By: Bulbul Gupta
Across the country, communities are navigating profound change at the start of 2025 —economically, socially, and environmentally – with fears of a recession or stagflation looming, as tariffs, supply chain shocks, federal cutbacks, and job losses hit. And in the age of AI and technology, under the Fifth Industrial Revolution, as more companies balance investing in technology and automation at the cost of human capital investments, with an economy teetering on the age of techno-feudalism, we must think differently about the future of work, and the future of workers.
At Pacific Community Ventures, we believe these challenges demand not just resilience, but bold and intentional action. Small businesses employ nearly half of all working Americans, yet too many face barriers to the affordable capital and expert advising they need to grow. That’s why our mission has never been more urgent – unlocking the economic potential of underinvested Americans is estimated to increase economic growth by $8 Trillion by 2050, according to a W.K. Kellogg Foundation study in 2018. In 2024, as national economic indicators reached their strongest levels since COVID, PCV’s clients mirrored that momentum. Our small business community saw record gains in revenue, financial health, and good jobs creation. Critically, they credit PCV as part of that success: 93% of clients reported that our support helped sustain their business, up from 77% the year prior. And they’re not just surviving—they’re leaning in. Across our portfolio, adoption of good jobs practices continues to grow, with more small businesses offering the kinds of benefits and workplace conditions that drive retention, resilience, and long-term impact – bringing more workers into the future economy.
Fundamentally, that means that our Restorative Capital strategy — launched in 2022, with affordable capital, pre- and post-investment business advising, and an intentional focus on good jobs and climate outcomes — is working!
In 2024, this strategy came alive through bold action and real-world results. We deployed $12.3 million in loans — a 21% year-over-year increase — retaining or creating 1,144 jobs. More than 87% of our capital reached Low- to Moderate-Income communities, with 71% deployed in climate-vulnerable areas. Our pro bono Business Advising program matched 1,078 entrepreneurs with culturally competent experts, delivering nearly 8,000 hours of tailored, one-on-one support.
Our place-based work in our home community deepened with our Oakland Restorative Loan Fund 2.0, supported by an anchor commitment from Kaiser Permanente. Designed for flexibility and impact, the Fund provided $3 million in 3% capital to 40 local businesses, supporting 140 jobs — and was fully subscribed in just one day thanks to demand and partnerships with 13 trusted community organizations built over the previous 3 years. Entrepreneurs like Rita Forte, founder of The Olive Street Agency, demonstrate what’s possible. After facing daunting capital access challenges, Rita leveraged her PCV loan to not only keep her business open but quadruple its growth in one year — all while offering good jobs that promote personal and professional growth!
A year ago, we launched our California-wide Climate Resilience Mobilization Fund (CRMF) to meet pre-development demand. We deployed $1.7 million in 2024 in flexible capital to climate-focused businesses and launched the Contractor Capital product to help licensed contractors — many working on public sector environmental projects — access critical climate transition opportunities. Small businesses like Shepherdess Land and Livestock demonstrate what this looks like on the ground. Through eco-conscious grazing that reduces emissions and restores habitats, they are building fire-resilient communities and creating good and green jobs with PCV’s support.
In parallel, we scaled our nationwide Good Jobs strategy. Our Good Jobs Journey Report and growing Community of Practice are helping entrepreneurs embed good jobs principles and pursue pathways such as employee ownership. And after nearly two years, we finalized PCV’s responsible AI policies and started scaling an innovative natural language processing tool to bring worker voice and sentiment into job quality improvements — giving small businesses actionable insights to strengthen retention and culture, while saving costs in their business.
Beyond our lending and advising services, PCV remains a leading thought leader and researcher by way of our investment, advising, good jobs, and climate learnings. We continue to advocate at every level — including working towards the modernization of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), the CDFI Fund, Responsible Lending practices and Small Business Borrower Bill of Rights, to our California Rebuilding Fund, and local efforts across Oakland, Antioch, LA, Fresno, Stockton, Sacramento, Riverside, and other municipalities. We continue to partner with funders, CDFIs, accelerators, incubators, and local leaders to create community- and entrepreneur-centric models.
This work is fueled by belief – yours, and ours. We are deeply grateful to the funders, investors, and partners who stand with us on this journey. A transformational $7 million unrestricted gift from MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Fund in 2024, bolstered our efforts to serve our clients as they build an economy that is more just, sustainable, and resilient.
In 2025, as California becomes the world’s fourth largest economy, our focus is on deepening place-based strategies, scaling climate-resilient lending, expanding good jobs initiatives, and strengthening the ecosystems that support underserved entrepreneurs – to ensure that we preserve and continue to innovate not only for our small businesses and their workers, but for our communities and our next generation. Grounded in our strategic plan, we’re advancing data-driven, people-centered programs—meeting small businesses where they are with capital, advising, and good jobs creation support tailored to their needs. We will evolve our Good Jobs journey by supporting businesses in transitioning to employee ownership models. We’re building solutions that help entrepreneurs retain workers through more relevant, comprehensive benefits and insurance, and smoothing pathways to procurement so that small businesses can grow through stable, mission-aligned contracts. We are supporting entrepreneurs affected by the Southern California fires through our RESTORE LA Fund for Small Business Recovery & Climate Resilience – a $3 million fund offering 3% interest, no-fee loans, and we’re growing into new underserved markets across the State’s rural and indigenous communities. The challenges before us are real – but so are the opportunities.
None of this would be possible without you – our community of partners, funders, investors, and clients – your solidarity and unwavering commitment fuel our work to reimagine financial systems, and unlock economic opportunity in underserved communities. Thank you for believing in the power of small businesses to transform lives and neighborhoods. Together, we are not just responding to the moment – we are reshaping what’s possible. Join us!
In Solidarity,
Bulbul Gupta
President & CEO
Pacific Community Ventures