OFN
  • Our Work
    • What is a CDFI?
    • Key Priorities
      • Affordable Housing
      • Financial First Response
      • Climate Change & Resilience
      • Healthy Communities
      • Native Finance
      • Persistent Poverty
      • Racial Equity
      • Rural Development
      • Small Business
    • Impact Stories
    • Impact Data
  • Investing & Giving
    • Why Partner with CDFIs
    • Invest in CDFIs
    • Invest Through OFN
    • Investor Resources
  • Members
    • Join OFN
    • CDFI Connect Community
    • Take Action
  • Public Policy
    • Partnering with the Public Sector
    • U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund
    • Public Policy Communications
    • Take Action
  • Initiatives
    • Current Initiatives
      • CDFI Community Investment Fund
      • Economic Justice Partnership Fund
      • Finance Justice Fund
      • Good to Grow CDFI Investment Fund
      • Grow with Google Small Business Fund
      • Native CDFI Awards
      • Ned Gramlich Award
    • Past Initiatives
  • About
    • About OFN
    • Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • OFN Board
    • OFN Training & Events
    • OFN Careers
    • OFN Financials
    • Contact Us
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Press Room
    • CDFI Locator
    • CDFI Industry Job Bank
    • CDFI Resource Library
    • Public Appearances
    • CDFI History
    • About CDFIs for Clients

Quick Links

  • CDFI Locator
  • Blog
  • OFN Training & Events
  • Join
  • CDFI Connect Community
Bilingual Academy Memphis, HOPE client
2nd
December
2016
Memphis, TN

Hope Enterprise Helps Build Brighter Futures with Bilingual Immersion

December 2, 2016

Client: Bilingual Academy Memphis (BAM)

Client Location: Memphis, TN

CDFI: HOPE

CDFI Service Area: National

CDFI Services Provided: 

Financing

Financial and Social Impact

  • Enrollment rates preserved for 75 children
  • Jobs created/ preserved: 10 caregivers

For more than ten years, Kim Palmer has provided access to affordable, quality language immersion programming for infants and toddlers through Bilingual Academy Memphis (BAM). As Kim puts it, her own son’s experiences were the inspiration for the educator to open her own bilingual center, “My son’s godparents are from Chile and Costa Rica. They taught him Spanish at an early age.” Through this experience, she explains, “I saw the need for everyday people to be able to afford for their children to learn a second language.” So in 2005 she opened BAM to serve a need of providing access to bilingual immersion. But rent was an ever increasing problem for keeping costs affordable, so in 2015 she was set out to purchase the property she had rented for years.

“One of the biggest obstacles for us was trying to get financed. Being a small business with one owner, it was difficult. HOPE provided us with necessary funds to purchase the building, which saves us from paying the additional fees we were paying, including rent, insurance, and other costs. It also locks us into a loan at an affordable rate,” said Kim.

With HOPE’s assistance, BAM purchased the land and the building that they had previously leased. Their location in their community is a treasured resource. As the Hispanic population in Memphis has more than doubled in the last decade, BAM plays a meaningful role for Spanish-speaking families. As Kim puts it, “To be able to bring their children here and be able to communicate with staff, this is very important.” All the staff at BAM speak Spanish and English. She currently has ten teachers and caregivers on staff, and they all receive additional training in partnership with the Department of Human Services and other community resources to help them further their education.

The site has a maximum capacity of 97 children. As their current enrollment is 75, there is room to grow, and they plan to add three more staff positions in the future.

BAM was one of the first projects closed through the Wells Fargo DCC. Through the program, HOPE received a $2 million grant to expand its financing activities for minority- and women-owned businesses. The investment in BAM supported through this project will both create additional employment opportunities and additional slots in its bilingual immersion program.

Tags: Childcare, Early Childhood Education, Entrepreneur of Color, Wells Fargo Diverse Community Capital, Women-owned Small Business

Share post to Facebook
Share post to Twitter
Share post to LinkedIn

Opportunity Finance logo - white

  • About OFN
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • OFN Training & Events
  • Newsletter Subscription
  • CDFI Locator
  • Invest in CDFIs
  • CDFI Connect Community
  • CDFI Industry Job Bank
  • Press Room

Copyright © 2023 Opportunity Finance Network. All rights reserved.

  • Terms of Use
  • Sitemap