OFN Joins Members and Partners in Bay Area to See CDFI Impact First-Hand

Caroline Valvardi

Recently several members of the OFN team traveled to the Bay Area to visit CDFIs in our membership and meet their borrowers. A few of our partners also joined us and got to witness how their investments in CDFIs generate economic opportunity for people and places that mainstream finance doesn’t traditionally reach. 

Our three days of touring CDFI-funded projects culminated with an inspiring panel discussion at Google’s office in San Francisco about the deep impact created by CDFI investment. 

Learn more about the amazing small businesses, affordable housing developments, community facilities, and other CDFI-funded projects we visited! You can also check out our Facebook album for more photos from the trip.

February 22  

• Firebrand Artisan Breads – Oakland, CA 
  Industrial-style bakery offering handcrafted breads, sandwiches and pastries, plus baking classes. Pacific Community Ventures client and received financing from ICA. 
  
• Red Bay Coffee Box – Oakland, CA 
  Black-owned, local coffee roaster with an organic, fair-trade focus plus tea, hot chocolate, and pastries. Received financing from ICA and Pacific Community Ventures. 
  
• Kingston 11 Cuisine – Oakland, CA 
  Black-owned, classic Jamaican fare, such as a jerk chicken and curried goat, and cocktails in a warm colorful space. Received financing from Main Street Launch.
  
• The Port Workspaces – Oakland, CA 
  Shared workspace founded in 2012. Received financing from ICA.  
  
• Javi’s Cooking at the Port – Oakland, CA 
  Argentinian restaurant with location on rooftop at The Port Workspaces. Received financing from Pacific Community Ventures and ICA. 
  
• Oakland Fortune Factory – Oakland, CA 
  Oldest family-owned hand-making fortune cookie factory left on the West Coast, second oldest in the country! Received financing from Pacific Community Ventures. 

February 23  

• Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay – Santa Cruz, CA 
  Housing project consisting of 11 single family homes. Received financing from Housing Trust Silicon Valley. 
  
• JSM Organics – Royal Oaks, CA 
  200 acre strawberry farm. Received financing from California FarmLink.
  
• RiverView Estates II – Hollister, CA 
  Housing project consisting of 24 single family lots to be sold to participants of the USDA Rural Development Mutual Self-Help program. Received financing from Rural Community Assistance Corporation.

February 28  

• MEDA Headquarters – San Francisco, CA  
  CDFI member office. Received financing from Community Vision Capital & Consulting. 
  
• Castilito Yucateco Restaurant – San Francisco, CA 
  Mexican restaurant. Client of Accion Opportunity Fund. 
  
• Heliotrope – San Francisco, CA 
  Natural beauty store stocking fragrance-free & organic skin, aromatherapy & hair products. Client of Working Solutions and Pacific Community Ventures. 
  
• El Buen Comer – San Francisco, CA 
  Mexican, woman-owned restaurant. Client of Fondo Adelante (MEDA). 
  
• Youth Speaks – San Francisco, CA 
  Literary arts education programs providing numerous opportunities for youth to be published and heard. Received financing from Community Vision Capital & Consulting and MEDA. 

Special thanks to all those who helped make this Bay Area CDFI impact tour a success! We look forward to joining more OFN members and partners around the country this year as we continue our work to finance justice and change.