Investing in underserved communities takes more than a promise – it also takes a plan to keep that promise. The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) has developed multiple techniques to ensure that bank commitments translate into meaningful change for historically disadvantaged neighborhoods and that the people who live there, and organizations that service them, have a say in the process.
One pillar of that work is Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) – often also known as Community Benefits Plans (CBPs) – which lay out specific commitments. Such plans typically include the creation of Community Advisory Councils (CACs), which meet regularly to support and enhance banks’ work toward CBA goals.
In recent years, CBAs and CACs have become essential advocacy tools for engaging financial institutions in efforts to create more equitable communities. CBAs lay the groundwork for the community and economic development programs and initiatives that will be delivered via a financial institution’s collaborative partnerships with directly impacted communities.
These types of projects can cover such areas as small business lending, affordable single and multi-unit housing financing, preserving and expanding retail branch networks, investing in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), and safe and affordable retail products like small-dollar loans, check-cashing options, mortgage loans and BankOn-certified checking accounts.
CBAs are public commitments developed in collaboration with community organizations that ensure banks meet their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was passed in 1977 as a way to address discriminatory banking practices such as redlining prevalent in minority and low- and moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods.
Without these tools, the opportunities and benefits tied to new development may not reach LMI communities. Large economic development projects have often fueled gentrification, displacing longtime residents and replacing local businesses with ones serving higher-income populations. CBAs help ensure banking institutions are meaningfully reinvesting in all communities.
The Community Advisory Council (CAC) model builds on this foundation by providing a formal structure for expert and community input on banking institutions’ proposed projects. Committees are composed of local leaders and representatives from nonprofit organizations who understand the needs and priorities of underserved communities.
In this advisory role, CACs foster open dialogue to identify strategies to engage LMI borrowers and track progress on community commitments. They also guide banks in improving products and services to better meet community needs. At the core of CBAs, CACs and the CRA is a simple principle: the community – in partnership with the bank – defines its credit needs.
Since 2016, NCRC has facilitated agreements with 24 bank groups totaling $593.8 billion, driving impact across a wide range of initiatives – from small business development programs to homeownership training to climate resiliency initiatives.
The following case studies highlight both emerging and established CAC models, offering insight into the impact and longevity of these tools for change.
First Citizens Bank in Raleigh, North Carolina
Founded in 1898 and currently operating in 19 states, First Citizens Bank is a leader in the CBP space. Its five-year, $16 billion community reinvestment plan developed alongside NCRC is evidence of the bank’s strong commitment to communities through housing, small business lending and community development programming.
Charged with ensuring community voices and interests are meaningfully reflected in the CBP, First Citizens’ CAC includes 13 members from across the bank’s broad market.
The plan has maintained steady momentum and performed well over the past four years, with only a small number of components remaining as it nears completion this year.
“Our guiding principle since day one is leadership’s commitment to doing the plan and to doing it right,” said Mike Atkinson, senior vice president and senior director of community development at First Citizens. “The message was clear to commit wholeheartedly to fulfilling it and so that’s what we’ve done.”
A key driver of the plan’s success is transparency with First Citizen’s CAC and the community. First Citizens compiled a 100-plus page document for its CAC to review before each meeting with details from all of the bank’s business units that play a role in the CBP’s work.
“It’s about pulling the curtain back and telling you exactly what we’re doing. What’s good, not so good, or hasn’t started yet,” Atkinson said. “Transparency, thoroughness and comprehensiveness of information is critical.”
First Citizens prioritizes strengthening community relationships by holding regular CAC meetings promoting collaborative discussions within committee members’ local markets.
“It has been a really productive relationship for us,” said CAC member and Senior Director of Operations at Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership Susan Adams. “I would encourage community organizations to take advantage of the opportunity to provide candid feedback and establish new partnerships in their work.”
Though new to First Citizens’ CAC, Symone Crawford, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Affordable Homeownership Alliance, has extensive experience serving on other CACs and said the model helps ease the challenges community development organizations face in building relationships with lenders.
“As a community serving low- to moderate-income individuals, we recognize that most times the solutions we seek and the proposals put forth happen without people at the table who will actually be impacted,” Crawford explained. “It’s gratifying to bring that to meetings and have lenders actually listen… Our voices and experiences are important for meaningful impact in the community [and] the [CAC model] provides an opportunity for that.”
SouthState Bank in Winter Haven, Florida
In March 2025, SouthState Bank announced a five-year, $8.3 billion plan to support underserved communities in their service area.
“We’re continuing a 90-plus-year legacy of fair banking practices and service to our communities and are proud to build on our core values as a community-centric bank,” said SouthState’s Senior Vice President and Director of Community Engagement Mellissa Slover-Athey.
Slover-Athey said SouthState sees NCRC as a leader in community engagement, which is why the bank proactively approached them during the course of the CBP creation process. SouthState and NCRC conducted community listening sessions with leaders from SouthState’s eight-state footprint to inform the specific goals and outcomes of the CBP.
“Our team [met] with organizations to understand the community, meet the players and learn the geography, while simultaneously [holding] strategic planning [sessions] looking at product and service development,” Slover-Athey said.
SouthState will hold the inaugural meeting of its 15-member CAC this fall. Slover-Athey is confident in the group’s potential and sees it as a reflection of the bank’s commitment to transparency, trust building and advancing equity in the community.
“[The CAC model] helps us build meaningful and lasting connections,” Slover-Athey said. “It helps us ease burdens, create a sense of well-being and do what’s right for our customers and the community at all times.”
Nicole Rothstein is a Contributing Writer with NCRC’s Communications team.
Photo caption: Announcement of SouthState Bank CBA during this year’s NCRC Just Economy Conference.
