At LiftFund, we firmly believe community partners – individuals and companies – propel our impact to a new level. This past quarter, Janie Barrera, our founding President & CEO, was featured in the Express News where she shared her journey and commitment to service and how partners are integral to success.
At the same time, we announced a partnership with NALCAB and Wells Fargo in providing the Acceso Loan Fund, a Latino serving small business loan fund that includes twelve partners dedicated to growing access to capital for Latinos across the nation.
This year is our 25th anniversary, and we also celebrate 25 years of collective impact through the CDFI Fund. President Clinton seeded the idea of creating organizations like ours in 1994 to provide resources to underserved communities.
LiftFund, along with 284 CDFIs were awarded CDFI funding for 2019. These funds will allow us to create responsive products our customers need to grow their businesses.
We also announced partnerships that build strong local community solutions in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, Texas.
In San Antonio, Bank of America seeded $100,000 to the San Antonio Latino Dream Makers Fund. At the same time, the San Antonio Area African American Community Fund increased its gift to the San Antonio African American Dream Makers Fund by $35,000. These two community funds support LiftFund’s efforts in providing opportunity capital to strengthen target communities, and in perpetuity will revolve to serve Latino and African American-owned businesses.
In Houston, the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the Houston Community College have both pledged, in partnership with PurePoint Financial and Bank of America, to seeding local Dream Makers Funds – a local, permanent revolving loan fund dedicated to women startups and one to graduates of Houston Community College.
In Dallas, a collaboration led by TREC is focused on revitalizing three neighborhoods called the Dallas Collaboration of Equitable Development. LiftFund is the lead partner in micro and small business loans to catalyze the neighborhood with our partners.
All these programs and collaborations strengthen our commitment and reaffirm the fact that there is still more work to be done.
Removing barriers and advancing economic prosperity is a long road that requires partners. You can join our movement and keep the momentum by becoming a volunteer, investor, donor, and an ambassador today!