To Table of Contents the real goal was not for us to compete with the banks , but to teach the banks that they should be doing that type of financing . In 2008 , we were really the go-to organization for housing . Today , banks have learned that housing for people with disabilities is a good business .
Education is the second category . When we got involved in financing schools in 2007 , people didn ' t really didn ' t understand Autism or they didn ' t think that children with Autism could be educated or employed in the way that they are now . We became one of the financiers of schools , a special needs school started by parent groups , a very specialized group and no one else would take that chance . Fast forward a decade later . Now many traditional financing institutions like banks are financing special needs schools . So , we were early movers .
Employment is the third category . There is the question : can people with disabilities really be employed ? Well , there are two aspects to it , especially here in the US . The policies for many years were that if you work , you lose your government benefits . Well , clearly that has changed . So therefore , we were an early mover of trying to finance and support companies that wanted to hire people with disabilities and wanted to take that chance . Again , banks and investors really didn ' t understand it , but we were there . Fast forward to today . Mainstream venture capital and social impact companies are very much involved . So again , we feel like we ' ve done good work , because we took risks that nobody else was willing to take . And now everyone else is sort of catching up with us .
Do you now collaborate with banks on financing projects aimed at people with disabilities ?
Yes . One : In our funding stream , a lot of our funding stream does actually come from banks and financial institutions , because here in the United States , there is a Community Reinvestment Act ( CRA ) obligation so they will lend money to us at low rates , as long as we put it back into the community , and , to us , it ’ s our community of people with disabilities . We currently have over $ 40 million that we ' ve borrowed from banks and other institutions , and they ' re entrusting it to us because they know there is a market and that we know what we ' re doing , so for over 13 years , we ' ve brought them along for the ride . Now , they are also getting involved in projects , and because they have much bigger balance sheets , they ' re able to take on some of the bigger projects .
Two : Look at the advertising that ’ s been done and you ' ll see Bank of America and other financial institutions incorporate people with disabilities in their advertisement . From a marketing standpoint , we finally have reached that moment . This is the time that not just banks , but other companies are finally realizing that disability is bankable , that they ' re marketable , and people with disabilities are placed in advertisements at all levels . There ' s still a lot of work to do but we definitely think our partners in the mainstream financial institutions have come a long , long way and we ’ re pleased that they are at the table doing this alongside us .
Inclusive employment . How does your organization assist with ensuring that people with disabilities get employed ?
When we provide financing for an organization , if it ' s for something focused on vocational training or job placement for people with