Business & Tech
California Southern, San Diego Foundation Launch $500,000 Fund For Small Businesses
"We have been fortunate enough to be financially stable, so we need to give back to the local small business community."
February 23, 2022
The California Southern Small Business Development Corporation and The San Diego Foundation Wednesday launched a $500,000 fund to grant small businesses money for programming, such as internships and workshops.
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“We have been fortunate enough to be financially stable, so we need to give back to the local small business community,” said Juan Carlos Hernandez, president and CEO of the California Southern Small Business Development Corporation, a 501(c)3 public benefit corporation. “The best way for us to do it is to rely on someone who’s been doing it historically, successfully for decades, like The San Diego Foundation.”
Also known as California Southern, the organization provides “access to capital, such as loans for start-ups or growth, for small businesses, particularly minority- and women-owned ones that cannot qualify for a bank loan without a guarantee,” a statement from the corporation reads.
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“California Southern has made a tremendous difference for local women and minority small business owners and their access to capital to build and grow their economic livelihoods,” San Diego Foundation President and CEO Mark Stuart said. “Our professional staff at The San Diego Foundation looks forward to assisting them in identifying opportunities to contribute to the equity of opportunity for entrepreneurs in our region.”
California Southern is the first Fiduciary Development Corporation out of the seven in California to start this type of grant-making fund, and plans to begin its grant-making activity later this year.
The San Diego Foundation works with local nonprofits to build agency funds that provide enduring assets and maintain stable revenue streams that ensure long-term sustainability and support.
City News Service contributed to this article.
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