We’re thrilled to announce that beginning today PCV is offering microloans in amounts of $10,000–$50,000 to help California small businesses add jobs, purchase equipment, expand their inventories, repair machinery, or get through construction. PCV’s small business loan program started during the Recession, when many major banks stopped offering business loans under $250,000. This capital crunch made things harder for small businesses in underserved areas who were already fighting to stay afloat. 1/3 of entrepreneurs who apply for a bank loan are rejected; 54% among people of color. And women in general are turned down for loans 20% more often than men. In California, PCV has been filling part of this gap with loans between $50,000 – $200,000 for small businesses that can’t get financing from traditional financial institutions or the Small Business Administration. We listened when more and more of you said that you need small business loans under $50,000, … Read More
How To Find The Right Loan For Your Small Business
Nationwide, nearly 8 million small businesses owned by people of color, and 11.3 million women-owned small businesses, are powering their communities. But entrepreneurs of color and women entrepreneurs, particularly those 40 years old and younger, struggle to obtain the credit needed to start up their businesses or keep them going. Women entrepreneurs start companies with 50 percent less capital than male entrepreneurs, and minority business owners are denied loans at nearly three times the rate of non-minority owners. On top of that, the financial crisis that shook the entire national economy was damaging for small businesses in general, but especially small businesses owned by people of color, as large banks cut back on lending to small businesses. In the wake of the recession, a plethora of online lenders are promising small business owners “quick and easy” cash, without disclosing the hidden fees, high interest rates, and prepayment penalties that can … Read More
PCV Talks With Seacoast Bank As Part of Their Expert Interview Series
This month, PCV was asked to sit down with Seacoast Bank to talk about the state of small business, and what CDFIs like ours are doing to drive more financial and human capital to Main Street, where the real job creators are. Here’s what he had to say: Tell us about Pacific Community Ventures. What do you do? Pacific Community Ventures is a nonprofit social enterprise that engages small businesses, investors, and policymakers to build an economy that works for everyone. We achieve our mission in two ways. First, we provide small businesses with access to the capital and mentorship they need to grow and create quality jobs for working people in low- and middle-income communities. Second, we work with impact investors to help define, measure and communicate the social outcomes of their investments to stimulate more investment in underserved communities. Why are you passionate about empowering small business owners and … Read More
PCV Receives $350,000 From Wells Fargo to Support Diverse Small Businesses
We’re thrilled to announce that Pacific Community Ventures will be able to offer capital paired with free advising to dozens of underserved small businesses in Alameda and Contra Costa counties thanks to a $350,000 Wells Fargo grant. “Increasing access to capital is vital for the success of small businesses,” said Micky Randhawa, EVP and president of the Greater Bay region for Wells Fargo. “Through our Diverse Community Capital program, we work with community organizations such as Pacific Community Ventures to help small businesses start, stabilize, and grow.” African American, Hispanic, Asian and female small business borrowers face even more difficult access-to-capital challenges and often lack the guidance to develop strong loan applications. PCV’s borrowers are assigned a pro bono small business financial advisor to help complete a strong loan application and have access to free-one-on-one technical assistance throughout the life of the loan, filling a major lending gap in small … Read More
An Update On the Impact Investing Policy Collaborative
2015 was a watershed year for impact investing. We saw the launch of new funds, several new companies and initiatives, and most importantly, more governments committed to directing more private capital for public purpose. As founders of the IIPC, we especially laud the efforts made in policy and practice, catalyzed by the leadership of entities such as the Social Impact Investment Taskforce, established under the UK’s presidency of the G8, and its affiliate National Advisory Boards. Closer to home in the U.S., the U.S Government Department of Labor’s new guidance on “economically targeted investments” for pension funds came as a welcome move, giving coverage to fund managers that consider the social and environmental impact of their investments while fulfilling their fiduciary duty to beneficiaries. In 2011, when PCV and IRI launched the IIPC, we aimed to bring together policymakers and practitioners committed to policy innovation that promotes investing for social and … Read More
Thank You For Investing In Good Jobs
Thank you for helping to make last week’s annual luncheon a great one! We thank you all so much for your support. Congratulations to Dave Talach — our 2016 PCV Champion. We also want to extend a special thank you to our panelists, sponsors, and all of the small business owners who showcased and donated their time, goods, and services. You can visit them all online at La Plazita Prechool, FAZE Apparel, Kainbigan, Bread SRSLY, J. Miller Flowers and Gifts, Nona Lim, Proyecto Diaz Coffee, and Light FX Photography. You can read more about our vision for an economy that works for everyone over on Huffington Post. And visit our website to read and share our first-of-its-kind report on what — exactly — defines a quality job. If you weren’t able to make a donation at the lunch, but would still like to support our work, you can donate on our website. Use your … Read More
Good Jobs For Working People
(this post from PCV’s President and CEO Mary Jo Cook originally appeared on Huffington Post) In the six years since the end of the recession, our economy created 12 million jobs and unemployment dropped below 5%. Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey continues to show hundreds of thousands of new jobs added to the economy. Great news? Not for all of us. While our economy has improved on paper, the average American worker is experiencing a different reality. During the last few years, the fastest-growing jobs have been at places like strip malls and fast-food restaurants — low-wage work with few benefits and unpredictable schedules. Averaged across all occupations, real wages have not only remained stagnant but have dropped, building on a decades-long trend where workers and their families increasingly cannot afford the basic goods and services they need to get by. It’s an economy that’s leaving far … Read More
Equator Coffees And Teas Named California Small Business of The Year
A major congratulations is in order for Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell at Equator Coffees And Teas. They’ve been selected as the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Persons of the Year for California. This is the first time in the SBA’s 63-year history, that they’ve selected lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) business owners. A major milestone! Here at PCV, we couldn’t be happier for them. Helen and Brooke began working with us in 2007, where we provided them with pro bono business advising from a variety of experts. When we first started working together, they were trying to figure out how to both grow and get ready for equity investments without losing their social mission, commitment to sustainability and living wages, and their brand identity. And boy did they figure it out. In 2011, Equator was the first coffee roaster in the U.S. to become a certified B … Read More
Meet Our Latest Borrower: Blue Stars Admissions Consulting
Dr. Amy Morgenstern worked for nearly two decades in academic and editorial roles before deciding to start her own company, Blue Star Admissions Consulting, assisting high school students to prepare for and apply to college. Since its inception in June 2010, Blue Stars grew through word of mouth and by establishing relationships with Amy’s contacts in the academic world. Since its start, Blue Stars has had tremendous success in assisting students in getting admission to some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges. They take a customized approach for each student and find programs that best align with their values and academic goals. The company has experience with a wide breadth of institutions such as the UC system, private liberal arts colleges, religious institutions, and Ivy League institutions. Over the past five years, the company grew to include two part-time employees and eight consultants. But demand hasn’t stopped, and Amy has … Read More
Small Businesses Can Drive A Quality-Jobs Economy
While our economy’s improved on paper, most of us know in our gut that’s not the whole story. During the last few years, quality job creation has been anemic, and way too many workers have jobs that don’t allow them to support themselves and their families. Since the end of the Great Recession, 11.3 million jobs have been created — but average wages have dropped 23 percent. The top five fastest-growing occupations have been in low-wage work, in personal care and at places like strip malls and fast-food restaurants. These are all jobs that also need some form of public assistance. We hit another tipping point as 2016 began: middle-income households have become the minority in America for the first time since World War II. And African-Americans and Latinos fare even worse. As our nation’s job creators, small businesses can be a part of the solution. According to the Federal … Read More