SENT Is Not the Answer: Improving Trust In Mainstream Financial Institutions in Under-Resourced Communities

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So often in the nonprofit world, we enter spaces with deep care and genuine concern for our friends and neighbors. We listen to stories about barriers that stand in the way of economic mobility, life transformation, and stability. Those barriers show up in many forms: food insecurity, financial stress, health challenges, and broader socioeconomic pressures that compound over time.

And yet, in our desire to advocate well, we can sometimes fall into a subtle trap. We begin to talk about these barriers in ways that unintentionally villainize our for‑profit brothers and sisters. Our frustration, often born from real pain and lived experience, can turn into a storyline that positions business and finance as enemies rather than partners. When that happens, the story starts to work against the very communities we care so deeply about.

One of the things I consistently try to speak into when I enter these conversations is a word of caution. We should resist the urge to villainize those who operate in the for‑profit world and instead see them as essential partners in building stable, thriving communities.

Take food insecurity as an example.

At SENT, we operate a low‑barrier, client‑choice food pantry. Families can come regardless of income level or where they live, and they can shop with dignity, much like they would at a grocery store. At full capacity, our pantry can serve about 600 families a month.

That matters. But it also reveals a reality we need to name honestly.

There is no scenario in which SENT, or any single nonprofit, could meet the total food needs of our community. And even if we could, it would not be wise to try. If we displaced all the business of our local grocery stores and food providers, we would also strip our community of jobs, local investment, and the economic activity that helps families stay stable in the long run.

That is why, when we advertise our pantry each week, we are very intentional. We want families to know what they can receive from us at no cost so they can make informed decisions about how to best use their limited dollars when they shop with our for‑profit partners. The goal is not replacement. The goal is to be complementary.

We regularly lift up and celebrate our for‑profit partners like Dillon’s, Aldi, and Hildebrand Farms Dairy. These businesses are not side notes to our work. They are essential to it.

The same mindset is just as important when it comes to financial institutions.

This is a harder conversation, and it is one we cannot avoid.

The longer individuals and families remain unbanked or disconnected from financial institutions, the longer financial instability persists and the greater the harm it causes to the broader community. I understand the frustrations many of our neighbors have with banks. Those frustrations are real. I have experienced them myself, both in my past and in ways that continue into the present.

Acknowledging that pain does not require us to write banks off. It invites us to imagine better partnerships.

Capitol Federal Bank has been a tremendous partner to SENT. So have CoreFirst Bank & Trust, Kaw Valley Bank, Envista Credit Union, and Azura Credit Union. These institutions have come alongside our mission in meaningful ways, helping us do the work we are called to do in this community.

I believe there are practical, achievable steps we can take together to build trust where it has been broken. Programs that address the burden of banking fees are one example. Through Community Reinvestment Act investments, banks and community partners like SENT could collaborate on initiatives that provide fee-free or reduced-fee banking for individuals in specific neighborhoods or income brackets. As people grow in financial literacy and stability, those supports could be gradually and thoughtfully stepped back.

And to be clear, this isn’t a purely theoretical idea. We already have adjacent models that show the building blocks.

First, there is the national Bank On movement, led by the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, which certifies checking accounts designed for people who have been harmed by unpredictable fees. A core feature of Bank On-certified accounts is simple: low costs and no overdraft fees.

Second, there are city-level pilots that paired financial coaching with safer account access. New York City’s Office of Financial Empowerment created the NYC SafeStart Account as part of a basic account pilot offered through partner banks and credit unions. The account was available through the city’s Financial Empowerment Centers and was structured to avoid overdraft and monthly fees under clear conditions.

Third, there are examples of banks providing targeted fee relief during times of hardship. During the COVID-19 period, for example, some large banks described client assistance programs that included case-by-case support and could involve overdraft and insufficient-funds fee relief. Programs like that show that fee relief is operationally possible. They also reinforce an important lesson: relief must be clear, consistent, and transparent—or it can create more distrust than it resolves.

SENT’s opportunity is to help take these pieces and shape them into a local, neighbor-centered bridge: safe accounts with predictable rules, paired with relational support, and backed by time-bound fee relief that is designed to fade as stability grows.

What SENT Is Proposing

“Trust is not built overnight. It is built through consistency, transparency, and shared responsibility.” 

This approach is intentionally simple and shared. First, it starts with fee-safe banking products, such as Bank On–certified accounts, that prevent harm before it occurs. Second, it adds a temporary, clearly defined pool of support, potentially funded through Community Reinvestment Act investments or philanthropic capital, to help cover unavoidable fees for high-risk account holders during a limited on-ramp period. Third, it pairs those tools with relational financial coaching and community-based trust, so that support decreases as confidence, stability, and financial capability increase.

“This is not about shielding people from responsibility. It is about creating a fair starting line.”

Over time, the goal is full participation in the financial system without special accommodations, because stability has been built, relationships have been formed, and trust has been restored.

Trust is not built overnight. It is built through consistency, transparency, and shared responsibility.

Recent research from the Urban Institute helps explain why this trust gap matters so much. In a 2025 Urban Wire analysis of new survey data, only 55 percent of unbanked respondents said they trusted banks, compared to 88 percent of those who were banked. High and unpredictable fees, lack of transparency, and prior negative experiences were cited as leading reasons people chose to remain outside the mainstream banking system. Notably, nearly 40 percent of unbanked respondents said they would consider opening a bank account if fees were eliminated or significantly reduced.

Banks have a role to play. And nonprofits like SENT have a role to play as well.

Our role is not to replace financial institutions or to broker every transaction on behalf of our neighbors.

The Urban Institute data also underscores why remaining unbanked is not a neutral choice. More than half of respondents who reported having a bank account still relied on alternative financial services such as prepaid cards, check-cashing services, or short-term loans. These products often carry higher costs and fewer protections, quietly draining resources from households and neighborhoods that can least afford it. Over time, this financial leakage weakens families and undermines local economic stability. We are not meant to be permanent middlemen or gatekeepers. SENT is not the answer.

Our role is to be a bridge when trust has been earned. To lend our credibility where appropriate. To help open doors so that individuals and families can become fully connected to the systems they will one day need: mortgages, small business loans, car financing, and education funding for their children.

We are channels. We are gate openers. We are encouragers and advocates.

When we take data seriously, when we listen carefully to lived experience, and when we partner deeply across sectors, we create pathways toward stability that no single organization could build alone. That is how communities move forward.

Not by finding the answer in one institution, but by walking together, across differences, toward something better.

Why This Matters Now

“Without trusted financial relationships, even families doing everything right are locked out of opportunity.”

This conversation matters now because housing stability, homeownership, and long-term wealth-building are increasingly out of reach for families who remain disconnected from the financial system. Without trusted banking relationships, families are locked out of mortgages, small business capital, and fair credit. Communities suffer when capital cannot circulate locally and when economic growth bypasses entire neighborhoods. If we are serious about expanding homeownership, strengthening local economies, and creating pathways to generational stability, then rebuilding trust between neighbors and financial institutions is not optional. It is foundational. This is the work of our moment: not choosing sides, but building bridges that allow families to move from survival to stability, and from stability to opportunity.

 

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