Member Highlight: River City Capital Investment Corporation

Roland Kamara, Membership Associate, OFN

February 10, 2026 – 

President Ron Brooks on Building Durable Small Businesses and Circulating Capital Locally

Read time: 7 minutes

Black History Month honors the achievements, leadership, and enduring contributions of Black Americans, while also inviting reflection on the ongoing work to advance racial and economic equity.  

Established in 2010, River City Capital has a dedicated mission to accelerate shared prosperity and revitalization in underserved communities through the provision of capital in Memphis and Shelby County. In this highlight, you will learn about what makes River City Capital unique, Ron’s why for the work he does, and much more. 

1. What is one unique aspect about your organization or the community you serve?  

River City Capital is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: communities overlooked by mainstream finance are not risky —they are ready. Memphis is full of talented entrepreneurs, but a lot of them are building in neighborhoods that have been overlooked by mainstream finance for decades. What is unique about River City Capital is that we do not treat these communities like “high risk”—we treat them like high potential. We focus on neighborhood-level economic development, so the goal isn’t just “approve a loan,” it’s helping businesses become stable anchors that keep dollars circulating locally and strengthen commercial corridors. 

2. What’s your “why” for working in the community development space, and how did you end up at your organization?  

My “why” is simple: I have seen firsthand how much talent exists in communities that don’t get fair access to capital, and I believe financing should be a tool for stability and dignity—not another barrier. I came into this work with a banker’s discipline and a community-first lens, and River City Capital was the right place to merge both. I ended up here because the mission is real, the need in Memphis is real, and I wanted to help build a model where entrepreneurs are not just funded—they’re strengthened. 

3. How do you describe River City Capital to people you serve and to those new to community development?

River City Capital is a community development financial institution (CDFI)—which means we are a mission-driven lender designed to serve entrepreneurs and communities that traditional lenders often do not reach. We provide affordable small business loans (up to $250,000), and we pair capital with practical support so borrowers do not just receive money—they build a stronger, more bankable business that can grow, hire, and last. 

We tell people this: “We help you get ready for capital and get access to capital.” If a business owner isn’t quite bankable today, we help them tighten up the basics —cash flow habits, documentation, pricing, and planning—so they can qualify for the right kind of funding. If they are ready, we move with them to put affordable loan capital to work so they can create jobs and build something real in Memphis. 

4. What is the biggest challenge or opportunity for your organization in 2026? 

In 2026, the biggest challenge and opportunity is the same thing: helping small businesses stay strong while costs, rates, and consumer behavior continue to shift. For us, that means continuing to lend responsibly while also doubling down on readiness and business owner customer discovery—making sure borrowers understand how to manage cash flow, customer inflow through marketing efforts, price for profit, and use debt wisely. The opportunity is to become even more of a stabilizing force for entrepreneurs who need clarity and affordable capital in an uncertain environment. The opportunity is to become even more of a stabilizing economic force for entrepreneurs—providing clarity, discipline, and access to capital when the market is uncertain. Across the CDFI industry, the challenge is sustaining durable, scalable impact in a market that expects CDFIs to do more with limited flexible capital—making strong business models as critical as mission. 

5. In the past few years, what project or partnership have you felt had the biggest impact on the community you serve? 

For me, it will be a few years ago, during the height of the global pandemic, we partnered with a nationwide bank that invested in our loan fund for our ability to provide forgivable loans for small business owners. This was a game changer for those recipients, as the vast majority met the small criteria to achieve loan forgiveness, and utilized the capital injection for operational and marketing support for their businesses. It is a partnership I look to emulate for the opportunity to provide this product ongoing, as the community benefits from accessing capital that allows for capacity building and “proof of concept” in early business stages. 

6. In one word, describe your organization’s relationship with OFN. What made you choose that word? 

Multiplier. Because OFN helps expand our impact beyond what we could do alone—by connecting us to peers, best practices, resources, and industry-wide collaboration that strengthens our work and helps more community lenders deliver durable results. 

7. How do you describe OFN to people who do not know us? 

I describe OFN as the connector and capacity-builder for the CDFI industry—a national network that helps community lenders share knowledge, strengthen operations, access capital, and elevate the collective voice of the field. OFN helps make sure CDFIs do not have to figure everything out alone, and it helps us align investors, funders, and policymakers around what it really takes to finance communities that mainstream systems have missed and/or avoided.

Impact Data of River City Capital 

• Geography served: Memphis & Shelby County, Tennessee 
• Year established: 2010 
• Loan size: Small business loans up to $250,000 
• CDFI Fund Awards: 
  • CDFI-ERP Award (2022): $500,000 
  • CDFI Financial Assistance (FA) Award (2024): $619,000 
• Loans closed (2025): 19 loans totaling $1,238,500 
• Jobs created or retained (2025): 95 
• Borrowers in LMI tracts or entrepreneurs of color: 95% 

We thank River City Capital for their membership and all the work they have done and will continue to do to improve the Memphis, TN community. To stay up to date on the work they are doing, follow their website and social media. 

Website: rivercitycapital.org 
Instagram (org): @rccinvestment  
LinkedIn (org): River City Capital Investment (company page)  
Facebook: River City Capital Investment  
X (Twitter): @RCCInvestment
Newsletter: Your Bankable Business 

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Tags: Black CDFIs, Black History Month, CDFI Leadership, CDFIs, Economic Opportunity, Member Highlight, Small Business