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Why These Banks

Green America’s Get a Better Bank map includes over 3000 mission-driven banks and credit unions, with over 17,000 branches across the country. We selected these financial institutions based on the memberships and certifications listed below.

People looking to align their banking with their values have several better banking tools to choose from. Some such as Bank for Good list only banks and credit unions that have signed a fossil-free pledge. Other tools such as Mighty Deposits list every bank and credit union in the country, with information about their ownership and lending practices.  

While we encourage everyone to try a variety of better banking tools available, what sets Green America’s Get a Better Bank map apart is that we concentrate on community development banks and credit unions. The mission of these institutions is to build their communities; they are too small to engage in lending that harms the economy.

Instead, these banks and credit unions build their communities through financing affordable housing, small businesses, community services, environmental projects, and more. They often have a special mission of serving women, low income, and minority communities.  

Moving your accounts from a megabank to a community development bank or credit union listed on this website will ensure your money is used for good. 

Memberships and certifications 

Here are the criteria, memberships, and certifications Green America used in determining which banks and credit unions to list on our Get a Better Bank map: 

Community development financial institutions (CDFIs) are lenders with a mission to provide fair, responsible financing to rural, urban, Native, and other communities that mainstream finance doesn’t usually reach, according to Opportunity Finance Network. Unlike traditional banks, CDFIs specialize in lending to people, organizations, and businesses in under-resourced communities, offering clients financial education, business coaching, and low-interest loans that increase economic potential and build wealth. CDFIs support small businesses and homeownership, create living wage jobs, finance schools, grocery stores, health care centers, climate solutions, and more. 

Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) are: 

  • Banks in which the majority of voting shares are owned by minority individuals, or a majority of the board of directors is minority and the community the institution serves is predominantly minority.  
  • Credit unions in which a majority of current members, the board of directors, and the community it serves fall within any eligible minority groups.  

Minority ownership categories include: 

  • Black or African American owned 
  • Hispanic American owned 
  • Asian or Pacific Islander American owned 
  • Native American or Alaskan Native American owned 
  • Multi-racial American owned 
  • Women Owned 

Per NCUA regulations, a credit union may receive low-income designation (LID) if more than 50 percent of its members have a family income of 80 percent or less than the median family income for the metropolitan area where they live or national metropolitan area, whichever is greater. The low-income designation gives credit unions: 

  • Greater access to capital for small business lending 
  • Eligibility for grants and low-interest loans 
  • Authority to obtain supplemental capital 

About half of all federally insured credit unions have low-income designation.  

Founded in 1974, Inclusiv is a federation of community development credit unions whose mission is to help low- and moderate-income people and communities achieve financial independence. Members of Inclusiv specialize in providing:  

  • Fairly priced loans, including to members with imperfect, limited or no credit history 
  • A safe place to save and build assets 
  • A place to conduct transactions at reasonable cost 
  • Financial education and counseling for its members 
  • Products, services and support that can help members to free themselves from high-cost and predatory debt, gain control over their personal finances, and achieve economic well-being. 

Find Inclusiv’s membership directory here.  

B Corp certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.  

In order to achieve certification, a company must:  

  • Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing a risk review.  
  • Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their jurisdiction.  
  • Exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website. 

Over 9,300 companies worldwide have received B Corp certification from B Lab, including 14 B Corp banks in the United States.

The Global Alliance for Banking on Values (GABV) is an international network of frontrunner organizations and leaders in the banking industry that use finance to serve people and the planet. Our collective goal is to make the banking system more transparent and support positive economic, social and environmental change. There are 70 member banks worldwide, with 14 in the United States. 

Green America’s Green Business Network® (GBN) is the first and most diverse network of socially and environmentally responsible businesses in the country. Comprised of 2,000 businesses, GBN is home to both rising social and eco enterprises and the most established green businesses around. So far GBN includes nine banks and credit unions, with more to be added soon. 

The Green Business Network is a program of Green America, the nation’s leading non-profit organization working to build a green and just economy. 

Banks vs credit unions 

While both banks and credit unions provide a variety of financial products such as checking and savings accounts, money market and certificates of deposit, and credit cards issued by their own or another institution, there are some differences. 

  • Banks are typically for-profit institutions owned by shareholders. Credit unions are typically non-profit institutions owned by their members. 
  • Anyone can open an account at a bank, while credit unions have membership eligibility requirements, such as people who live in a specific community, work for a specific employer, belong to a specific union, or are or members of a specific place of worship or nonprofit organization.  
  • Banks tend to have more of their own branches and ATMs nationwide, but credit unions often have shared branches and ATMs with other credit unions.  
  • Banks sometimes have more advanced technology and more options for banking, retirement, and investments. Credit unions often offer lower fees and higher interest rates.  
  • The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures bank deposits, while the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) insures credit union deposits – in both cases up to $250,000. 

Whether you are looking into a bank or credit union, check their website to make sure they offer the services you need.  

The Get a Better Bank map locates banks with purple pins, credit unions with teal pins. Each listing includes a link to the institution’s website for further information.

About

Get a Better Bank, an initiative by Green America, is dedicated to helping individuals and businesses align their banking choices with their values. We believe that where you bank matters. Too many large banks finance harmful industries that contribute to environmental destruction and social injustice.

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