Blog

Update on SB 551

Posted on Sep 20, 2018 by Gabriel Villarreal

During this last legislative session, SB 551, authored by State Senator Ben Hueso and sponsored by Opportunity Fund, failed to move out of Assembly Appropriations Committee, ending our efforts on the bill and issue for this year. Despite widespread support from CalCAP enrolled lenders, regional and statewide chambers of commerce, the California Bankers Association, and small business advocacy groups, unfortunately we were not successful.

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Luz Urrutia Appointed to CFPB CAB

Posted on Sep 20, 2018 by Gabriel Villarreal

Opportunity Fund CEO, Luz Urrutia, has been appointed to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Consumer Advisory Board (CAB). Created in response to the predatory mortgage practices that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis, the CFPB is a government agency responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. As one of nine members of the Consumer Advisory Board, Luz is committed to ensuring that the CFPB affirms and actively pursues its mission of protecting consumers from predatory financial practices and also follows through on the implementation of Section 1071, which would create much needed transparency in the small business lending field.

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Opportunity Fund Welcomes Shelley Harrison as Chief Marketing Officer

Posted on Sep 12, 2018 by Chelsea Camp

Opportunity Fund is excited to welcome Shelley Harrison as our first-ever Chief Marketing Officer. Shelley joins us after spending over 20 years running San Francisco-based marketing consulting firm, Launch Pad, where she advised over 200 companies on marketing and go-to-market strategies. Shelley joins Opportunity Fund’s leadership as we aim to scale our reach in California and across the U.S., working towards a strategic plan to invest $500 million to drive economic mobility for 50,000 underserved entrepreneurs and working families by 2020.

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California Legislature approves nation's first Truth-in-Lending bill for small business owners

Posted on Sep 04, 2018 by Gwendy Donaker Brown

Action Alert: A bill that would be first in the nation to establish Truth-in-Lending laws to protect small business borrowers is on its way to the governor’s desk. Contact Governor Jerry Brown and let him know you support SB 1235 and respectfully request he sign it into law!

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SB 1235 Update: Take Action for CA Small Business Owners and Financial Transparency!

Posted on Aug 28, 2018 by Gabriel Villarreal

Today, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee voted in favor of Opportunity Fund supported Senate Bill 1235. SB 1235 would bring transparency to the small business lending space – helping thousands of California small business owners avoid high cost debt.

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Success Story: Meet Sierra and Darin, owners of Jump on the School Bus Transportation

Posted on Aug 21, 2018 by Alma Elizondo-Bailey

Jump On The School Bus is a Santa Barbara, California based transportation company specializing in weddings and wine tours. Two years ago, owners Sierra and Darin needed financing to grow their business. They were referred to Opportunity Fund but at that time, they had really distressed credit and merchant cash advances, so they didn’t qualify for a loan. Since then, they've been working hard to be able to get a loan. Find out what happened next in our blog.

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Opportunity Fund's FY18 Impact Report is now available - Thank you for helping us close the gap in FY18!

Posted on Aug 08, 2018 by Greg Avis

Thanks to the generous support of our community of supporters, we invested $92 million in the dreams of 2,817 entrepreneurs —a 37% increase over last year. In addition, we invested $43.6 million in three major community real estate projects that will create jobs and provide critical services to thousands more underserved Californians.

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Opportunity Fund launches campaign to empower women entrepreneurs

Posted on Aug 06, 2018 by Alma Elizondo-Bailey

We are thrilled to announce the launch of a campaign to educate, mentor and provide affordable access to capital for women-owned small businesses.

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UPDATE: White House Proposes Budget Eliminating Essential CDFI Funding to Small Business Programs

Posted on Jul 30, 2018 by Gabriel Villarreal

On Monday, the White House released its Budget outline for FY2019, to begin on October 1, 2018. As expected, the budget eliminates major funding for the CDFI Fund including essential programs that enable Opportunity Fund and others to deploy capital to underserved business owners across the nation. Last year in the face of a zeroing out of the CDFI Fund by the Trump Administration, Opportunity Fund’s CEO, Luz Urrutia, demonstrated that access to capital for underserved communities is not only necessary, it’s essential. This year we find ourselves in the same position of slashed funding to essential small business programs.

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Plan Your Staycation with Opportunity Fund – Have Fun and Boost Your Local Economy

Posted on Jul 13, 2018 by Alma Elizondo-Bailey

Summer is a great time to get outside, try new things, and go new places. Why not make your summer #OpportunityFunded?

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