Though this past year was challenging, it was a year of tremendous opportunity. It gave us time to reflect and consider our legacy as both an industry and a nation, especially as it relates to financial equality, diversity, and inclusion. 

At Mission Lane, we recognize and value that diversity makes both our organization and our communities stronger. In fulfilling our commitment to serve nearly half of the adult U.S. population, it is imperative that we develop flexible solutions designed to meet our customers where they are in their lives. By bringing diverse perspectives to the table, we gain broader exposure to and a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities both our customers and employees face. Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging are core to our mission to help people thrive.

Committed to making a positive impact through our work, we are reviewing our internal policies for hiring, advancement, and partnerships, assessing our team and community engagement strategies, and bringing our greatest corporate strengths to bear in the fight against systemic financial inequality. 

Examining how we work

Our Mission Lane culture is built on a foundation of core values. These values inform the way we work with our customers, our partners, and each other.

In partnership with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, Mission Lane has participated in unconscious bias training in order to help create a common language, recognize our personal biases, provide tools to adjust automatic patterns of thinking, and work toward eliminating discriminatory behaviors. We will work to engage 100% of our employees within the next two years and support ongoing training thereafter.

We will also work to develop more internal transparency and advancement support for our teammates, and create more advancement opportunities for our hourly and salaried teammates. In the near future, we hope to expand our recruitment efforts to include game-changing talent from HBCU’s, professional affinity groups, and leaders of student organizations.

Last year we formed a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee to help our team uncover these and similar opportunities, as well as to share and learn about all facets of diversity by building cultural awareness and providing educational resources.

Engaging the communities we serve

This past year, we have taken time to listen, reflect, and educate ourselves on the fight for racial equality and the elimination of systemic racism in America.

Mission Lane also made donations to the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and smaller organizations. These contributions reflect an ongoing commitment to support community groups that are dedicated to equity and inclusion through our annual giving, with a particular focus in the Richmond, VA and San Francisco, CA communities where our offices are based.

Bringing our greatest strength to the fight

At Mission Lane, we believe that our data-driven culture can help us compete and win in a hyper-competitive space. We also recognize the value of harnessing data to generate insights that can help fight financial discrimination. As a company, we will begin investigating opportunities where data can inform inclusive product development and ultimately help bridge the wealth gaps in the communities we serve. 

Extending an invitation

Mission Lane is a young, growing company committed to redefining industry standards by providing excellent service, mutual respect, and fair access to financial freedom. As we continue to grow, we are dedicated to creating opportunities to engage our diverse customer base, listen to their stories, and stimulate conversation around meaningful inclusion. We know we don’t have this all figured out. We also know our measure of success will not be our intentions, but our impact. We are energized by the challenge of this important work and invite you to help hold us accountable.

Regards,
Shane Holdaway, CEO