With Support from Google, OFN Expands Technology and Capacity Building Resources for CDFIs
Photo: Kenesha and Jason, owners of Kay’s Kute Fruit in Greenville, MS — supported with funding from Google.org grant recipient Communities Unlimited
In 2020, OFN established the Grow with Google Small Business Fund and Grant Program Funded by Google.org with $180 million in loans and grants from Google to help small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19 and longstanding racial inequity. A new impact report details how the funds have been fully deployed across loans to 59 CDFIs and grants to 51 CDFIs in our membership, ultimately reaching more than 130,000 small and medium-sized businesses during the time they needed it most.
This powerful combination of loan capital and grant funding continues to help CDFIs multiply their lending capacity and stabilize operations so they can reach deeper into their communities to serve more businesses. Now Google is extending their support even further by providing OFN with additional funding and resources to help CDFIs and their small business clients use technology to innovate and scale.
OFN is thrilled to announce that Google.org has committed an additional $6 million in grant funding — to bring the total to $11 million since November 2021 — to support 55 member CDFIs recently selected for awards through OFN’s CDFI Technology Grant Program Funded by Google.org.
“Google’s support of OFN grew out of a shared purpose of investing in underserved communities and mutual recognition that CDFIs are a proven model for doing so,” said OFN President and CEO Lisa Mensah. “We believe this is a model for other corporations and philanthropies with similar missions to follow.”
Google.org is also providing select CDFIs with pro bono coaches from Google.org to help accelerate their tech innovation projects and ultimately bring their projects to life. Additionally, all OFN program awardees will have the opportunity to participate in Google-led workshops to help them build capacity across a range of areas, including user experience design, product management, and more.
Additionally, OFN-member CDFIs will receive free digital Grow with Google training resources that can also be shared with their small business network.
We thank Google and Google.org for their ongoing support as we work together to invest in change for under-resourced small businesses and communities across the country.