Publications

Interactive Annual Report
2011

In 2011, we helped 1,625 California families by offering the financial services and products they need to get ahead. Thanks to your support, here are the results.

Opportunity Fund At-a-Glance
2011

A one-page overview of Opportunity Fund's mission, strategy, accomplishments, and programs.

Ripple Effect: The Economic Impact of Microlending
2011

TXP, an independent research firm, presents this customized econometric model that illustrates the effect of Opportunity Fund’s lending on the Bay Area’s regional economy. Each dollar lent to a small business—to purchase equipment, lease office space, or hire employees—multiplies as it touches the local economy over time. The benefits of this "ripple effect" reach well beyond the immediate loan recipients, and include the regional economy as a whole.

Microlending in the United States: A Timeline History, 1973-2011
2011

The history of microfinance in the United States begins in the 1970s, when the need to create an inclusive financial system for the many who lack access to appropriate financial products and services began to get more attention.Since experiencing a period of renewed growth in the 1990's, this tool for economic development has continued to pick up steam and scale, providing capital to thousands of entrepreneurs across the nation. Opportunity Fund proudly presents this timeline as a chronicle of the growth of microfinance in the United States.

Interactive Annual Report
2010

Watch videos, read stories, and share in the successes that made 2010 an incredible year for Opportunity Fund and the clients we serve. Opportunity Fund's footprint grew ever larger in the Bay Area through 2010, and we came through the year on sound financial footing.

Social Impact Highlights: Small Business Loan Program
Winter, 2011

Updated quarterly, these Social Impact Highlights capture a concise snap shot of our small business lending and highlight the program's impact on the businesses to which we lend.

Social Impact Highlights: IDA Microsavings Program
Winter, 2011

Updated quarterly, these Social Impact Highlights capture a concise snap shot of our Microsavings Program and highlight the program's impact on the clients that enroll in our financial education classes and open matched savings accounts. 

Weathering the Storm: Have IDAs Helped Low-Income Homebuyers Avoid Foreclosure?
2010

Homeownership rates among low-income Americans reached historic highs in the middle part of this decade. But as the recent subprime and foreclosure crisis has show, homeownership is by no means a risk-free proposition or a guarantee that individuals who become homeowners will remain homeowners and build wealth. The study, conducted by the Urban Institute and CFED, examines six IDA Microsavings programs (including Opportunity Fund's) and finds that homeowners that participated in an Microsavings program prior to purchasing their home have significantly better outcomes than similiar homeowners in the 'control' group that did not participate in these programs.

Interactive Annual Report
2009

2009 was a year when small business clients, savers, and affordable housing developers needed our help, perhaps more than ever in our 15 years of serving them. Our 2009 Interactive Annual Report provides an opportunity for you to review the year at Opportunity Fund through an interactive timeline, some short videos, and highlights of our social and financial impact. 

The NEXT American Opportunity: Good Policies for a Great America
2008

Opportunity Finance Network’s (OFN) groundbreaking policy book, The NEXT American Opportunity: Good Policies for a Great America launched on September 22, 2008. This ambitious work is the keystone in OFN’s sustained decade long effort to advance the opportunity finance industry, and get out the message that in this time of irresponsible lending, CDFIs represent a reasoned response. Gathering the collective wisdom and success stories of 54 opportunity finance experts, The NEXT American Opportunity offers more than 200 concrete, specific recommendations for federal policy.

Read the chapter co-authored by Eric Weaver Opportunity Fund CEO:
"Asset Accumulation and Protection"

Annual Report
2008

See stories, videos, maps, testimonials, and financials.  Learn directly from clients, staff, donors, and community partners how Opportunity Fund responds to the needs of the community.

IDA Longitudinal Study
2007

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Opportunity Fund commissioned a two-year longitudinal study of graduates from the nation’s largest regional microsavingsprogram, operated by Opportunity Fund.

In a nutshell, the program’s successful graduates have retained their assets and their healthy financial habits for at least two years after completing the program. They are still in their homes, they continue to save, some have made other investments and many are teaching their children these same good practices.

Based on the findings, New America Foundation made policy recommendations (found in the report).