CDFI Fund Awards | State Budget | Loan Loss Reserve Fund

Greetings!
Bear with us as we have LOTS of small biz news this week!

In this Must Know… 

CDFI Fund Awards

Photos of Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary Janet Yellen, and Congresswoman Maxine Waters announcing the CDFI Fund Awards.

This week, three powerful California women – Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary Janet Yellen, and Congressowman Maxine Waters – announced $1.25 billion in COVID-19 relief funds that will go to to 863 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The grants will be made through the U.S. Treasury’s CDFI Rapid Response Program and will provide necessary capital for CDFIs to respond to economic challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in underserved communities. California will receive $95 million.

Congratulations to the 20 CAMEO members who received a total of $27 million and to the other California lenders!


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State Budget

Governor Newsom and California lawmakers agreed this week on a placeholder budget that will allow them to continue negotiations before June 30. The budget does include $1.5 billion for the California Relief Grant program and $70 million for CDFI support, but the details will be worked out over the next couple of months in what’s called trailer bills. So stay tuned!

Read Carolina’s op-ed published earlier this week in the Sac Bee about how to make the budget more equitable.


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Loan Loss Reserve Fund

We are pleased to announce CAMEO’s new Request for Proposals!

CAMEO’s CDFI Incubator is now offering small grants for loan loss reserves to microlenders in an effort to support microlending to diverse entrepreneurs in California.

Please check out our RFP for more information on how to apply.

Applications are due June 30, 2021.


Juneteenth

Celebrating Juneteenth

June 19, 1865 marked the moment all slaves were finally informed of President Lincoln’s Emancipation Declaration. Today, it became a federal holiday. Juneteenth serves as a powerful reminder of what Black Americans have endured, how far they’ve come in their struggle for a dignified life, and how far our country must go to provide all its people with equal opportunities to thrive.

This year, we want to celebrate by highlighting Black leaders in our sector that are working toward an equitable society. We’ve also collected links to support Black-owned businesses and ways to celebrate Juneteenth around the state!


The Goodies

Professional Opportunities

For Your Clients

Other Goodies

  • COVID-19 Update: The California Department of Public Health released a State Public Health Officer Order with new guidelines to follow as the state’s economy fully opens this week.
  • Jobs: Working Solutions, the City of LA, the Microenterprise Collaborative of Inland Southern California, La Cocina, Renaissance, and WEV announced new jobs recently. See who else is hiring!