OFN Awards Second Round of Google Financing
OFN is pleased to announce the second round of Grow with Google Small Business Fund loans and Google.org-funded grants. In this round, four CDFIs have received a total of $23 million in loans from the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and one CDFI has received a $125,000 Google.org-funded grant.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues across the U.S., CDFIs are best positioned to help small minority and women-owned businesses survive and recover the pandemic’s economic impact. Through the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Google.org-funded grants, Google has partnered with OFN to help bridge deep gaps in access to capital for many of these businesses with significant investment and grant capital.
Loan Recipients
- Bridgeway Capital ($5 million loan)
Bridgeway Capital’s mission is to make western Pennsylvania a thriving region for all by promoting economic opportunity and community revitalization. The CDFI assists underserved populations by providing capital and education to ignite business and job growth, to develop communities, to support entrepreneurs, and to expand vital services that strengthen our region. Overall, 60 percent of Bridgeway’s small business and microenterprise loans are to African American or women-owned enterprises.
- Finance Fund Capital Corporation (FCAP) ($3 million loan)
FCAP is a nonprofit CDFI that provides flexible financing to support economic development and job creation in low- and moderate-income communities across Ohio. In Fiscal Year 2019, 21.1 percent of its loans originated by dollar amount went to women-owned businesses, 35.7 percent to minority-owned businesses, and 12.7 percent to rural businesses. Since its founding in 2006, FCAP has financed businesses and projects that have created and/or retained 5,200 direct jobs, developed 520 housing units and 1,500,000 square feet of commercial space, and served 516,000 people.
- Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) ($5 million loan)
PCDC is a nationally recognized nonprofit and CDFI dedicated to building equity and excellence in primary care. Its mission is to create healthier, more equitable communities by providing the capital, advocacy, research, and expertise needed to finance and enhance primary care and other vital health infrastructure in underserved communities. PCDC is committed to serving health care providers in low-income, under-resourced and otherwise disadvantaged communities underserved by traditional lenders and banks. Since 1993, PCDC has helped more than 4,600 primary care sites in 44 states improve delivery of care and has provided capital and leveraged over $1.2 billion in affordable financing to enhance primary care capacity in low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities across the country.
- Self-Help Ventures Fund ($10 million loan)
With a national footprint, Self-Help Ventures Fund is part of the Self-Help family, which holds a mission to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all. Self-Help Ventures Fund manages Self-Help’s higher-risk business loans, real estate development, and affordable home loan secondary market programs. The Fund’s borrowers are 40% people of color, 22% African American, and 44% women. Its small business and nonprofit borrowers are 50% people of color and 40% African American.
Grant Recipient
- National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) ($125,000 Grant)
NALCAB is the hub of a national network of more than 120 mission-driven organizations that are anchor institutions in geographically and ethnically diverse Latino communities in 40 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Members of the NALCAB Network invest in their communities by building affordable housing, addressing gentrification, supporting small business growth, and providing financial counseling on issues such as credit building and homeownership. NALCAB’s mission is to strengthen the economy by advancing economic mobility in Latino communities. The NALCAB Network serves hundreds of thousands of low- and moderate-income people, the vast majority of whom are immigrants or the children of immigrants.
Launched in March, the Grow with Google Small Business Fund delivers financing to CDFIs that are supporting the short-term recovery and long-term financing needs of America’s small businesses hardest hit by COVID-19. At the same time, Google.org made a $5 million grant to OFN to enable OFN’s member CDFIs to improve access to capital for the most marginalized communities. The unrestricted grants can support operations, loan capital, loan loss reserve, capacity building, or any other purpose.
On June 17, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai announced an additional $45 million in loans for the Fund to assist Black-owned small businesses and $5 million more in Google.org grants. In total, Google has committed $170 million in loans and $10 million in Google.org grants.