GETTING READY TO GROW: HOW SMALL CAPITAL DRIVES ECONOMIC MOBILITY
Press kit  ·  September 16, 2026  ·  MetLife, 200 Park Avenue, New York, and online
Press contact: Gustavo Banchero, Director of Communications — getready@ascendus.org

CONTENTS
  logos/      Ascendus logo pack, SVG and PNG, with usage rules in logos/README.txt
  headshots/  Tia Hodges, Paul Quintero, Brett Theodos, Neysa Cruceta
  research/   Urban Institute case study, Part One, October 2025
  press-release.pdf
  social-copy.txt
  boilerplate.txt

Photography of small business owners is not included. It is available on request,
with caption and credit information: getready@ascendus.org

CITING THE FIGURES
Two figures carry a qualifier that changes what they mean. Please quote them in full.
  76%  of accounts in active good standing OR CLOSED WITH OBLIGATIONS MET,
       as of March 2025. It is not a good-standing figure on its own.
  41%  of borrowers EVALUATED FOR AN INCREASE moved to the $5,000 line or beyond.
       Across all 174 borrowers, the figure is 35%.

Research findings are attributed to the Urban Institute, not to Ascendus.
Part One does not measure credit-score impact; please do not report that the
program raises credit scores.

The Urban Institute brief permits reproduction with attribution to the Urban Institute.
