New Address: Two Embarcadero Center, 8th floor, San Francisco, CA 94111     

CAMEO, Opportunity Fund Receive PRIME Grants

The U.S. Small Business Administration has released its list of PRIME grantees, and CAMEO, Opportunity Fund and PACE have received grant funds.  “PRIME grants are an important vehicle for the SBA to provide ladders of opportunity to underserved, economically disadvantaged small business communities. These micro-loans have a macro-impact by spurring economic growth, creating jobs, and propelling small businesses forward,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.

“PRIME funding is crucial to building the infrastructure that helps our small and microbusinesses start, grow and thrive,” Claudia Viek, CAMEO’s Chief Executive Officer, said of the program. “When businesses receive assistance from CAMEO members, they have an 80% success rate and create 2 additional jobs over 3 to 5 years.”

Full text of the press release below.

SBA Awards PRIME Grants to CAMEO and Opportunity Fund

Grants to aid organizations that help disadvantaged small businesses in Northern California

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the recipients of SBA’s Program for Investment in Micro Entrepreneurs Act (PRIME) grant awards, including funds for California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity (CAMEO) to build capacity amongst local Micro-Development Organizations (MDOs) and Opportunity Fund to bolster its alternative loan program.

“PRIME grants are an important vehicle for the SBA to provide ladders of opportunity to underserved, economically disadvantaged small business communities. These micro-loans have a macro-impact by spurring economic growth, creating jobs, and propelling small businesses forward,” said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet.

PRIME grants are intended to help qualified community-based organizations provide training to small businesses with five or fewer employees that are economically disadvantaged, and businesses owned by low-income individuals, including those who live on Indian reservations and tribal lands.

Twenty-four nonprofit organizations from 16 states and the District of Columbia were named this year. Grant awards ranged from $94,000 to $250,000 and totaled $3.5 million. The grants require a 50 percent matching funds contribution by each recipient organization.  CAMEO received a grant for $175,000 and Opportunity Fund received a grant for $150,000.

CAMEO is California’s statewide micro-business network made up of over 170 organizations, agencies, and individuals dedicated to furthering Micro-Business development in California. They expand resources and build capacity for their member organizations, which provide micro-entrepreneurs with financing such as loans and credit, technical assistance and business management training.

CAMEO was one of only four organizations selected for Track II PRIME funding, which concentrates on assisting qualified MDOs to build capacity by applying new technology.  CAMEO’s program will target 50 MDOs in California – to teach and support adoption of a business planning phone app and ACCION Texas’ Microloan Management Services platform. The goal is to increase organizational efficiency and decrease costs.

“PRIME funding is crucial to building the infrastructure that helps our small and microbusinesses start, grow and thrive,” Claudia Viek, CAMEO’s Chief Executive Officer, said of the program. “When businesses receive assistance from CAMEO members, they have an 80% success rate and create 2 additional jobs over 3 to 5 years.”

Opportunity Fund is an SBA-approved Micro-lender and provides direct financing and technical assistance services to entrepreneurs throughout Northern California.  A not-for-profit financial institution, Opportunity Fund advances the economic well-being of working families by helping them earn, save, and invest in the future.

Opportunity Fund will use its PRIME grant to bolster its EasyPay loan program. The EasyPay program is an innovative alternative loan product that enables underserved small business owners access to technical assistance and capital, ranging from $5,000 to $100,000.  Loan payments are automatically deducted from their daily credit/debit card sales of the small businesses. Instead of making monthly installment payments, EasyPay borrowers base their loan repayment on their actual credit/debit card revenue by “splitting” a small, fixed percentage of each card transaction toward loan payments. Offered at low or fixed interest rates, EasyPay provides a convenient and efficient way to meet the capital and technical assistance needs of small businesses while helping these borrowers build a bankable credit history.

“EasyPay is designed to bring fair, transparent advice and capital to small business owners besieged by a growing number of high-cost, unregulated ‘alternative lenders,’” said Eric Weaver, Opportunity Fund’s Chief Executive Officer. “This grant will help us continue to expand access to affordable capital and the advice entrepreneurs in California need to invest in their businesses, create jobs, and stimulate the local economy.”

For more information on PRIME grants and a list of this year’s awardees, visit http://www.sba.gov/content/prime-grantees.