Memphis is the poorest metro area in the United States.
38126 is the poorest urban zip code in Tennessee.
Given those stats, it might be easy to make assumptions about the people who live here. One that would seem obvious is this: people in this neighborhood are quick to borrow money and slow to pay it back.
We wouldn't fault you for assuming this. We did. But you know what's beautiful? We were wrong.
We've offered Mercy Loans to our graduates for many years. These loans are meant to address an immediate, felt need and to help the graduate avoid the pitfall of payday loans at usurious interest rates. For the last 2 years, we've carefully tracked our Mercy Loan Data. Below are the statistics for 2011, which clearly prove that our grads repay that which they borrow. Their repayment allows us to "recycle" the funds, ensuring that other grads are able to benefit from Mercy Loans.
In short, because our grads are faithful in repaying, a mere $1500 has done all the work you see below. Read and be encouraged!
MERCY LOAN DATA: 2011
Mercy Loan budget: $1500 dollars to be rotated through repayment of loans.
Number of loans made in 2011: 128.
Average loan amount: $87.00.
Number of loans repaid, year to date: 106, paid in full.
Number of loans defaulted: 9.
Number of times we have revolved our loan pool:
7.4 times...that's $11,120!
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