Urban Strategies Inc. Gets $1.5M Truist Grant for Small Business Lending
The Truist grant will expand USI's CDFI loan fund and bring capital and technical support to entrepreneurs in five new cities.
Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI) announced it has received a $1.5 million grant from Truist to strengthen community wealth building and broaden access to capital for emerging small businesses, the Memphis-based organization disclosed Oct. 6, 2026.
The funding will be directed toward expanding USI's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) small business loan fund, a vehicle designed to channel credit to entrepreneurs who often lack access to conventional bank financing. Alongside direct capital, the initiative will provide technical assistance and create pathways to business ownership for underserved entrepreneurs.
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USI said the grant will enable the organization to extend its reach into five additional cities, though specific markets were not identified in the announcement. The expansion signals a broader geographic ambition for a program that has historically concentrated its community investment work in Memphis and surrounding areas.
The Truist investment reflects a continuing trend among major financial institutions directing philanthropic and mission-driven capital toward CDFIs, which federal regulators recognize as key intermediaries for closing persistent gaps in small business financing in low- and moderate-income communities. Technical assistance components bundled with loan access are widely regarded by community development practitioners as critical to improving entrepreneur survival rates.
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