Funds Directed to Organizations Serving Small Businesses Owned by People of Color and Households Most Impacted by COVID-19

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Citi Foundation today named 30 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that will collectively receive $15 million to support their efforts to provide small businesses with the vital resources needed to sustain their operations and support economically vulnerable households impacted by COVID-19. The CDFIs, which will each receive $500,000 in unrestricted funding, were selected through an open Request for Proposals application process based on their strong track record of serving small businesses owned by people of color and underserved individuals and communities.

“The disparate economic impacts of COVID-19 and systemic racial inequity reinforce the need for financial institutions of all sizes to work together to support communities of color in more effective ways,” said Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development and President of Citi Foundation. “By investing – and trusting – in these change agents on the frontlines, we’re helping these organizations to pivot, adjust and expand to address evolving needs and meet clients where they are.”

The $15 million fund was deployed by the Citi Foundation from initial net proceeds donated by Citi through its participation in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This funding is a component of Citi and Citi Foundation’s more than $100 million provided to date in support of COVID-19-related community relief and economic recovery efforts globally.

“The global pandemic has exponentially increased the demand on CDFIs across the country to provide critical financial support to small businesses and communities of color,” said Calvin L. Holmes, President, Chicago Community Loan Fund. “The support from Citi Foundation is furnishing and emboldening CDFIs like ours with the flexibility we need to advance our work with these communities during a time of great crisis.”

“Citi Foundation’s funding has made it possible for us to continue our work in providing credit and services to small businesses and entrepreneurs who do not have access to loans from traditional commercial sources,” said Janie Barrera, President & CEO of LiftFund. “This latest endorsement of our work gives us the freedom and the opportunity to address local community needs without limitations.”

The following organizations have been selected to receive Citi Foundation funding:

Arizona

• Chicanos Por La Causa: Helps individuals and families achieve self-sufficiency by providing affordable access to housing, healthcare, education, work, small business support and financing
• Raza Development Fund: Serves low-income households and Latino communities by providing capital and technical assistance to small businesses owned by women and minorities that do not have access to traditional banking services

California

• Access Plus Capital: Provides affordable financing and business advisory services to small businesses and entrepreneurs of color in central California who are helping to create jobs in underserved communities
• Accion Opportunity Fund: Serves diverse entrepreneurs and communities across the country by providing affordable capital and personalized support
• Accion Serving Southern California: Provides economic opportunity for low- to moderate-income business owners who lack access to traditional sources of credit
• AmPac Business Capital: Finances small businesses at all stages of growth to promote economic development and job creation in low- and moderate-income communities across the Inland Empire
• Mission Asset Fund: Helps immigrant and low-income communities to rebuild and recover with zero-interest small business loans
• Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services: Creates innovative housing and economic solutions to help underserved small businesses grow and create more living wage jobs for low-income families
• Pacific Coast Regional Small Business Development Corporation: Supports underserved communities by providing loans and counseling to minority small business owners

Delaware

• True Access Capital: Educates and empowers business owners and entrepreneurs by augmenting technical expertise, increasing access to capital and stimulating business growth through Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania

District of Columbia

• City First Enterprises: Provides capital to Black and Latinx entrepreneurs and small business owners in the D.C. region, and works with public and corporate partners to build financial resiliency for small businesses
• Washington Area Community Investment Fund: Increases equity and economic opportunity in underserved D.C. area communities by providing capital and advisory services to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs

Florida

• Capital Good Fund: Provides equitable loans to lower-income families for a variety of key needs
• Central County Community Development Corporation: Advances business growth, as a subsidiary of the Urban League of Broward County, through the provision of flexible capital solutions and technical support for minority entrepreneurs and small businesses across Florida

Illinois

• Chicago Community Loan Fund: Serves small businesses owned by people of color and low-income individuals by providing grants, low-interest relief loans and technical assistance
• IFF: Advances the recovery and long-term resiliency of nonprofit organizations in order to preserve jobs, services and assets in low-income communities across the Midwest

Maryland

• FSC First: Provides direct loans and grants to minority-owned small businesses, including Black and Latinx small business owners

Missouri

• Justine PETERSEN: Provides affordable capital, loans, credit building products and financial education to minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs

New York

• Accompany Capital: Provides microloans, emergency grants and one-on-one counseling to small businesses owned by refugees, immigrants and people of color, as well as low- to moderate-income individuals impacted by COVID-19
• BOC Capital Corp: Serves Black and Latinx entrepreneurs across the NYC Metropolitan area by disbursing COVID-19 relief loans
• Greater Jamaica Development Corporation: Serves minority entrepreneurs across Queens, NY by providing technical assistance and accessible loan products
• Grow Brooklyn Inc.: Serves small businesses and low-income families in Brooklyn, NY through counseling, technical assistance and legal services alongside its CDFI affiliate Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union
• Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners: Supports minority- and women-owned small businesses and low-income workers in NYC by providing financial coaching and affordable financial products in partnership with its CDFI affiliate, Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union
• PathStone Enterprise Center: Provides disaster relief and recovery services to underserved and minority-owned small businesses impacted by COVID-19 and the earthquakes in Puerto Rico
• TruFund: Serves small businesses owned by women and people of color by providing affordable, flexible financing and customized support services

South Dakota

• Four Bands Community Fund: Delivers programming aimed at building financial capability and greater access to capital for Native Americans across the state of South Dakota
• Lakota Funds: Provides loan capital and technical assistance for businesses owned by tribal members across the Pine Ridge Reservation

Texas

• LiftFund: Provides capital and services to small businesses and entrepreneurs across Texas who do not have access to loans from traditional sources
• National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders: Serves ethnically diverse Latinx communities in 40 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico to promote economic mobility, providing grants and low-cost loans to support small businesses owned by people of color
• PeopleFund: Creates economic mobility and financial stability for underserved communities by providing access to capital, education and other resources to build small businesses

Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach deploys the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.

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Stephanie Hyon

[email protected]

212-816-3397

Source: Citi Foundation