Member Highlight: AltCap
Roland Kamara, Membership Associate, OFN
Read time: 7 minutes
April is Financial Literacy Month, a time that recognizes the importance of financial empowerment and education. At this time of year, individuals are encouraged to develop the skills needed to manage money effectively.
This month, OFN is excited to highlight AltCap, located in Kansas City, MO. Founded in 2005, AltCap is a critical source of alternative financing for communities and entrepreneurs who fall outside the financial mainstream. It is impact-driven and community-focused. To date, AltCap has deployed more than $300 million in capital, financing small businesses and real estate development projects that traditional financial institutions overlooked. In 2025, AltCap closed 147 loans totaling $12.25 million.
In this highlight, you will get a chance to hear from Bobby Burch, AltCap’s Director of Marketing and Communications. You will learn about his “why,” how AltCap helps its clients build financial confidence, and much more.
1. What is one unique aspect about AltCap or the community you serve?
AltCap serves a diverse range of entrepreneurs, from restaurateurs and childcare providers to contractors and artists, and we take our commitment to these entrepreneurs beyond just a loan. We hire them for projects. We’re regulars at their cafes. We host them for internal and external events. We promote them across our marketing and connect them to news outlets. One recent example we’re proud of is our Summer Passport program. It aims to incentivize people to visit the businesses we work with and to make personal connections with the entrepreneurs behind them. Another fun example was the 2025 Pedal & Prosper Tour: We booked a few pedicabs for a ride around downtown Kansas City, stopping at six entrepreneurs’ locations. We don’t just write checks and move on. We strive to be a part of our entrepreneurs’ journeys, and I love that about AltCap.
2. What’s your “why” for working in the community development space, and how did you end up at AltCap?
I joined AltCap because I believe entrepreneurship is a path to personal agency and that small businesses play an outsized role in making communities vibrant. Throughout my career, I’ve seen countless examples of how entrepreneurs step up to help their communities — not just with products or services, but with civic leadership and dedication to their neighborhoods. Most of my career has been in business journalism. Years ago, as a reporter, I had the opportunity to interview AltCap CEO Ruben Alonso III and other AltCap team members. The conversation and mission to support underestimated entrepreneurs stuck with me. When I saw an opening, I went for it, and I’m grateful I did.
3. How do you describe AltCap to members of the community you serve?
AltCap is an ally for underestimated entrepreneurs. We believe that accessible capital creates stronger, more vibrant communities. When a small business grows, it creates jobs, anchors a neighborhood, and generates opportunities that ripple outward. AltCap’s role is to make sure more entrepreneurs have the resources and support they need to make an impact in our communities.
4. What is one specific way AltCap helps its clients build financial confidence, and how have you seen that approach change their long-term financial habits?
Through our Business Support Services, we work with a network of technical assistance providers to help entrepreneurs not just access capital but become stronger business owners over time. One artist entrepreneur came to us after being declined by a traditional lender. We connected them with the right resources, they did the work, and in less than a year, they had improved their credit score by 100 points. They eventually got a loan with us, and now they’re exploring their next stage of growth. That is not just a financial outcome. That is a life-changing event for this entrepreneur, their family, and our community.
5. What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for AltCap in 2026?
Our biggest opportunity in 2026 is to ensure the depth of our relationships keeps pace with the breadth of our work. We partner with many people and organizations: Chambers, entrepreneur support organizations, banks, entrepreneur groups, community organizations, and individual advocates across several states. Those relationships are important. The challenge is building systems that allow us to communicate consistently, share the right information at the right time, and maintain the quality of connection that makes those partnerships actually work. We are investing in a more comprehensive approach to partner communication this year because a network is only as strong as the trust and clarity running through it.
6. What advice do you have for people interested in learning about community development and the CDFI industry?
First, watch the 2024 Oscar-nominated documentary The Barber of Little Rock. It’s a powerful film that captures why this work matters and how access to capital and opportunity changes lives. Secondly, check out OFN and explore its resources. I’ve learned so much from community development leaders connected to OFN. It’s a fantastic community for understanding the breadth and depth of this work. Lastly, explore your own “why” and then seek out and understand your community’s needs. Not the needs you assume exist, but the ones that surface through conversations and relationships. There are many facets to community development that may resonate with your personal why. Find the community development leaders and organizations working to address those needs, learn about their work, and ask them who you should talk to next.
7. What is a challenge facing the CDFI industry right now, and how can the industry rise to meet it?
One tension to recognize in the CDFI sector right now is the balance between growth and authentic connection. Scale creates opportunity: more capital deployed, more communities reached, more impact measured. But it also creates the risk of becoming disconnected from the communities we exist to serve. As the sector grows, we must be intentional to preserve strong connections with the people we serve and build cultures that keep us close to our communities.
Impact Data—In 2025, AltCap closed 147 loans totaling $12.25 million.
We thank AltCap for its OFN membership and for its continued work to empower underserved entrepreneurs.
Learn more about AltCap in this YouTube video.
Stay connected with AltCap through their social media platforms:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/altcap/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AltCapKC
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/altcap
- Newsletter sign up: https://mailchi.mp/altcap.org/newsletter-signup-altcap
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