Pacific Community Ventures – a nonprofit small business lender that's fueled smaller businesses in Bay area and Oakland for 25 years – has just announced a new expansion to supply small businesses in Contra Costa County access the funding and business advice they have to boost their businesses, create jobs, and support the local economy. Nearly all businesses supported in the coming years will be minority-owned, women-owned, and immigrant-owned enterprises, reflecting the rich diversity of Contra Costa County's entrepreneurial community that includes underserved small business owners who're often overlooked in as they work to create wealth in the area.
Investing in small businesses combats rising income inequality by creating jobs with living wages; but, small businesses struggle to connect to the capital and support they have to grow. Every single day, 8,000 small company loan requests are declined by banks nationwide. Within California, African-American ladies and Latinas start businesses at rates greater than any other group, yet they're three-times as likely to be rejected for loans with a bank.
Pacific Community Ventures is working to change that, and to benefit local small businesses using the support they need – capital and advice. Chef Chew of Something Better Foods is one such small business owner. Something Better Foods crafts meatless gourmet foods that empower people to notice a better quality of life. Chef Chew keeps growing his company out of the kitchen space at Kitchen@812 in Pinole. He soon started out by crafting meatless proteins in his mom's kitchen, and continued to launch and run successful restaurants over 13 years – but he still couldn't find funding from a traditional bank as he tried to expand his business. So he came to Pacific Community Ventures, where we funded him to keep growing, create jobs, and fuel his dreams.
Banks are risk averse. Investors overlook opportunities in underserved geographies, and public budgets are shrinking, leaving smaller businesses with no resources they need. Since its founding in 1998, Pacific Community Ventures did with a large number of Bay Area businesses, helping them create thousands of local jobs. The companies that they use can access capital that traditional banks can't or won't provide, while wearing them a path to growth, stronger credit, and also to get them “bankable”.
“We know there is a big gap in funding for business owners of color, and that's why we're here. Pacific Community Ventures helps countless smaller businesses in San Francisco and Alameda counties. We're excited to be partnering with neighborhood organizations to grow into Contra Costa County,” said Mary Jo Cook, President and CEO of Pacific Community Ventures.
Small companies are the smoothness in our communities. The bakery which makes your preferred alfajores, the shop that sells those one-of-a-kind-shirts and hats you love, the home improvement store that walks you thru painting an area or repairing your showerhead. That list continues. Pacific Community Ventures thinks we should be empowering small business owners to increase their competitiveness yet still time creating quality jobs with better wages and simpler access to benefits. Then every community and worker within the San francisco bay area benefits.
- Business owners thinking about a loan can visit: https://www.pacificcommunityventures.org/loans
- General inquiries in order to help raise awareness about the initiative in your community: contact pduggan@pcvmail.org
