Progress Favors the Committed
We are establishing meaningful relationships, driving positive change and creating a better tomorrow, starting today.
We believe that where you bank matters. That’s why it’s our mission to be the most innovative bank empowering financial wellness. As a socially responsible bank, we offer financial products that aim to better the lives of our clients in Minnesota, South Dakota, and beyond. Since 1985, we have been committed to working with the communities we serve using innovative tools and resources that provide opportunities to gain stability, build generational wealth or start a business.
For 40 years, we have earned our reputation as a force for good by supporting the dreams, goals and visions of our customers and community members.
2025 Highlights
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- We launched card programs with three different companies, granting people who may not qualify for a credit card access to a rewards program.
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- Our customers designated an additional $3 million to Net Zero Deposits, 40% growth in the program since 2024.
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- For the second year in a row, we were recognized as a Top Place to Work by the Star Tribune and USA Today. We’re so grateful to our employees for their contributions to a company culture where our mission and values can live and breathe, helping to create a brighter future for all.
Igniting progress through the power of financial choices.
As a certified B Corp, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a member of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, Sunrise Banks does banking differently. We believe our customers’ financial choices have the power to impact our communities, and we proudly channel that power to ignite progress.
Through our commitments and our financially inclusive products, we provide the innovative solutions, expert support and positive change our communities deserve.
As a certified CDFI—and the first CDFI bank in Minnesota and South Dakota—at least 60% of Sunrise Banks loans are made in low-to-moderate income communities. By serving these traditionally underserved communities, we can live up to our mission to empower financial wellness.
62% of our loans in 2025 were made in low-to-moderate income communities.
As a CDFI bank devoted to financial and lending equity, Sunrise Banks has participated in the federal NMTC program since 2011. The program drives capital to communities with untapped economic potential to stimulate economic growth and revitalization for those communities.
To date, we’ve funded 92 projects and helped to create or retain over 7,600 jobs in low-to-moderate income communities in Minnesota.
In 2025 alone, Sunrise Banks deployed our New Markets Tax Credit allocation into 8 projects, which included rehabbing or constructing nearly 200,000 square feet of real estate. Through these projects, like the Indian Health Board’s new clinic, we anticipate helping to create or retain 211 jobs in these communities.
Because of our commitment to our communities, and our belief that everyone deserves to own their own home, we are proud to offer housing support like our Minnesota State Housing Tax Credit investments as well as our Credit Builder and Pathway2Home programs.
State Housing Tax Credit Investments
In 2025, we invested $334,000 in two affordable housing projects through the Minnesota State Housing Tax Credit.
Leijona is a 33-unit mixed-income building that will help address the severe housing shortage in Duluth.
The Heights is a Habitat for Humanity project in St. Paul with nearly 150 affordable units available for low-to-moderate income first-time homebuyers.
A healthy environment means a healthy economy. As part of our commitment to track and reduce carbon emissions, Sunrise Banks offers net zero banking options, including Net Zero Financing for qualifying commercial, business and nonprofit projects and Net Zero Deposits for business and personal banking accounts.
Net Zero Deposits
First launched in 2024, Net Zero Deposits empower customers to turn a basic bank account into a meaningful way to mitigate the impacts of climate change and support the transition to a net zero economy. By choosing to designate deposits from their Checking, Savings or CD accounts to net zero projects, customers directly support initiatives that reduce or avoid carbon emissions.
In 2025, our customers designated an additional $3 million to Net Zero Deposits, a 40% growth in the program since 2024.
Opening the door to a world of positive impact.
At Sunrise Banks, our mission is to be the most innovative bank by empowering financial wellness. This mission is advanced in large part through our financial technology (fintech) division. As both a community bank and a sponsor bank for fintech, payments, and lending companies aligned with our commitment to financial wellness, inclusivity, and sustainable growth, we are uniquely positioned to drive impact in our communities beyond traditional deposit products.
By combining the trust, equity and money-movement capabilities of Sunrise Banks with the technological reach of organizations like Self Financial, Inc. (Self) and BeneMoney, we can securely provide nontraditional and strategic credit and lending services to underbanked communities.
A debit card with rewards functions like a traditional debit card, drawing funds directly from a checking account while offering the added benefit of a credit card–style rewards program. These cards help level the playing field for consumers who may not qualify for a credit card or who prefer to avoid credit card fees.
In 2025, Sunrise Banks launched three new debit card with rewards partnerships: United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. As the issuer of debit cards with rewards for each of these brands, we’re able to further our mission of giving everyone the opportunity to achieve financial health—now and into the future.
As a longtime partner of Self Financial, Inc., Sunrise Banks provides support for their small Credit Builder accounts. These accounts give individuals with no or low credit the opportunity to build or rebuild their payment history without opening a credit card account. It’s a collaboration that allows both organizations to expand access to more equitable and inclusive banking solutions.
In 2025, Sunrise Banks helped originate over 363,830 Self Credit Builder loans for a total of $326,938,440.
In 2025, the TrueConnect loan product that Sunrise Banks acquired in 2024 rebranded to BeneMoney. This program allows employees to access short-term small loans through their employer without a credit check, helping them avoid predatory payday lenders and supporting their financial well-being.
$24m in funding was disbursed by BeneMoney in 2025, for a total of 8,724 new loans.
When our teams thrive, our members, partners and communities thrive alongside them.
We invest in our people so they can invest in others. Through professional development, inclusive leadership and a culture grounded in social impact, our employees are equipped to grow, lead and make a difference.
Sixty percent of Sunrise Banks’ board members are women—more than double the national average of 23.9% for public banks. This leadership diversity reflects our commitment to equity and inclusion and ensures a wide range of perspectives guide our decisions.
Investing in Employee Development
2025 was a milestone year for career development. Take a look at our employees’ achievements and accomplishments by the numbers.
15% of our employees earned an internal promotion. The national average is 10.3%.
25% of Sunrise Banks jobs were filled internally.
6 all-staff conversations were held as part of our RISE Committee. Each conversation was informed by a person’s unique lived experience to help broaden everyone’s perspective.
6 employee resource groups continued to be open to all team members, providing safer spaces to connect with their peers.
3 new pilot programs launched to continually support our employees’ career development: our Job Shadow Program, Mentorship Program, and Internal Internship Program.
Recognition means the most when it reflects the people and communities we serve.
$208,200 was given to local charities and nonprofits through Sunrise Banks community engagement sponsorship program, an increase of 25% over 2024.
$22,458 in client debt paid off in 2025 through our LSS Debt Management Plan partnership.
34 workshops run by our retail team covering topics like fraud prevention, budgeting, savings and building credit.
15 first-time homebuyer workshops run by our mortgage team for nearly 600 prospective homebuyers.
Awards and Recognition
In 2025, the honors we received weren’t just milestones, they were proof that we’ve made a measurable impact. We’re proud of the recognition. But we’re even prouder of what it represents: communities supported, small businesses strengthened and futures made more secure. These acknowledgments also belong to our employees, our members and our community partners, because progress is always a shared achievement.
2025 Top 200 Workplaces
The Minnesota Star Tribune
2025 Top Workplaces USA
USA Today
2025 Top Impact Companies
Real Leaders
Top 100 Impact CEOs – Big Path Capital
David Reiling – President/CEO
TCB Notables – Twin Cities Business
Kathleen Brenk – Chief People Officer (Notable Leaders in Talent & Recruitment)
Mary Stoick – SVP, Director of Tax Credit Lending (Notable Leaders in Banking)
Catherine Higgins Whiteside – SVP, Marketing & Communications (Notable Leaders in Marketing)
Amazing Outside Directors – BankNews.com
Jennifer Docherty – Board Member
Rising Stars in Banking – BankNews.com
Caitlin McMahon – VP, New Markets Tax Credit
Top Women in Finance – Finance & Commerce
Caitlin McMahon – VP, New Markets Tax Credit
Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal 40 Under 40
Laura Wildenborg – VP, Strategic Lending
2025 Classics Awards – Minnesota Public Relations Society of America (Minnesota PRSA)
Integrated Programs: Consumer Products & Services (for Net Zero Banking campaign)
Internal Communications (for Top Things to Know all-company newsletter)
2025 PR Daily Awards – Ragan Communications
Honorable Mention: Product Launch (for Net Zero Banking)
Honorable Mention: Finance/Banking Campaign (for Net Zero Banking)