Dandelion Dispatch #0251: Bank on Brightmoor

The Brightmoor Alliance is focused on mobilizing resources to help ensure a vibrant community where residents can pray, grow, learn, thrive and play. Serving northwest Detroit’s Brightmoor community, the alliance works with member organizations to revitalize the community by addressing issues such as education, employment, safety, housing, human services, shopping and recreation. PNC Bank is the fifth largest bank in the U.S. The company sponsors a number of initiatives to improve health, education, human services, and arts programming, as well as community development investments.

How Dandelion Helped

Dandelion was engaged to facilitate a long term, sustainable program that would make it possible for unbanked residents to obtain checking and/or savings accounts, enabling them to avoid the predatory fees associated with check-cashing and payday loan establishments.

Dandelion conceptualized the program, pulled in pilot partners, secured underwriting, and synthesized PNC’s personal finance training materials into a simple, visually appealing and easily understood program that will be palatable yet helpful to the unbanked audience.

Our team provided PNC and the Brightmoor Alliance with an actionable plan and the tools necessary to pilot and deploy a sustainable community model, with measurable metrics to assess the program’s success.