In honor of Juneteenth, celebrated tomorrow, we celebrate the work we’re doing in Texas to make sure that underserved entrepreneurs — which includes many African Americans — have access to the resources they need to succeed.
Last year, CAMEO Network hired Caleb Ostrander to lead our CDFI outreach efforts in Texas as part of our national expansion. With nearly a decade of experience supporting small business owners through technical assistance, Caleb joined CAMEO Network to continue connecting entrepreneurs with the resources they need to thrive. Our work in Texas has centered around two major types of engagement: training and ecosystem support.
Training
Eight emerging and established CDFIs participate in CDFI Essentials cohorts to enhance their skills, learn how to create policies and manage risk while serving disadvantaged communities in Texas. We have had several other CDFIs, as well as many Business Serving Organizations (BSOs) join National CDFI Academy courses and other trainings hosted by CAMEO Network. Additionally, we were presenters at the Texas Community Development Conference and regularly participate in Texas CDFI Coalition calls.
This week our policy team hosted our first legislative advocacy training for members of the Texas CDFI Coalition. We held an Advocacy 101 that focused on how to educate legislative offices on small business issues and shared an update on federal policy actions impacting small businesses. Our Texas friends can email Daniela Fernandez-Ulen for a copy of the TX Advocacy Toolkit for the upcoming congressional recess periods.
Ecosystem Building/Support
CAMEO Network is an active participant in the North Texas Capital Access coalition. Examples of our efforts:
- hosted two ecosystem roundtables that will continue on a quarterly basis,
- tabled at DFW Startup Week, and
- hosted other ecosystem gatherings including a social hour, coffee at OFN’s SBFF, and a small business resource fair.
Through our work, we’ve been nominated twice for Capital Access Champion, and once for Ecosystem Supporter of the Year at the AMPLIFY Awards, which honors organizations and entrepreneurs in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.
We also had a strong presence at this year’s OFN Small Business Finance Forum in Austin. Conversations at the forum emphasized closer collaboration in the industry, the role of AI in advancing our work, and innovative ideas for the future of the industry. Our CEO, Carolina Martinez, addressed the latter in the closing plenary where she spoke about CAMEO Network’s Shared Services Center and how combining resources in back office support frees up capacity for CDFIs and technical assistance providers to focus on the mission — resourcing and supporting small businesses.
For more information or to become involved in our work in Texas, reach out to Caleb Ostrander.