Blog

Opportunity Fund and the Wurwand Foundation Partner to Support More Women Entrepreneurs

Posted on Jul 12, 2018 by Melissa Cruz

Wurwand Foundation recently partnered with Opportunity Fund to pilot a grants challenge to offer funding to LA-based, women entrepreneurs to help expand their businesses. The winners, selected from a pool of Opportunity-Funded clients, each received grants between $5,000 and $10,000 in recognition of their ability to grow thriving businesses, for their support of women entrepreneurship, and their community impact.

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Bank of America Fuels Opportunity Fund's Lending in FY2018

Posted on Jul 12, 2018 by Ana Melara Glenn

Partnerships are key to Opportunity Fund’s ability to expand our reach of underserved small business owners and boost our impact, so we can meet our ambitious strategic plan goals. We are fortunate to count Bank of America as a 20-year partner, supporting our vision of a truly inclusive financial system. During FY2018, Bank of America enabled Opportunity Fund to provide responsible capital to California’s diverse entrepreneurs through awards totaling $287,500, contributing to our overall lending volume of 3,000 new loans.

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Opportunity Fund’s New Markets Tax Credits Program Closes Loan to Support Homeless Services Provider in San Francisco

Posted on Jun 28, 2018 by Jeff Wells

Opportunity Fund is excited to announce the closing of a $13.6 million loan for Compass Family Services, San Francisco’s largest family homeless services provider, to acquire and rehab a building that will serve as their headquarters and provide supportive services.

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High-Tech, High-Touch: Evaluating the customer experience for the first ever CDFI-fintech partnership

Posted on Jun 27, 2018 by Jenna Boyer

Opportunity Fund is pleased to release new findings from our evaluation of the partnership between Opportunity Fund and LendingClub. The report, High-Tech, High Touch: Evaluating the Customer Experience for the First-Ever CDFI-Fintech Partnership, highlights key findings from qualitative phone interviews with borrowers who received a loan from us through the LendingClub platform referral.

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Opportunity Fund launches Small Business Impact Fund

Posted on Jun 25, 2018 by Caitlin McShane

Opportunity Fund is excited to announce the launch of our Small Business Impact Fund! The Small Business Impact Fund debuts at $11.15 million, making it the country’s largest small business impact fund that directly provides loans to underserved small business owners, primarily minority and women-owned businesses in low-income communities. The fund will continue to fuel Opportunity Fund’s national expansion and counts some of Silicon Valley’s most successful business leaders, philanthropists, and venture capitalists as its first individual investors.

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Business of Pride: Celebrating Pride, Love and Equality

Posted on Jun 23, 2018 by Alma Elizondo-Bailey

Did you know? LGBTQ entrepreneurs contribute $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy and have created over 33,000 jobs! Although LGBTQ businesses boast average revenues of $2.5 million each year, the LGBTQ small business community still faces challenges and discrimination when seeking traditional financing. Many business owners avoid disclosing their sexual orientation and registering as a certified LGBTQ-owned business.

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Senate Bill 551 to support CalCAP loan loss reserve approved by Assembly JEDE Committee!

Posted on Jun 19, 2018 by Alma Elizondo-Bailey

The California State Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy on Tuesday passed S.B. 551, which would extend the life of the California Capital Access Program that helps non-profit lenders and small banks make loans to small businesses. Our VP of Research & Policy Gwendy Brown testified in support of the bill.

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She has wings!

Posted on Jun 14, 2018 by Alma Elizondo-Bailey

Deanna Sison Foster has built her restaurants - Farmer Brown, Little Skillet, Mestiza Taqueria, and Victory Hall - from the ground up. When she struggled to keep her business going, she turned to Opportunity Fund for a loan, not only to keep them above ground, but to expand. Today, Deanna has truly earned her wings as Farmer Brown continues to thrive - including taking flight with a new location at SFO!

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Thank you, Amy Gurley, for your Board service, and Welcome to our Leadership Council!

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Jacqueline Heinrich

Amy Gurley has been a long-time friend, supporter and advisor of Opportunity Fund, especially as an active member of our Board of Directors since 2013. This year, Amy leaves our Board of Directors and joins our Leadership Council. We thank Amy for her valuable commitment to serving on our Board and welcome her to Opportunity Fund’s Leadership Council.

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New Research Shows Opportunity Fund Loans Build Credit Scores and Boost Business Revenues

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Jenna Boyer

At Opportunity Fund, we are working to build a more inclusive financial system, helping traditionally underserved entrepreneurs access capital, build (or re-build) their credit, and grow their businesses. We recently concluded an evaluation to measure changes in the financial and credit profiles of nearly 2,000 small businesses funded by Opportunity Fund – in some cases with data to track their businesses over the course of nearly a decade.

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