First Independence Bank and Cummins CARE partner to support Twin Cities

small Black-owned businesses creating racial equity with the goal of leveling the field by offering low interest rate loans.

MINNEAPOLIS (December 20, 2023) – First Independence Bank Twin Cities (FIB) and the Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) are partnering to provide low interest rate loans to small Black-owned businesses. A Twin Cities business – Levels – rebuilt and expanded with locations in the Mall of America and Rochester’s Apache Mall as a
result of the program.

Cummins leadership says the company has a deeply rooted history of fighting for social justice, serving its communities and living the company’s core values of diversity and inclusion. In October 2020, the company launched Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) so Cummins could take a leading role in the work to dismantle systemic discrimination against the Black community in the U.S.

“It has been a great experience partnering with First Independence Bank to provide low-interest rate loans to Black-owned businesses in the Twin Cities. It is exciting to witness the positive impact that the Cummins CARE program is having on the community. Damon Jenkins, who understands the region, was deeply engaged, and had a crucial role in bringing this program to fruition,” said Jason Stanford, Cummins director of
Digital Product Management.

A May 2023 comprehensive Brookings study, “Who is driving Black business growth? Insights from the latest data on Black-owned businesses points to an upward trend since before COVID and the murder of George Floyd. FIB leadership believe the Cummins small business low-interest loan partnership is contributing to the success.

Since opening in the spring of 2022, FIB has provided the Twin Cities region BIPOC owned businesses with access to resources that will help the businesses to scale up and expand.

“Our goal is to contribute to systemic change which leads to financial wellness in the region. We anticipate the unique partnership between the bank and Cummins will continue yielding positive results and increasing the financial footprint of a business such as Levels,” said Damon Jenkins, senior vice president and Twin Cities regional
market president.

Twin Cities entrepreneur Daniel Johnson sought a new location for his business that was destroyed in the unrest following the killing of Floyd. Johnson, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year honoree, met with Jenkins at FIB’s East Lake Street home office. During the meeting, he learned about the Cummins CARE – First Independence Bank small business loan program. “Securing the funding allowed me to expand our footprint. Levels is now located in the Mall of America and the Apache Mall in Rochester,” said Johnson, who is the founder and owner of Levels. “We transitioned from a pop-up retailer to occupying several thousand square feet in a world-class mall.”

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About First Independence Bank
Established in 1970, First Independence Bank is the seventh largest Black-owned commercial bank in the United States. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, with locations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it offers a variety of services including account management, mortgages, personal loans, consumer education and investments. First Independence is committed to serving the business and community financial needs with convenient banking solutions available online or by mobile app. First Independence Bank is a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender. Learn more at firstindependence.com.

About Cummins Inc.
Cummins Inc., a global power technology leader, is a corporation of complementary business segments that design, manufacture, distribute and service a broad portfolio of power solutions. The company’s products range from internal combustion, electric and hybrid integrated power solutions to components including filtration, aftertreatment, turbochargers, fuel systems, controls systems, air handling systems, automated transmissions, electric power generation systems, microgrid controls, batteries, electrolyzers and fuel cell products. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (U.S.), since its founding in 1919, Cummins employs approximately 73,600 people committed to powering a more prosperous world through three global corporate responsibility priorities critical to healthy communities: education, environment and equality of opportunity. Cummins serves its customers online, through a network of company- owned and independent distributor locations, and through thousands of dealer locations worldwide and earned about $2.2 billion on sales of $28.1 billion in 2022. Learn more at
cummins.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
First Independence Bank Twin Cities – Marsha Pitts-Phillips marsha@mrppcomms.com
Cummins CARE – Lauren Daniel lauren.daniel@cummins.com