In this Must Know…
- Big Savings! Early Bird registration is now open for our 2026 Conference: Collective Power in Action
- CAMEO Out and About
- 2026 Small Business Credit Survey results
- Join our virtual AI roundtable on March 12, 2026 at 12:00pm PT / 3:00pm ET
- Join our 2026 Advocacy Day on June 2
- March is Women’s History Month. Support women-owned businesses in your community!
- This week’s Goodie Highlight is the recap of the Entrepreneurship Exchange 2025 convening, where our CEO, Carolina, was a panelist
2026 CAMEO Network Conference: Early Bird Tickets Now Available
Join us November 16-18, 2026 at the Hayes Mansion in San Jose, California for Collective Power in Action — our 2026 conference. This event will bring our sector together to address the most pressing issues facing small businesses, including capital access, funding and policy shifts, a new Congress, and more.
Early Bird Registration is open! For a limited time, we are offering 25% off on general admission and 50% off for CAMEO Network members (email Sandra Flores for the member discount code).
CAMEO Out and About
February was a busy month for the CAMEO team and we’re rolling into March with the same momentum.
Last week, our CDFI Programs team, led by Douglas Craven, was in Phoenix, AZ to deliver CAMEO Network’s signature Microlending Essentials training to the staff at Raza Development Fund.
Last Friday, we held our first Entrepreneurship Advantage meetup of the year and welcomed California Assemblymember Jose Luis Solache to engage with our Los Angeles members.
This week, CAMEO Network CEO, Carolina Martinez, participated in a briefing for California state legislative staff in Sacramento with CalCCI, LIIF, and HFA on the great work that CDFIs do for the state’s economy.
CAMEO Network COO, Mark Herbert, joined Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee at Amalgamated Bank’s CDFI Salon last week and is in DC this week for the Milken Institute’s Future of Finance summit.
2026 Report on 2025 Small Business Credit Survey
Results from the Federal Reserve’s 2025 Small Business Credit Survey reveal mounting financial strain across the sector. Three in four small businesses cited tariffs and inflation as challenges, while a growing share turned to online lenders only to face higher-than-expected costs. Just 52% of applicants received the full financing they sought—down from 62% in 2019—while Black- and Latino-owned businesses were approved at roughly half the rate of white-owned businesses.
The Goodies
Events and Webinars
- Public Counsel is hosting a webinar on March 12, 2026 at 11:00am PT for California nonprofits and small businesses to learn about new employment laws in 2026.
- The California Budget & Policy Center’s annual conference, Policy Insights, takes place April 22, 2026 in Sacramento, CA.
New Research
- The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation recently released the report “Economic Impacts of Federal Immigration Enforcement in Los Angeles County.”
- A new report from Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement explores which civic terms connect across differences and which don’t.
For Your Clients
- Bet Tzedek is hosting the webinar “Small Business Entity Choice Basics” on March 18, 2026 at 10:00am PT as part of their Compliance and Legal Foundation Series.
- Accion Opportunity Fund launched the Ripple Digital Leap Forward Accelerator, designed to help small businesses strengthen digital tools and operate more efficiently. Applications close March 18, 2026.
Other Goodies
- Industry News: Read the recap of the Entrepreneurship Exchange 2025 convening. Carolina Martinez participated in a plenary panel on how to create new entrepreneurial opportunities in North America.
- Jobs: The Institute for Social Transformation at UCSC, Working Solutions, and The Center at Lendistry announced new jobs recently. See who else is hiring!