Buy from some of our favorite Bay Area small businesses in “Shop the Bay” Guide 2022!

The Shop the Bay is back for this Holiday Season! Check out this directory now and find an array of extraordinary globally-inspired products, artisan goods and environmentally-minded brands, all created by Bay Area underserved small business owners. 

This is an initiative of the San Francisco Economic Development Alliance (SFEDA), and we are part of the alliance. You can use the guide to discover and support local small businesses in the Bay Area.

In this guide, you will find unique gifts for the holiday season, like Year-end gifts for staff, thank-you gifts for board members, goods for corporate holiday baskets, holiday party favors, gratitude gifts for nonprofit funders and high-level donors, volunteer appreciation gifts, or surprise gifts for key consultants and contractors. 

The Shop the Bay Guide makes it easier for you to find unique gifts as you can search by:

• Price: up to $15, between $16 - $30, Between $31-$50, and from $51 and up.

• Business owner profile: Women-Owned, Black-owned, AAPI-owned and Latinx-owned.

If you want to find inspiration, the Shop the Bay Guide offers a variety of products which includes:

• Apparel & Accessories

• Home & Personal Goods

• Art & Entertainment

• Savory foods

• Coffee & Tea

• Sweets & Treats

When you shop at a small business, you are supporting a dream, bringing forth unique products, creating meaningful new jobs and making a difference with your dollars.

Only together can we truly support our Bay Area community of small business entrepreneurs.

2022 Q3 Update

We have some important updates regarding entrepreneurs served, the Centro Business Planning App, access to capital, one-on-one assistance, and Centro Business Planning App. You can now see our latest impact statistics on our Overview page.

ENTREPRENEURS SERVED

Throughout this year, we have served 897 entrepreneurs, 263 of whom attended our training programs. Through our programs, the Capital Hub and our app, we are on track to help more than 1,270 entrepreneurs by the end of this year. 

We would like to introduce you to Ingrid, who is the owner of Niños Sanos, Seguros y Felices in San Jose, California. She is an amazing Latina entrepreneur who went through our Basic and Advanced programs, and recently got her second Kiva loan.

ACCESS TO CAPITAL

Over the last three months, the Centro Capital Hub helped 18 entrepreneurs access a total of $198,500 in interest-free loans through Kiva, and a total of 60 entrepreneurs accessed $591,500 this year. We are on track to serve 75 entrepreneurs by the end of the year.

We are excited to share that since we started helping entrepreneurs access Kiva Loans through our Centro Business Planning App trustee account in 2014, we have endorsed 144 entrepreneurs who have received over $1 Million in interest-free loans.
So far this year, we have helped eleven entrepreneurs access $75,000 in grants and five entrepreneurs access $700,000 in larger small business loans with local CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions).

ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE

Since January 2021, we have provided 1,346 hours of 1-on-1 assistance to 424 entrepreneurs, with most of them located in Oakland, San Jose, Santa Clara, Stockton and other Bay Area counties.

In 2022 we have served 198 entrepreneurs and we are on track to support 250 entrepreneurs by the end of this year.

CENTRO BUSINESS PLANNING APP UPDATES

We continue our work on improving the Centro Business Planning App, and we have recently released another app update. With the latest version of the app, entrepreneurs can now see local lenders and resources on the app in multiple languages. They will see resources that offer support in their language at the top of the list and other options that might not offer in their languages below.

Also, entrepreneurs can now update their email addresses if something changes or if they had a typo when they originally created their accounts. As entrepreneurs sign up for and use the app, they are asked to validate their email to ensure that their Business Plans and the emails connecting them to resources are sent to the right place.

Centro awarded with Justworks.org grant

We're excited to share that we have been awarded a grant from Justworks.org. We are honored to be selected as one of five non-profit organization recipients out of 183 proposals submitted.

Justworks.org is committed to creating more equitable access to entrepreneurship. They are focused on high-impact grant-making for incubators and other organizations that help early-stage minority and women-owned businesses access the fundamentals of entrepreneurship like raising financing, building products, finding customers, and ultimately delivering revenues and profits. 

In many cases, underrepresented entrepreneurs face additional barriers to success, like disparities in opportunity along race, gender, sexual orientation, and other socioeconomic lines. That makes access to the fundamentals of entrepreneurship a major obstacle in realizing their potential.

Thanks to this grant, we will be able to continue offering technical assistance programs and services to aspiring entrepreneurs and established small businesses led by women and minorities in Stockton, CA.

We are looking forward to being part of Justworks inaugural cohort of grantees! 

You can learn more about the Justworks grant here.

Featured E-Suite Partner: Bethel LA CDC

Para leer en español, haz click aquí

We are pleased to feature one of our first partner organizations: Bethel Los Angeles Community Development Corporation (Bethel). Frank Stokes is the founder of the Business Entrepreneurial Stewardship Training Mobile Accelerator (BEST Mobile Accelerator); in partnership with Bethel LA CDC, a non-profit corporation, whose mission is to revitalize South Los Angeles through social, economic, physical, mental, educational, and vocational support services and programs. 

They do this by developing and nurturing youth, providing assistance to senior citizens, supporting the family structure, fostering the creation of businesses, promoting computer literacy, bridging the education gap between generations and connecting life purposes with career choices in the community of South Los Angeles.

PIONEERS TESTING THE CENTRO BUSINESS PLANNING APP

Centro launched the Business Planning App in 2015 and made it available to other non-profit organizations in California that served entrepreneurs. Thanks to CAMEO, Bethel LA CDC was introduced to Centro as part of a cohort of organizations in Southern California that were the first to receive the Train-the-Trainer program and use the app to help entrepreneurs as new E-Suite Partners. 

“We were really excited about the Centro Business Planning App. We have used other tools before, but what we really like about this one is that it was portable on mobile devices and it was introspective, meaning that if you're answering responsively to the questions you're building your content. It took a lot of mystery out of the wordsmithery, and you know how to get started.” - Frank Stokes

PROVIDING AN ENTREPRENEURSHIP ECOSYSTEM IN SOUTH LA

Bethel LA CDC goal is to revitalize South Los Angeles by improving facilities and promoting opportunities through career and entrepreneurship training in the community.

With this goal in mind, Bethel LA CDC BEST Mobile Accelerator provides an entrepreneurship program to their community where they use the Centro Business Planning App. This program facilitates access to business development resources that enhance growth and self-sufficiency. It also provides information and seminars to retain, attract, and expand new and existing businesses. Assistance is provided to minority, women and disadvantaged business enterprises.

“We serve as a network for small businesses and an ecosystem for entrepreneurs that are seeking to realize their vision. We do that with a variety of resources. We start with the training and technical assistance and then we offer assistance with the implementation of the business plan and access to capital. In many cases, we can make those handshakes for mentorship or some particular resources unique to the entrepreneurs’ business.” - Frank Stokes

EMBRACING ENTREPRENEURSHIP LIKE NEVER BEFORE

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Bethel LA CDC BEST Mobile Accelerator’s outreach has expanded. They started facilitating their programs virtually and discovered that removed the transportation barriers. People who couldn’t attend in-person programs were able to attend now.

The Bethel LA CDC BEST Mobile Accelerator serves a wide spectrum of people, from the underserved entrepreneurs to the disenfranchised, including people who were employed and decided to leave their employment.

“Today people are embracing the idea of running your own business like never before. This was a real challenge for people. They were more focused on finding employment that takes care of bills, and so there's a lot of uncertainty in the marketplace right now.” - Frank Stokes

SEVEN YEARS OF A VERY RICH PARTNERSHIP

Since then, the Bethel LA CDC BEST Mobile Accelerator has implemented Centro’s curriculum in their entrepreneurship programs. In their first year as E-Suite Partners their goal was to impact 25 businesses. Now, 7 years after becoming partners, they have served over 500 entrepreneurs using the Centro Entrepreneurship Suite (E-Suite).

In the last two-and-a-half years, they’ve served 250 businesses. Of those served, 40 are in cohorts, and the rest of them are businesses in the community or they are previous graduates of their program that are in the network, and they receive continuous support and new information.

“The partnership with Centro has been rich and has provided us with a tool that is user-friendly to the community we serve. This tool, the Centro Business Planning App, is the most user-friendly we've had. It has eliminated some of the mystery to get a basic business plan once they've gotten to that stage. The technical support we have received from Centro has been great. Growing together and serving our community over the years has been a very valuable collaboration and partnership.” Frank Stokes

If you want to learn more about how we can also help your organization, please contact us at esuite@centrocommunity.org. We are also happy to answer any questions about our current curriculum, learning and teaching tools, and the support we provide to organizations!

Centro awarded an eBay Foundation Global Give grant

We're excited to share that we received an eBay Foundation Global Give grant to support women and minority entrepreneurs.

We are grateful to eBay Foundation for their generous support for the second time, as we were also grantees of the 2021 Global Give grant program. Thanks to their continuous support, we were able to utilize their grant funds to advance access to capital, offer 1-on-1 business advisory services and provide capacity-building services to other nonprofits. These partner organizations collectively served 150+ underrepresented entrepreneurs in the Bay Area and New York City. With renewed support from the eBay Foundation, we are looking to continue our work and support in these areas.

Since 1998, eBay Foundation has partnered with nonprofit organizations that are addressing and removing barriers to entrepreneurship for people who identify with historically excluded groups. The foundation believes when entrepreneurs succeed, they build more resilient and vibrant communities. The foundation’s grantmaking supports nonprofits like Centro and coalitions that enrich entrepreneurial opportunities for people and communities disproportionately affected by structural inequality, advancing economic opportunity for all.

We are so grateful to eBay Foundation for its commitment to entrepreneurship with underserved communities.

You can learn more about the eBay Global Give grant here.

Quarterly Capital Hub Update

In this quarterly Capital Hub update we’ll share some of our accomplishments, and share the stories of two entrepreneurs who finished their Kiva campaigns.

$1 M IN IN KIVA LOANS FOR ENTREPRENEURS ENDORSED BY CENTRO!

We are excited to share that since we started helping entrepreneurs access Kiva Loans through our Centro Business Planning App trustee account in 2014, we have endorsed 133 entrepreneurs receiving over $1M in interest-free loans.

In order to qualify for our endorsement in Kiva, entrepreneurs must create their business plans using the Centro Business Planning Tool. By completing all of the activities in this app, potential borrowers will have thought through the different pieces of their business models and are able to effectively explain their business to Kiva lenders. 

QUARTERLY UPDATE

Since the start of 2022, we have helped 57 entrepreneurs access $1,160,500. From this amount, $440,500 were provided in Kiva loans with the Oakland and San Francisco Kiva Hubs, $45,000 in grants, and $675,000 in larger small business loans.

EDISNEY AND PAOLA, ARE SET FOR SUCCESS AFTER GETTING THEIR KIVA LOAN!

Meet Edisney and Paola, two amazing entrepreneurs who each received a $15,000 Kiva loan to grow their businesses in the Bay Area:

EDISNEY ROA TRUJILLO, OWNER OF OLALA POPSICLES

Edisney is originally from Colombia, and produces and sells artisan popsicles called Olala Popsicles.

“One of my passions is making traditional Colombian desserts for my family, especially passion fruit desserts. Living here in the United States and missing the food of my country, I was inspired by Colombian paletas to create Olala Popsicles and share them with my friends. My business started in 2020 during the pandemic because of the need to earn income and my passion for taking desserts to another level.” - Edisney

This Kiva loan is helping Edisney take her popsicle business to the next level by purchasing machinery to optimize the production and distribution of the product.

Watch Edisney’s video here.

PAOLA ALVARADO, OWNER OF PAO CRAFT COCKTAILS 

Paola is a Latina woman originally from Mexico, and is the founder of Pao Craft Cocktails.

“I have a craft cocktail business, I focus on creating fun and different environments with a delicious drink made for each of my clients' needs. My business is a mobile bar and we serve our customers in the location of their choice. I decided to start my business, because I was unemployed due to the pandemic in 2020. This motivated me to undertake and empower myself to open my business on February 17, 2021.” - Paola

This loan helped Paola purchase a van to transport more equipment and hold larger events, as well as help with professional advertising and hiring a staff person.

Read Paola’s success story here.

Please let us know if you or someone you know is interested in accessing a Kiva loan or have any questions. Verónica Gutiérrez, Capital Access Manager: KivaUS@centrocommunity.org.

Organización aliada destacada de E-Suite Women Enabled Enterprises

To read in English, click here

Es un gran placer para nosotros contar con la renovación de Women Enabled Enterprises (WEE)  como afiliado de E-Suite por tercer año, y queremos aprovechar esta oportunidad para destacar el increíble trabajo que realizan en África. Mpho Hansjee es la fundadora y CEO de Women Enabled Enterprises, una organización sin ánimo de lucro que trabaja con mujeres en Sudáfrica y que ayuda a las mujeres de bajos ingresos y alto potencial a crear o hacer crecer sus pequeños negocios para ser autosuficientes. 

"Somos una organización sin ánimo de lucro que rompe las barreras de acceso para las mujeres sudafricanas de color que buscan prosperar o embarcarse en un viaje de emprendimiento". - Mpho

EMPODERAR A UNA MUJER, ELEVAR UNA COMUNIDAD

Mpho fundó Women Enabled Enterprises con el objetivo de resolver uno de los mayores problemas de su país: el desempleo. Sudáfrica tiene la tasa de desempleo más alta del mundo, con un 35% de paro, y las mujeres de entre 15 y 34 años forman el 60% de esta cifra.

Como organización, WEE está comprometida con la solución de este problema. Saben que cuando las mujeres no tienen capacidad de decisión en sus vidas, no son capaces de cuidar de sus hijos. Esto afecta a la nutrición infantil, a la educación y a muchos otros ámbitos. WEE ayuda a las mujeres artesanas a desarrollar sus habilidades empresariales para que tengan la oportunidad de crear empleo para sí mismas y para otros a partir de sus habilidades. 

"También es muy conocida, por desgracia, la violencia de género en el sur de África, y aunque nuestra organización no contribuye directamente a ayudar en ese ámbito, lo que sabemos es que cuando las mujeres tienen más dinero propio, son capaces de abandonar relaciones que ya no son seguras para ellas". - Mpho

JUNTOS DESDE EL INICIO

Women Enabled Enterprises fue fundada en 2019 en Sudáfrica, y referida a Centro por Julie Abrams. WEE comenzó a ejecutar sus programas en 2020, y desde el principio, confiaron en la metodología de Centro y la incorporaron junto con la Centro Business Planning App en su programa de 12 semanas.

La accesibilidad del teléfono para ejecutar los programas fue una de las cosas más importantes para WEE cuando comenzamos nuestra alianza, ya que la mayoría de las mujeres en Sudáfrica no tienen un ordenador portátil. "Cuando probamos la aplicación Centro con nuestro primer grupo, todo fue bien, y todas pudieron descargar la aplicación y utilizarla. Nuestro objetivo era que todas las empresarias tuvieran la aplicación y pudieran utilizarla con facilidad en las tres primeras semanas. Sin embargo, en las dos primeras semanas pudimos tener a todas a bordo". El 90% de las mujeres con las que trabajan sólo tienen teléfonos móviles, así que cuando utilizan Zoom, todo lo que hacen tiene que ser muy fácil de usar en el teléfono movil.

Cuando WEE comenzó, su principal objetivo como organización era servir a 100 mujeres en un año, y quería ejecutar 4 trimestres, sirviendo a 25 mujeres en cada uno. Lanzaron su primer programa en 2019 con 15 emprendedoras en la primera cohorte, 25 en la segunda y 70 en la tercera. Después de eso se estabilizaron a un promedio de 30 a 40 mujeres en cada grupo. Ahora han decidido que en lugar de hacer 4 programas en un año, harán 2 pero tendrán grupos más grandes. "Estoy muy orgullosa de decir esto, pero ya casi llegamos a las 200 para el trimestre de otoño y es el grupo más grande que hemos tenido nunca". - Mpho

SUPERANDO BARRERAS CON LA TECNOLOGÍA

Este año, Women Enabled Enterprises ha ampliado sus programas virtuales a otros países africanos como Ghana, Kenia, Uganda, Etiopía, Zimbabue, Tanzania y Senegal. Todos los programas son en línea y combinan las actividades de la Centro Business Planning App. También invita a ponentes de Estados Unidos y de diferentes países de África.

"La aplicación hizo que el proceso de elaboración de un plan de negocios fuera menos desalentador. Me gusta que haya dividido cada sección en trozos manejables. Fue más agradable que abrumador hacer uno. La funcionalidad de poder exportarlo en diferentes archivos para su uso futuro también fue una ventaja añadida". - Kagiso, emprendedora de WEE.

Uno de los mayores éxitos de WEE es que han sido capaces de trascender sus propias capacidades y su propio alcance. Cada vez que atienden a una mujer, un tercio de ellas emplea a dos personas en su comunidad. "Ese es un resultado poderoso, porque una persona crea su propio empleo, y crea capacidad en su vida y en su negocio para emplear a otras personas. Y lo mismo ocurre con los hijos de las mujeres a las que atendemos, y lo diferente que será la vida de los niños ahora que su madre está en pie. Los niños tendrán una mejor educación, podrán comer alimentos sanos y podrán tener libros para la escuela y zapatos. Para mí, eso hace que todo valga la pena". - Mpho

CONECTANDO CON LAS EMPRENDEDORAS ALLÍ DONDE SE ENCUENTRAN

"Nuestra alianza con Centro ha sido increíblemente beneficiosa porque lo que Centro proporciona es exactamente lo que nuestras emprendedoras necesitan y lo que nuestra organización necesita. Lo que más me gusta es que Centro llega a las mujeres a las que servimos justo donde están. Tienen la oportunidad de hacer la aplicación en un idioma diferente. Centro crea accesibilidad y eso es fundamental para el lugar donde encontramos a nuestras emprendedoras, que es el teléfono móvil. No podemos agradecer lo suficiente a Centro porque han estado con nosotras desde que empezamos, y todavía están con nosotras. Han sido unos aliados muy receptivos a los comentarios y nos han hecho mejorar. No habríamos podido tener el éxito que hemos creado sin Centro" - Mpho

Puedes saber más sobre Women Enabled Enterprises, su misión y su impacto viendo este vídeo:

Si quieres saber más sobre cómo podemos ayudar también a tu organización, ponte en contacto con nosotros en esuite@centrocommunity.org. También estaremos encantados de responder a cualquier pregunta sobre nuestro plan de estudios actual, las herramientas de aprendizaje y enseñanza, y el apoyo que ofrecemos a las organizaciones.

2022 Q2 Update & W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant

Here are some big milestones we achieved during the second quarter of 2022! In addition to updates about entrepreneurs served, the Centro Business Planning App, access to capital, and one-on-one assistance, you can also see our latest impact statistics on our Overview page.

ENTREPRENEURS SERVED

During the first half of 2022, we served 640 entrepreneurs, and 172 of them graduated from our programs. Through our programs, Capital Hub and app, we are on track to help more than 1,400 entrepreneurs by the end of this year.

We would like to introduce you to Paola, who is the owner of Pao Craft Cocktails in East Palo Alto, California. She is an amazing Latina entrepreneur who went through our programs, and recently graduated from the Advanced Entrepreneurship Program.

ACCESS TO CAPITAL

During the last three months, the Centro Capital Hub helped 17 entrepreneurs access a total of $138,000 in interest-free loans through Kiva and we have a goal of helping 100 entrepreneurs receive $1,000,000 in Kiva loans by the end of the year. 

So far this year, we have helped six entrepreneurs access $45,000 in grants and four entrepreneurs access $675,000 in larger small business loans with local CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions).

ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE

Throughout this year, we provided 319 hours of 1-on-1 business coaching sessions to 127 entrepreneurs. 

Since 2021, we have provided 1,198 hours of 1-on-1 assistance to entrepreneurs, with most of them located in Oakland, San Jose, Santa Clara, Stockton and other Bay Area counties.

W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION GRANT TO IMPROVE THE APP

We're excited to share that we received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to invest in our technological infrastructure and scale our capacity to empower underserved entrepreneurs and families to have equal access to economic opportunity. 

Thanks to this grant, we will be able to integrate impact surveys onto the Centro Business Planning App to measure an entrepreneur’s progress in real-time and gauge how many entrepreneurs are positively impacted by the app. We will also connect underserved entrepreneurs with more local resources by integrating more microlenders, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and business service organizations onto the app.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch the Centro Business Planning App Demo video here:

Centro selected as one of MIT Solve X Truist Foundation Inspire Awards semi-finalists

We are honored to share that we have been chosen among the 15 semi-finalists of MIT Solve X Truist Foundation Inspire Awards. 

The Truist Foundation and MIT Solve partner in launching the inaugural Inspire Awards to identify innovative nonprofit-driven solutions that provide support to grow, develop, and sustain racially diverse and/or women-led small businesses in the United States. The Challenge is seeking organizations driving a new frontier for entrepreneurship across the United States. 

Centro Business Planning App project is supported by Solve, an initiative from MIT, and we are excited for the steps ahead. Finalists will be announced on the 1st of July.

With the Centro Business Planning App, we have successfully tested and deployed a scalable solution that can be used to promote entrepreneurship as a pathway towards employment, build economic resilience in local communities, catalyze growth of small businesses, facilitate access to capital, create jobs and grow household income.

You can learn more about the MIT Solve X Truist Foundation Inspire Awards here.

Centro Awarded with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Grant

We're excited to share that we received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to invest in our technological infrastructure and scale our capacity to empower underserved entrepreneurs and families to have equal access to economic opportunity. We are grateful to Kellogg Foundation for supporting our mission and investing in us with a two-year $300,000 grant.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.

Thanks to this grant, Centro will be able to develop our Learning Management System to scale our programs and services, offering access to underserved entrepreneurs regardless of their location. We will also be able to integrate impact surveys onto the Centro Business Planning App to measure an entrepreneur’s progress in real time and gauge how many entrepreneurs are positively impacted by the app. Finally, we will connect underserved entrepreneurs with more local resources by integrating more microlenders, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and business service organizations onto the app.

Quarterly Capital Hub Update

In this quarterly Capital Hub update we’ll share some of our accomplishments, and share the stories of two entrepreneurs who finished their Kiva campaigns and share their stories.

$1.5 MILLION IN KIVA LOANS!

In January 2020 we launched the Centro Capital Hub to connect Centro graduates and local entrepreneurs with different capital providers. We are excited to share that since Centro became a Kiva Hub in 2020, we have already helped 159 entrepreneurs access over $1.5 Million in Kiva loans through our Alameda and San Francisco Hubs!

Join us in supporting more entrepreneurs raising money through Kiva.

QUARTERLY UPDATE

Since the start of 2022, we have helped 35 entrepreneurs access a total of $336,000 in Kiva loans. We also helped 5 entrepreneurs access $40,000 in grants, as well as 3 entrepreneurs access $645,000 in larger small business loans.

ANDREA AND TRACY, ARE SET FOR SUCCESS AFTER GETTING THEIR KIVA LOAN!

Meet Andrea and Tracy, two amazing entrepreneurs who each received a $15,000 Kiva loan to grow their businesses in the Bay Area:

TRACY GHO, OWNER OF DAMANSARA RESTAURANT

Tracy was born and raised in Malaysia and she is the owner of Damansara, an upcoming Malaysian restaurant in San Francisco. 

“It started in 2013 as a series of small dinner parties in my one-bedroom apartment, which quickly expanded into larger dinner pop-ups at rented commercial venues. After serving a few thousand local guests at over 500 events in San Francisco, I continued to deliver nostalgic meals while homesick Malaysians were unable to visit home during the pandemic. Damansara has recently found its permanent location at Church St, San Francisco. The 1100 sqft restaurant is set to open in Spring-Summer 2022.” - Tracy

This Kiva loan was to help Tracy employ and train her three key employees in the opening team. Tracy hopes to join industry leaders in promoting equitable pay and good staff retention practices.

Watch Tracy’s video here.

ANDREA BARKLEY, OWNER OF THE HEART OF ART

Andrea recently founded a coaching business called "The Heart of Art: Coaching for Creatives."

“My passion for serving the Arts community came out of my lived experience as a creative. I have been a professional musician for over 20 years. Although I have had a life blessed with personal success, I struggled as many artists do along the way. The demands of creative life took their toll. Finding time to take care of my heart, body, and mind became more and more challenging as the years went by. Finally, after a period of deep reflection and education, I found a new calling to help my fellow artists in need through coaching.” - Andrea.

This loan was to help Andrea dedicate her energy and time to producing ad campaigns and organic content that will help her business attract high-quality leads, generate more business, and expand her brand.

Watch Andrea’s video here.

Please let us know if you or someone you know is interested in accessing a Kiva loan or have any questions. Verónica Gutiérrez, Capital Access Manager: KivaUS@centrocommunity.org.

Featured E-Suite Partner: Prospera

Para leer en español, haz click aquí

Today we want to highlight one of our Featured E-Suite Affiliates, Prospera. Prospera partners with Latina entrepreneurs in the Bay Area to launch businesses that foster cooperation, economic independence and well-being in immigrant communities.

Through their culturally-based programs, Latinas access the networks, tools and capital they need to become successful business owners and powerful community leaders.

PLANTING THE SEEDS TO SUCCESS

We started our partnership with Prospera in 2018, with our first Business Plan Bootcamp as part of their Explora program. A year later, following the success of the first program, we did our second Bootcamp together. In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, we provided three additional Bootcamps.

Thanks to the success of the programs during the first 3 years, Prospera became an Entrepreneurship Suite (E-Suite) partner in May 2021, and we did four Bootcamps and trained three of their trainers by September.

WORKING TOGETHER TO ACHIEVE GREATER GOALS

Prospera’s team

Some of their organization's main goals before joining Centro’s E-Suite were to support their participants to create their business model and to train themselves to coach entrepreneurs and colleagues on how to create their business plans.

Thanks to the train-the-trainer program we offer E-Suite partners, they got the tools and training they needed to coach their programs’ participants. Centro provided this training in Spanish as they’re focussed on Latina entrepreneurs.        

COOPERATION AS ONE OF OUR MAIN GOALS

Prospera’s team highly values the personalized support they have received from Centro to help them implement and adapt Centro’s resources to their programs. “I love the camaraderie among the Centro trainers and the availability to customize our performance Plus they give very honest feedback on details where we could improve" they share.

“Collaborating with Centro has helped us work hand-in-hand with our participants. One of the values that guide us at Prospera is cooperation, collaborating with Centro echoes this value and reminds us that in order to make structural changes it is necessary to collaborate with partner organizations. Using the Centro app has simplified the process so that our participants can easily and quickly develop a first draft of their Business Plan, working together for the benefit of our community!” - Claudia Arroyo, Prospra’s Executive Director

TOGETHER WE CAN CREATE A BIGGER IMPACT

At Centro, we are super grateful for Prospera’s level of engagement and commitment, both to the communities they serve and to building a strong partnership.

Trust and transparency have been pillars in our relationship, and the constant feedback has helped us improve our curriculum, and both organizations have benefited enormously from the 2-way commitment.

If you want to learn more about how we can also help your organization, please contact us at esuite@centrocommunity.org. We are also happy to answer any questions about our current curriculum, learning and teaching tools, and the support we provide to organizations!

2022 Q1 Update & $1.5M in Kiva Loans!

We are excited to share some big milestones we achieved during the first quarter of 2022! In addition to updates about entrepreneurs served, the Centro Business Planning App, access to capital, and one-on-one assistance, you can also see our latest impact statistics on our Overview page.

ENTREPRENEURS SERVED

In the first quarter of 2022, we served 325 entrepreneurs, and 61 of them graduated from our programs. Through our programs, capital hub, and app, we are on track to help more than 1,500 entrepreneurs by the end of this year. Here are two amazing women entrepreneurs who went through our programs: Misty L. Franklyn and Jessica Muñoz.

ACCESS TO CAPITAL

We are thrilled to share that since Centro became a Kiva Hub in 2020, we have already helped 159 entrepreneurs reach over $1.5 Million in Kiva loans to overcome their challenges as small business owners!

During the first quarter of 2022, we helped provide access to 25 Kiva loans for a total of $255,000. We also helped three entrepreneurs access $15,000 in grants, as well as three entrepreneurs access $645,000 in larger small business loans with local CDFIs (Community Development Financial Institutions).

ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE

In Q1 2022 we provided 219 hours of 1-on-1 assistance to 67 entrepreneurs. Since 2021, we have provided 1-on-1 assistance to entrepreneurs in many locations, with most of them located in Oakland, San Jose, Santa Clara, Stockton and other Bay Area counties.

CENTRO BUSINESS PLANNING APP

We continue our work on improving the Centro Business Planning App, and we have recently released an App Demo video. With this video, entrepreneurs and organizations can see how easy it is to use the app and all the features it offers, from helping entrepreneurs create their Business Plans to connect with local organizations that can help with funding and business resources.

Quarterly Capital Hub Update

In this quarterly Capital Hub update we are sharing a recap of 2021 and how 2022 has started, and we’ll introduce you to three of our entrepreneurs who were able to sign or renew their lease thanks to their Kiva loans.

2021 RECAP AND STARTING 2022

In 2021 we helped provide access to 60 Kiva loans for a total of $537,000 through our Alameda and San Francisco Kiva Hubs. We also helped 29 entrepreneurs access $1,419,972 in grants, as well as 16 entrepreneurs access $784,644 in larger small business loans.

The Centro Capital Hub has started 2022 by helping 10 entrepreneurs access a total of $92,000 in interest-free loans through Kiva through January.

KIVA LOANS RECEIVED BY OUR ENTREPRENEURS

With Centro’s support, entrepreneurs have accessed the capital they need to continue their operations and start new projects in their businesses.

Tina, owner of A Girl Named Pinky, got a $15,000 Kiva loan that helped her open a new kiosk in Berkeley after losing her lease in 2020.

Quanisha, owner of Yes Pudding, got a $15,000 Kiva loan that helped her open their first permanent location inside San Francisco's historic Ferry Building.

Imani, owner of Roasted and Raw, got a $7,500 Kiva loan that helped his 100% Plant-based bowl shop expand into its own long-term brick and mortar in Oakland.

4X MATCHING FUNDS FROM UMPQUA

Through the Small Business Empowerment Program, Umpqua Bank is offering 4X matching funds to Centro’s entrepreneurs fundraising on Kiva, enabling women and minority entrepreneurs in Umpqua's footprint to access 0% interest loans.

IF YOU WANT A LOAN

SUPPORT CENTRO ENTREPRENEURS

Please let us know if you or someone you know is interested in accessing a Kiva loan or have any questions. Verónica Gutiérrez, Capital Access Manager: KivaUS@centrocommunity.org

Join us in supporting more entrepreneurs raising money through Kiva.

Centro awarded with the Umpqua Impact grant

We're excited to share that we received a grant from Umpqua Bank. The award will help Centro build internal capacity and offer culturally relevant technical assistance programs to support low-income women, entrepreneurs of color, and small businesses.

Thanks to this grant, Centro will be able to invest in critical resources to bring our Entrepreneurship Suite to organizations throughout the United States. Our goal is to provide a complete high-impact enterprise-building resource to other organizations that support aspiring and current small business owners who lack business education or experience.

Centro believes in creating connections that make sense and helping underserved communities access resources that allow them to thrive and energize the local ecosystem. For that reason, in addition to supporting small businesses to apply for loans with Kiva, Centro also helps local organizations connect with the entrepreneurs that need their help.

With this year’s expansion of the Centro’s Capital Hub to San Francisco, Centro supports more entrepreneurs and organizations in San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County to provide access to Kiva’s interest-free microloans.

We are grateful to Umpqua Bank for recognizing our community initiatives and investing in us with a $450,000 grant on a 3-year financial commitment. We are honored for this award and look forward to collaborating with Umpqua Bank to build thriving and inclusive communities.

We are looking for new Entrepreneurship Trainers!

We are excited to grow our team of trainers! If you are in the Bay Area or New York Area, have experience teaching or facilitating workshops and share our same values, we are looking for you! (We’re also considering one remote trainer.)

We are looking for Entrepreneurship trainers to teach our Entrepreneurship Programs and provide Business Advising. We are looking for someone who can explain complex business concepts in simple terms, facilitate workshops using engaging and empowering activities, and guiding participants through the process of developing their business idea into an executable business plan that works for them.

“As a Centro Trainer, I am able to closely work with entrepreneurs that have so much passion for their business ideas. With this passion, coupled with their eagerness to learn, I enjoy watching them and their businesses grow and succeed.” - Monique, Centro Entrepreneurship Trainer

Learn more below and reach out to us if you’re a good fit!

TO APPLY

Please send your resume and a paragraph explanation of why this position is of interest to you to careers@centrocommunity.org.

We are looking forward to meeting you!

2021 Summary Update

We are excited to share a high level summary of our work during 2021.

In addition to summaries of entrepreneurs served, the Centro Business Planning App, access to capital and one-on-one assistance, you can also have an overview look at our infographic here.

ENTREPRENEURS SERVED

In 2021 we served 1,354 entrepreneurs (316 more than the previous year). Over the last two years, we have served 71% of the entrepreneurs through the Centro Business Planning App and 21% through Centro’s programs. Watch some of our entrepreneurs stories here.

ACCESS TO CAPITAL

We are excited to share that in 2021 we helped provide access to 60 Kiva loans for a total of $537,000 through our Alameda and San Francisco Kiva Hubs. We also helped 29 entrepreneurs access $1,419,972 in grants, as well as16 entrepreneurs access $784,644 in larger small business loans.

ONE-ON-ONE ASSISTANCE

Last year we brought a closer connection between our Capital Hub, workshops and 1-on-1 business advising support to address the different challenges faced by small businesses.

In 2021 we provided 879 hours of 1-on-1 assistance to 226 entrepreneurs.

The majority of entrepreneurs were located in Oakland & Alameda County (42%), followed by San Jose and Santa Clara County (19%), and Stockton and San Joaquin County (10%).

CENTRO BUSINESS PLANNING APP

In 2021 we updated the app introducing new features to the Centro Business Planning App. We focused on adding resources in locations where we and our partners offer programs, including the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Michigan, Colorado, Oregon, Florida, and Texas. The Centro Business Planning App connects entrepreneurs to lenders based on location, business stage, how much you need, and industry experience.

New To-Do List added to our Business Planning App

We are excited to share that we have launched a new version of our Centro Business Planning App with a new To-Do List, where you can track your progress and understand the steps ahead! 

Each section of the Business Plan you are creating has its own To-Do List, which can be seen by swiping left and right. We recommend that entrepreneurs go through all of the cards and mark the tasks that have already been completed. 

Every time you complete a new task, you can go to the To-Do List and check that box. Then you will see how the yellow “To-Do” tag becomes a green “Completed” tag. In the upper right corner, we have also added a toggle button where you can easily switch the view from “To Do” tasks, where completed tasks are removed, to “All” tasks, where you can see the full list of tasks.

We have also added an information icon where you can find additional information and clarification of certain tasks.

From time to time, a pop-up will appear to ask if you would like to update your To-Do List and keep it up-to-date to make sure you are on track. You can get easily access the To-Do List whenever you want from the menu to check your progress.

The latest version of the App is available for Apple and Android devices:

Centro selected as part of the Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers

We are honored to be selected as part of the newest cohort of Citi Foundation’s Community Progress Makers! The Foundation’s unrestricted grant support & technical assistance from Urban Institute will help scale our work at Centro to increase social & economic opportunity in our community.

The Citi Foundation first launched the Community Progress Makers initiative in 2015 with a vision of empowering community leaders to grow their transformative impact through unrestricted, trust-based funding. In 2021, the Citi Foundation announced a $25 million expansion of Community Progress Makers with an intentional focus to support visionary organizations that are working to connect low-income communities and communities of color to greater social and economic opportunity.

As a Community Progress Maker, Centro will receive a multi-year, unrestricted grant of $500,000 and access to technical assistance and a supportive learning community from 2022 – 2023.

This third iteration of Community Progress Makers is a part of Citi and the Citi Foundation’s Action for Racial Equity initiative, which has already invested $1 billion in strategic initiatives to help close the racial wealth gap in the United States.

We are grateful for Citi Foundation for supporting our mission to create thriving communities.

Learn more about Community Progress Makers, here.

Some of our favorite Bay Area small businesses are now together, in one place! The new local guide “Shop the Bay”

As you probably know, we are part of the San Francisco Economic Development Alliance (SFEDA), and as a group that advocates for local small business entrepreneurs, we have decided to launch a new small business guide: Shop the Bay!

The first edition of Shop the Bay includes over 40 small businesses, owned by underserved entrepreneurs, including small businesses owned by Women, Latinx, BIPOC, and AAPI.

The giving season is fast approaching and soon, many will get ready to make their purchases. Shop the Bay is part of our effort to stir the demand for holiday gifts towards our extraordinary community of San Francisco’s Bay Area small business entrepreneurs.

In this guide, you will find:

• Year-end gifts for staff

• Thank you gifts for board members

• Goods for corporate holiday baskets

• Holiday party favors

• Gratitude gifts for nonprofit funders and high-level donors

• Volunteer appreciation gifts

• Surprise gifts for key consultants and contractors

Check out Shop the Bay guide now and find an array of extraordinary globally-inspired products, artisan goods and environmentally-minded brands, all created by Bay Area underserved small business owners. 

Thank you for shopping local and small! Only together can we truly support our Bay Area community of small business entrepreneurs.