findCRA, a Louisville-based organization dedicated to empowering partnerships between banks and nonprofits around the Community Reinvestment Act, was named Very Small Business of the Year by Greater Louisville Inc. (GLI), the Metro Louisville Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday, August 24th.
The company was chosen from six finalists in its category for this year’s Inc.Credible Award, which recognizes companies with fewer than ten employees who exemplify both business and civic leadership. Community involvement, management practices, talent development and overall financial performance are also primary criteria for the award. Other considerations include strategic partnerships, capital investment, creative marketing strategies and innovation.
“We are honored and grateful to GLI and the judges for selecting findCRA for this year’s award,“ said Ben Loehle, CEO and Co-Founder of findCRA. “Our solution is something that can be used throughout the country to help banks and nonprofits connect and to give them the data and information they need to work faster, smarter, and to have more impact to start making our communities better places to live.”
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Louisville, findCRA brings order to the innumerable resources and opportunities available for Community Reinvestment Act participants by organizing everything in a centralized online location. The company focuses on educating and qualifying nonprofits to demonstrate their alignment with CRA and equipping banks with tools and resources to streamline relationship building with nonprofits. Within the coming months, findCRA will qualify nonprofits in all fifty states to help empower community reinvestment for banks nationwide.
Since 2000, the Inc.Credible Awards have recognized nearly 100 small businesses for their ongoing contributions to Louisville’s economic vitality. Over eighty local small businesses were candidates for the 2017 Inc.Credible Awards. Finalists for the awards were announced in July, selected by a panel of nineteen judges from the local business community.
“Small business creates most of the jobs in the country. You are the driving force of the American Economy. Collectively, small business growth is what determines the direction of our economy. That is something to celebrate,” said Kent Oyler, President and CEO of GLI, during the awards ceremony. More than 400 people attended the awards, held at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.