Small Business Partnership

"Whether it was a nonprofit, a for profit, someone who has been in business for less than a year—they were right there sharing with them the knowledge of what they could do to help.”

Our firm was built as a small business bank, and it’s still true today. More than two decades of growth have allowed us to serve clients of increasing size, but small businesses remain essential both to Pinnacle and the communities they help grow.

To support entrepreneurs across the Southeast, we’ve built a vast network of financial professionals who can partner with them to take their companies to the next level. A key part of that work is intentional outreach into underserved populations to ensure we’re giving everyone an opportunity to succeed and build wealth.

Thanks to a $3 million commitment to the National Institute of Minority Economic Development, Pinnacle has become a vital partner to the people they serve in North Carolina. The Institute is a community development financial institution, which means they lend, make grants and offer a host of other supports to businesses and homeowners. They partner with larger financial institutions like Pinnacle to provide affordable and accessible funding and other resources to companies and homeowners throughout the state.

A big portion of that money went directly to THRIVE High Point, a program managed through the local chamber of commerce to support the needs of local minority- and woman-owned businesses. That money will go toward technical assistance, entrepreneurial mentorship and business coaching, some of which is provided by Pinnacle associates leading the Mastermind program.

This is just one of many examples of such partnerships across Pinnacle’s footprint. Because of our approach to banking—geographic organization, leading with advice and a mission to make a significant positive impact on our communities—we are able to find partners like The Institute and THRIVE High Point to help us maximize our impact and deploy capital in a more equitable fashion.

Small businesses are the core of every local economy, and we will do whatever it takes to grow them into positions of power and positive change for the communities they serve.