, and intends to deploy up to $50,000 in capital to up to 50 financially excluded Minnesotans. At the same time, we will continue paying off predatory debt for qualified borrowers as part of our Refinancing Loan program, with the goal of resolving up to $225,000 of debt for up to 150 Minnesotans by year-end. As part of our Minnesotans for Fair Lending campaign and coalition, our goal is to organize and build power in partnership with our borrowers, community partners, and allies. In 2024, MFL will hire 2 regional organizers and lending specialists, based in Northern and Southern Minnesota respectively, who will connect with local communities to develop an organization-wide advocacy and systems change agenda. Going into 2025, our goal is to build on the work started the previous year to scale-up our existing lending programs to serve more borrowers statewide annually and design a “lender-as-a-service” partnership model for future lending initiatives in Minnesota.
Community or Constituency Served
Exodus Lending works with financially excluded Minnesota residents with low-income, low-wealth, and/or subprime or invisible credit profiles. In particular, we work with Minnesota borrowers who have utilized high-interest small-dollar consumer loans (like payday loans) or other similar products; or have strongly considered using them due to limited access to mainstream credit options.
Geographic Area Served
We serve the entire state of Minnesota.
