Over $2.5M Has Been Committed to Strengthen Black Businesses and Communities in Indianapolis and Charleston, South Carolina Through CARE
In October 2020, Cummins Inc. launched Cummins Advocating for Racial Equity (CARE) to take a leading role in the work to dismantle systemic discrimination against the Black community in the U.S.
Through CARE, Cummins is taking decisive action to address and spearhead change throughout targeted CARE communities in the U.S., across four impact areas:
- Police reform
- Criminal justice reform
- Economic empowerment
- Social justice reform
“Cummins’ value of Integrity drives us to do what is right and act against injustice; and through CARE, we are focusing our efforts in communities where Cummins has manufacturing plants, offices or service branch locations,” said Fernando Herndon, CARE Program Leader.
The company has a a sizeable footprint in the Indianapolis and Charleston communities, and has begun the year by committing major grants to strengthen and increase economic empowerment in Indianapolis and Charleston.
CARE partnered with LISC Indianapolis and the Indy Black Chamber of Commerce to establish a real estate assistance fund to provide grants up to $20,000 for Black businesses in Indianapolis. The funds are earmarked for businesses looking to purchase commercial property, or retain their commercial property through capital improvements.
CARE announced a grant of more than $1million to build Black homeowner equity in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis. The grant was issued to Renew Indianapolis and will support an innovative program to build generational wealth while addressing gentrification in historically Black neighborhoods.
“Through this program, Cummins is addressing the historical gap in wealth building through home ownership experienced by Black people,” said Mary Titsworth Chandler, Cummins Vice President of Community Relations. “We hope programs like this will inspire other private and non-profit funders to contribute to innovative problem-solving, which in turn will attract matching federal, state, and local dollars over time.”
Since 2020 CARE has executed several projects and initiatives with positive results for the Charleston community. The company’s partnership with Metanoia, a local non-profit investing in neighborhood assets to build leaders, establish quality housing and generate economic development, is one example. Cummins has worked with Metanoia for the last decade, and recently approved a $1 million Community Development grant through CARE. These funds will be used to build and develop affordable housing in the Charleston community.
