Dear Friends,
As we begin 2019, I’d like to thank you for being a part of the LiftFund family. Whether you’re a client, a partner, a funder -- without you we wouldn’t have the transformative change and the economic and social impact we envisioned as a company when I first started.
This year we’re celebrating 25 years of the founding of LiftFund, formerly Accion Texas, in 1994.
It has been an intentional and remarkable journey. What started as a three person shop, with me and two others seeking to build a compassionate and impactful economic organization, is now home to 90+ employees serving 13 states. My charge in 1994 was to build a microlending fund, and four initial banks took a chance -- Broadway Bank, Frost, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo invested to seed our path in economic and social impact.
We have evolved as the financial landscape has changed tremendously. Today, LiftFund is not only a microlender, but a community lender providing business loans up to $5 million. Now more than ever we are resolved in closing the financial gap by supporting America’s small business economy with accessible commercial loans and the needed lift to grow and stabilize their business.
We have also expanded our community of supporters to include the U.S. Treasury, SBA, national and community banks, credit unions, investment funds, individual donors and community partners to help us support our clients where they are.
However, there is much work to be done.
The new year will bring many opportunities for learning, growth and success, and we hope you are as excited as we are about the journey ahead.
I believe we are on the right pathway to serving our clients and fulfilling our mission. We have kept to our north star by championing small business ownership, propelling our clients' dreams and creating confidence when they need it most with our products and services.
Today I’m proud to say we have provided over $290 million in opportunity capital to more than 20,000 diverse and passionate entrepreneurs across our 13 state footprint. They in turn have created and retained thousands of jobs and spurred positive economic outcomes.
We couldn’t have done this impactful work without you; thank you for supporting our clients and believing in our mission.
As we celebrate our 25th, I invite you to join us at our 25th Anniversary Luncheon on March 5th at the Tobin Center. The gathering will be a celebration of where we have been and where we are going.
Here’s to propelling many more dreams!
Janie Barrera
President & CEO
