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Microlenders Forum Fun and Member Kudos

In this Must Know…

  • Microlenders Forum Fun
  • Member Kudos
  • Federal Budget Update (yep, there’s new news)
  • Help us choose a new cover for CAMEO’s Facebook page by posting photos that you think best represent the micro sector by February 15, 2018. While you’re at there, ‘like’ us!
  • Take this simple two-question survey on social media channels you use.
  • The Goodies – This week’s highlight a West Coast listening session hosted by Prosperity Now on February 21, 11:30 am PST / 12:30 pm MST. Share solutions that help families thrive and close the racial wealth divide and discuss opportunities to engage at local, regional or federal levels.

Microlenders Forum Fun


We had an excellent day with over 70 members learning about credit needs, how SBA’s Community Advantage can help build sustainability into CDFI loan programs, how to partner with banks, and what’s new in the MicroLending Academy. Thanks to Google Foundation for the community space. Stay tuned next week for a blog post and a list of resources. For now… follow us on twitter and retweet!

Member Kudos

Everyone is doing such great stuff, I wanted to highlight it all here with a special shout out to a few efforts that are helping African American entrepreneurs and other people of color – Happy Black History Month!

Working Solutions, ICA Fund Good Jobs and Pacific Community Ventures are partnering with JPMorgan Chase to launch the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund in San Francisco with a $3.1 million investment. Investing in small business combats rising income inequality by creating jobs with living wages, and yet, small businesses owned by people of color struggle to access the capital and consulting support they need to grow and thrive. The San Francisco Entrepreneurs of Color Fund aims to close that gap with affordable capital, financial advice, one-on-one mentoring, and practical business education – all designed to spur the growth, profitability, and sustainability of companies owned by people of color in San Francisco.

CAMEO boardmember Rani Langer-Croager talks with Konda Mason and Annie McShiras of the Runway Project, a national initiative designed to fix the friends and family financing gap for African American entrepreneurs. Learn about the collaboration between the Runway Project, Self-Help Federal Credit Union, and Uptima Business Bootcamp in Oakland, to pilot a new financial product and investment fund that bridges the funding and support gap for African American entrepreneurs.

Congrats to AEO who received a $1.15 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to help black business owners overcome entrepreneurial barriers.

Congrats to Melanie Rae and Guided Business Plan who has been selected as one of the 2018 Shining from Within Honoree’s by Guiding Star Board for her work helping women veteran’s through our WOVEN program.

In response to the fires and mudslides in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties Women’s Economic Ventures reached out to others looking to help. In partnership with local organizations and local, state, and federal officials, WEV has been working to support the resilience and vitality of their business community by providing information and services to anyone and everyone who might benefit from them. Visit their web pages, in English and Spanish, for information including details on the SBA’s Disaster Recovery Loans. Thank you for the great work you’ve done.

Congrats to the California recipients of the CDFI Fund’s New Market Tax Initiative! Central Valley NMTC Fund, Los Angeles Development Fund, Low Income Investment Fund, National New Markets Fund, Northern California Community Loan Fund, Opportunity Fund (CAMEO member), and San Francisco Community Investment Fund received a total of $335 million out of a total of $3.5 billion in New Market Tax Credit awards.

AnewAmerica is one of 25 finalists (out of 3000 national nominations) for the Renewal Awards sponsored by The Atlantic and Allstate. The awards nationally recognize non-profits that are making positive changes in their communities. Five winners receive a $20,000 grant and five runner-ups will receive a $10,000 grant. Please vote by February 21, 2018 (no login required.) Good luck!

Small Business Majority is taking the lead on Venturize, an all-in-one resource hub for small business financing options developed by Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), will help connect small firms with approved lenders and business assistance providers that want to see America’s small businesses succeed. Venturize currently offers unbiased education and resources to small business owners seeking loans to empower them to make the best financing decision for their business.

If you have something you want me to highlight, please email me!

Federal Budget Update

Because you need to know… The news on two federal budgets out this week.

FY 2018 budget: After missing a midnight deadline and a brief partial government shutdown, last week Congress passed a two-year budget agreement that will raise existing budget caps on defense and non-defense spending and suspend the debt ceiling for one year. The Senate passed the measure 71-28 and the House 240-186. The agreement will temporarily finance the government at the current FY17 levels through March 23, allotting time for Congress to work out details for longer term spending. The bill also extends funding for disaster aid, Community Development Block Grants, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Community Health Centers.

White House FY19 Budget: President Trump released his FY19 Budget Request. As a reminder, the President proposes, Congress appropriates. This budget is used as a blueprint of the Administration’s priorities and the numbers are used as a suggestion for Congress.

The SBA’s total budget is $834 million, a $53 million (5.9%) decrease proposed from FY17 enacted level. The program dollar amounts that were specified include:

  • SBA Business Loans: $43B
  • TA Grant Funds for Microloan: $25M + $4M in subsidy resources to support $42M in direct lending
  • Disaster Relief Lending to Businesses: $1B
  • Small Business Development Centers (SBDC): $110M
  • SBA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG): $21.9M
  • SBA Office of Advocacy: $21.9M

The White House allocates $14 million to CDFIs to run down the program. Rural economic development was zeroed out, but broadband investments are funded. Do not fear. In FY2017 CDFI’s were funded at $250M and if Congress can pass a FY 2018 budget, it’s estimated the fund will get $253M.

According to Prosperity Now’s analysis – The President’s FY19 Budget: Pay Attention to What He Does, Not What He Says – the President’s budget proposal bodes poorly for low- and moderate-income families. It calls for deep cuts to programs such as SNAP, TANF and Medicaid, along with a number of community development programs.

The Goodies

New opportunities for training, conference information, funding, scholarships, and other information that have crossed our desks since the last Must Know. I have posted a running tab of current Industry Goodies on the CAMEO website that lists items that were in past emails. Check it out to make sure you’re not missing anything, like grants whose deadlines are still alive!

New Report: The SBA issued “Financing Patterns and Credit Market Experiences: A Comparison by Race and Ethnicity for U.S. Employer Firms“. Hispanic and Black Americans are underrepresented in business ownership compared with their shares of the general population. Asians (73 percent) Hispanics (72 percent) and Blacks or African Americans (70 percent) rely on owner’s personal or family savings as a source of startup capital, while 65 percent of Whites relying on this source.

Funding Opportunity: The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) released the Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) and applications for the FY 2018 Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program).

For Your Clients: The U.S. SBA announced the launch of the 2018 Emerging Leaders initiative for executives of small businesses poised for growth in emerging markets. Local area recruitment for the 2018 training cycle is currently ongoing at designated SBA District Offices. Classes are scheduled to begin this spring with specific dates differing by location. Interested small business owners can learn more regarding eligibility, how to apply, and class schedules at the SBA’s Emerging Leaders website. In California, classes will be held in Fresno, Glendale, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.

State Bill: The LA Street Vendor Campaign is hosting a call on Tuesday February 20, 2018 at 3:00pm to learn about The Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, Senate Bill 946 (Lara), that prohibits making street vending a crime and allows local governments to regulate vendors if they create a permit process. Call number: 646.558.8656 or 669.900.6833; Meeting ID: 420 982 8148.

West Coast Listening Session: Join Prosperity Now and your West Coast Region peers to review regional trends in the 2018; share solutions that help families thrive and close the racial wealth divide; updates on Prosperity Now’s perspectives on federal policy challenges and the opportunities; and discuss opportunities to engage at local, regional or federal levels. Register for the listening session on February 21, 11:30 am PST / 12:30 pm MST with Mohan Kanungo of Mission Asset Fund as the moderator.

Professional Development Opportunity: Applications are now being accepted for OFN’s Opportunity Fellows Program! This program, which launched in 2017, will challenge a diverse cohort of CDFI leaders to learn about facilitating and leading systemic change within their CDFIs to cultivate greater diversity and inclusion with the goal of ensuring equitable investment in underserved and disenfranchised communities. The application deadline is Friday, February 23, 2018.

For Your Farming Clients: Join California Farmlink for Growing Opportunity: Farm Finance Expo on March 28, 2018, 11:00am-5:00pm, in Sacramento. It’s one stop shopping for ag loans and financing resources. Meet Local Ag Lenders and Explore Financing Options. Learn How to Pitch a Farm Business for Financing. Manage Your Farm’s Finances (Instead of Your Finances Managing You).

Moving Main Street Forward: AEO’s microbusiness and microfinance conference is a must-attend event for professionals providing capital, technical assistance and other forms of trusted guidance to Main Street and microbusiness owners. The agenda will be packed with inspiring keynotes, thought-provoking plenaries and compelling breakout sessions designed to engage attendees in bold and provocative conversations on using inclusion, innovation and investment to move Main Streets across the country forward. See you in Detroit, Michigan, April 30 to May 2, 2018.

For Your Clients: California State Treasurer John Chiang officially rolled out CBIG.ca.gov, the California Business Incentives Gateway. The online gateway connects business owners and entrepreneurs to incentives to help them grow and create jobs. The CBIG site makes it easy for businesses expanding or locating in California to find and apply for incentives as part of a strategic business plan.

For Your Clients: Read a summary of how the tax reform bill will affect freelancers – then pass it on to your clients.

For Your Clients: Cutting Edge Capital presents “Cannabis Business Structuring and Capital Raising Part II”.

New Resource: The SBA’s SF District Office has launched a slack channel – The Business Support Network – that you are invited to join. Feel free to announce events and voice questions about where to send clients, how to handle specific types of businesses, find funding (for clients or yourselves), shape programming to serve business owners, and more. (Note: they had some technical difficulties, so if you signed up, you’ll need to sign up again.)

New Resource: Are you serving returning citizens? Credit Builder’s Alliance has a new toolkit – “Supporting Returning Citizens in Entrepreneurship and Credit Building.”

New Report: Institute for the Future outlines a worker-centered design for gig economy platforms in “Designing Positive Platforms: A guide for a Governance-based Approach.”

New Report: Prosperity Now issued a new report – “Advancing Collective Prosperity through Entrepreneurship in Atlanta.” Entrepreneurship can provide pathways to building wealth. But White-owned businesses nationwide are valued 11 times higher on average than Black-owned businesses. Prosperity Now recently facilitated a community of practice in Atlanta. This cohort of professionals came together over the course of several months to learn from one another and to identify strategies for strengthening Black-owned businesses.

New Report: The SBA Office of Advocacy released, “Latino Business Ownership: Contributions and Barriers for U.S. Born and Immigrant Latino Entrepreneurs,” that evaluates the differences in Latino self-employment rates and business income, comparing immigrant and U.S.-born Latino men and women with non-minorities. Roughly 600,000 business owners are U.S.-born Latinos, with an additional 1.2 million immigrant Latino business owners. The study shows that total Latino business owners generate $62.5 billion in business income. However, Latino business owners on average report less business income, and U.S born Latinos have a smaller self-employment rate.

New Report: The Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey released “Report on Rural Employer Firms” while we were on holiday. Highlights include: Firms in rural areas are more stable and face less financing constraints; and small banks play a bigger role in rural areas.