The Hope Policy Institute is a project of the Hope Credit Union and the Hope Enterprise Corporation that advocates for policies and public funding that address socioeconomic issues for Black Americans, LGBT people, and rural Southerners. 1 2 3
Hope Policy Institute has advocated for increasing funding for Medicaid and eliminating tax cuts in Mississippi. Following the Great Recession of 2008 to 2009, the Hope Policy Institute advocated for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), including the Hope Credit Union, to be eligible for corporate welfare, which led to CDFIs being eligible to use the Troubled Asset Relief Program. 4
History
The Hope Policy Institute is a project of the Hope Credit Union and the Hope Enterprise Corporation that originated in the early 2000s when the organizations began advocating for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to make the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program available to Community Development Financial Institutions. The Hope Policy Institute reports that the IRS rulings resulted in the Hope Credit Union and other CDFIs being able to obtain “billions of dollars” from the tax credit. 4
In 2006, the Hope Credit Union created the predecessor to the Hope Policy Institute, named the Mississippi Economic Policy Center (MEPC), to continue advocacy efforts in response to the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Mississippi. MEPC was initially funded by the Hope Credit Union and the Mississippi Center for Justice and had joined the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ State Fiscal Analysis Initiative (SFAI), which is now called the State Priorities Partnership (SPP). 4
Advocacy
In March 2022, the Hope Policy Institute co-published a report with the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis titled “High-Cost Debt Traps Widen Racial Wealth Gap in Memphis.” The report discussed the number of “high cost” lenders in Memphis, Tennessee who offer various loan products that have high interest rates, “unaffordable terms,” and “coercive repayment mechanisms.” It also points out that there are a disproportionate number of such lenders in predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods and argues that the use of such loans is a substantial source of wealth disparities between ethnic minorities and white people. To address the issue, the report advocates for policies that prohibit or restrict the establishment of such businesses by denying businesses licenses and zoning ordinances. It also advocates for regulations that restrict interest rates and repayment terms as well as publicly- and privately-funded welfare programs to address financial hardships that result in people relying on hardship loans. 5
In June 2024, the Hope Policy Institute published a blog post that discussed data showing that Black Americans have substantially lower home-ownership rates and mortgage-approval rates compared to white Americans. It criticizes traditional mortgage underwriting processes, arguing they are responsible for the wealth disparity created by the lower approval rates. The post advocates that lenders adopt Hope Credit Union’s manual underwriting process that accepts lower credit scores, allows for “nontraditional indicators of credit repayment,” has lower income requirements, and offers mortgages with higher leverage for lower income applicants in comparison to traditional requirements. 2
In June 2024, the Hope Policy Institute published a blog post that criticizes the low homeownership LGBT people. It compares the homeownership rates to those of all white Americans. In response, the post advocates for downpayment assistance programs for LGBT people and for federal legislation that provides discrimination protections in lending, housing, and employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 3
In September 2024, the Hope Policy Institute held an Economic Mobility Forum that discussed socioeconomic issues faced by Southern rural communities. It advocates for federally-funded corporate subsidies and infrastructure programs to address poverty issues. At the forum, Hope Policy Institute director Kiyadh Burt argued that states in the Mississippi River delta are also in need of federal funding as he claims they are at greater risk of future climate disasters because of climate change. 6
Leadership
Kiyadh Burt is the director of the Hope Policy Institute. 7
References
- “History.” Hope Policy Institute. Accessed January 20, 2025. http://hopepolicy.org/whoweare/about/history/.
- Black households still face higher mortgage denials than white applicants. Accessed January 20, 2025. http://hopepolicy.org/blog/black-households-still-face-higher-mortgage-denials-than-white-applicants-research-finds/.
- “LGBT Americans in the Deep South face Disparities in Housing.” Hope Policy Institute. Accessed January 20, 2025. http://hopepolicy.org/blog/7145.
- [1]“History.” Hope Policy Institute. Accessed January 20, 2025. http://hopepolicy.org/whoweare/about/history/.
- Interactive, MWB. “High-Cost Debt Traps Widen Racial Wealth Gap in Memphis.” Hope Policy Institute. Accessed January 20, 2025. http://hopepolicy.org/reports/high-cost-debt-traps-widen-racial-wealth-gap-in-memphis/.
- “HOPE Economic Mobility Forum – Seizing the Moment: Maximizing Federal Investment in Under Resourced Communities, West Memphis.” Hope Policy Institute. September 25, 2024. http://hopepolicy.org/blog/hope-economic-mobility-forum-seizing-the-moment-maximizing-federal-investment-in-under-resourced-communities-west-memphis/.
- “Kiyadh Burt.” Hope Policy Institute. Accessed January 20, 2025. http://hopepolicy.org/team/kiyadh-burt/.