Small Business Stories and Data

Small Business Stories

Built to Scale: Designing a Business with Scale in Mind
St. John Manor
Catonsville CO-OP brings together food, community, and local businesses
A Grand Opening Like No Other

Small Business Fact Sheet

CDFIs create impactful changes in communities and provide catalytic growth and changes which provide jobs, particularly in low and moderate in come areas.

-Kathy Bonney, Clearinghouse CDFI, Lake Forest, CA

CDFIs have a demonstrated track record of success: they often leverage every federal dollar to attract up to 12 times that amount in private investment, reaching borrowers that traditional banks overlook. Whether it’s a veteran-owned business in Montana, a farm in the Central Valley, or a childcare provider in the South Bronx, CDFIs meet communities where they are, providing not only loans but financial education, technical assistance, and long-term support. This is not a partisan issue. Nearly every congressional district in America benefits from the work of CDFIs, with 92% of House districts having at least one CDFI. CDFIs are an engine of local resilience-supporting job creation, small business formation, and upward mobility.

-Heidi Pickman, CAMEO Network – California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity, San Francisco, CA

Century is a CDFI, and we finance affordable housing and provide capital to underserved communities. We urge continuation of investment and support the appropriation of critical funds to produce more housing.

-Beulah Ku, Century Housing, Culver City, CA

Map of Small Business CDFI Branches and Stories