Rosie Sifuentes lives in Arlington, nowhere near any public transit system. She’s a single mom, and not having a car made it nearly impossible to get to work and take her son to school.
She said after her divorce, her financial situation was in shambles.
“I no longer fit that mold that you can go into a bank and get a loan,” she said. “I tried that, and they said my credit score was bad.”
Through Catholic Charities, she was able to connect with On the Road Lending, a Dallas based nonprofit that helps put people into affordable cars by offering low-cost loans.
Sifuentes said she had only known about traditional loans and didn’t know this type of assistance existed. She said On the Road Lending took the time to speak with her, break things down and work with her to find something that was within her budget.
Michelle Corson is CEO and founder of On the Road Lending. She said factors such as having a low credit score can leave people vulnerable to predatory car sellers with high interest rates. When she founded the organization 10 years ago, she wanted to help others have equitable access to a car.
“If you're going to access your job or a better job, better healthcare, get good food, get your kids to a different school, live in a safer neighborhood, all of that requires having a car,” she said.
Corson said each program participant saves about $20,000 over five years by getting a low-interest loan to purchase a reliable car. She said participants have increased their credit scores up to 200 points through the financial coaching the nonprofit provides.
On Thursday, Chase Auto made a $1 million dollar donation to On the Road Lending for tech upgrades.
“By making the investment to allow On the Road Lender to build the systems and data, and the operations that it needs to scale, it can help more people,” Chase Auto CEO Peter Muriungi said at a news conference.
Corson said the donation will help her organization serve more people faster and more efficiently.
The donation will also go toward paying off three clients’ auto loans—including Sifuentes’.
“I think I won the lottery. It keeps coming to my mind today, I won the lottery, you know,” she said. Sifuentes said not having to pay the monthly car note will help her in her path to financial freedom.
On the Road Lending operates in 10 states and is hoping to be in 25 states within the next two years, according to Corson.