Community Partnership

“We want to be part of those organizations that serve those areas of the community that we’re not able to touch because if we develop those relationships and we can serve in other ways outside of lending money or taking a deposit, that’s where we want to be.” – Ryan Murphy, Pinnacle Area Manager in Chattanooga

Pinnacle always seeks to make a significant positive impact on the communities we serve, and partners are an essential part of that.

“What we’d like to see is prosperity shared by all, but that’s not always the case,” said Craig Holley, Pinnacle’s chairman in Chattanooga. “That means we have to expand access to credit, and we want to do that across all markets. … As traditional banks, there are just some things that we can’t always do. But by partnering with others and making some of our resources available to them, good things begin to happen as we expand our reach.”

BrightBridge Capital is a community development financial institution in Chattanooga, which means it’s a nonprofit designed to support startups, small businesses and other organizations that need capital but may not fit the mold needed for traditional lending.

In 2022, Pinnacle made a $5 million investment in BrightBridge to fund their lending and expand access to capital. One beneficiary of this investment was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chattanooga.

“We’ve been at this location at the corner of Willow and Bailey in Chattanooga for 54 years, and we need larger space,” said Jessica Whatley, CEO of the organization. “We need more functional space, and it’s just been ‘How do we get to do that?’ Pinnacle’s been our longtime banking partner, and so we had conversations with them. I didn’t know these types of loans even existed, and so really it just changed the game for us on getting this project done.”

With a new loan from BrightBridge, and funded by Pinnacle’s investment, BBBS opened the Warner Mentoring Hub, a new home for the connections they make between adults and kids.

“Our mission is to create one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth,” Whatley said. “ I think when anyone walks into this building, it’s hard not to feel excited and motivated about the potential of our youth and what they can become.”

Added Ryan Murphy, Pinnacle’s area manager, “We want to be part of those organizations that serve those areas of the community that we’re not able to touch because if we develop those relationships and we can serve in other ways outside of lending money or taking a deposit, that’s where we want to be.”