El Pajaro Community Development Corporation

THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THE POPULATION SERVED IS UNDERREPRESENTED AND UNDER SERVED MINORITY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS AND ENTREPRENEURS SEEKING TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS ASSISTANCE. THE FOCUS OF THE ORGANIZATION IS THE EXPANSION OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND JOBS TO BENEFIT THE TARGET POPULATION.

FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 WAS ANOTHER UNPRECEDENTED YEAR FOR OUR ORGANIZATION. DUE TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC THE REQUESTS FOR SERVICES INCREASED DRASTICALLY. EL PAJARO CDC HAS PLAYED A REMARKABLE ROLE IN SUPPORTING SMALL MICRO-BUSINESSES ACCESS THE NEEDED FINANCING AND TECHNICAL RESOURCES. TO ACCOMPLISHED THIS, THE ORGANIZATION HAD TO INCREASE ITS STAFF AND REQUIRED AN INCREASED AMOUNT OF SERVICE HOURS FROM TWO OF ITS CONSULTANTS. IN TERMS OF ECONOMIC RELIEF EL PAJARO CDC HAS SUPPORTED 129 CLIENTS IN ACCESSING A TOTAL OF $3,445,716.38 IN COVID RELIEF FUNDING. WORKED WITH THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA PARTNERS TO DEVELOP AND DEPLOY A SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM. IN JANUARY 2021 WE WERE AWARDED A GRANT FROM THE SBA TO BECOME A WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER (WBC.) THIS DESIGNATION BRINGS RESOURCES AND NATIONAL ATTENTION TO OUR COMMUNITY. THE WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTERS (WBCS) ARE A PART OF A NATIONAL NETWORK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND ITS TERRITORIES, WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO ASSIST WOMEN AND OTHER UNDER-SERVED BUSINESS OWNERS IN STARTING AND GROWING SMALL BUSINESSES. WBCS SEEK TO "LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD" FOR WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS, WHO STILL FACE UNIQUE OBSTACLES IN THE BUSINESS WORLD. THIS DESIGNATION IS ALLOWING EL PAJARO CDC TO INCREASE SERVICES TO WOMEN, ENTREPRENEURS OF COLOR AND RURAL BASED BUSINESSES. ON JANUARY 2021, EL PAJARO CDC LAUNCHED ITS IN-HOUSE LENDING PROGRAM. OUR PROGRAM PROVIDES MICRO-LOANS TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS CLIENTS WITH LIMITED ACCESS TO TRADITIONAL LENDING OPPORTUNITIES. THESE LOANS COME WITH ACCESS TO OUR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, FOLLOW-UP COUNSELING, CREDIT TRAINING AND OTHER BUSINESS SUPPORT SERVICES. THE CURRENT LENDING PROGRAM IS A FIRST STEP TO BECOMING A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTION (CDFI). THIS CERTIFICATION WILL ENHANCE OUR ABILITY TO ATTRACT LOAN FUNDS AND INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY OF LOANS TO THE COMMUNITY. THE EL PAJARO CDC LOAN PROGRAM AIMS TO FILL PERSISTENT GAP IN MAINSTREAM CAPITAL ACCESS FOR UNDER-SERVED BUSINESSES. THE NEW LOAN PROGRAM COMPLEMENTS EXISTING PJARO PROGRAMS FOR A MORE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO SUPPORTING BUSINESSES AND HAS A LARGE FOCUS ON LOAN READINESS SUPPORT TO ENABLE CAPITAL ACCESS. OUR FOCUS IS ON SUPPORTING PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS BORROWERS THAT MAY FACE CHALLENGES THAT INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING: 1.CLIENTS PERCEIVED AS TOO RISKY BY MANY LENDERS 2.LOAN REQUESTS TOO SMALL FOR MANY LENDERS3.STRICT UNDERWRITING GRIDS RESULT IN DENIALS FOR UNDERSERVED BUSINESSESTHE NEW EL PAJARO CDC LOAN PROGRAM APPROVED AND FUNDED ONE LOAN DURING THE FISCAL YEAR THAT ENDED ON JUNE 30, 2021 AND 6 ADDITIONAL LOANS BY DECEMBER 31, 2021 FOR A TOTAL OF $200K. OUTREACH TO UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES. AN IMPORTANT GOAL OF EL PAJARO CDCS PROGRAMMATIC EXPANSION TO INCREASE ACCESS TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND RURAL ENTREPRENEURS. TO ACHIEVE THIS OBJECTIVE EL PAJARO CDC STAFF HAS DEVELOPED NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH CITY OF SOLEDAD AND KING CITY TO SUPPORT THEIR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES WITH BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND GRANTS. IN TERMS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION AND COACHING, EL PAJARO CDC PROVIDED BILINGUAL (ENGLISH AND SPANISH) CONSULTING, TRAININGS AND BUSINESS INCUBATION OPPORTUNITIES TO UNDERSERVED ENTREPRENEURS, FARMERS AND MICRO-BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT SANTA CRUZ, MONTEREY AND SAN BENITO COUNTIES. THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE BUSINESS OWNERS RECEIVED BUSINESS COACHING SERVICES AND 796 CURRENT AND ASPIRING ENTREPRENEURS TOOK PART IN 82 TRAININGS. CLIENTS WERE ASSISTED WITH COSTING OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, NEW BUSINESS PLANNING, MARKETING, LOAN PACKAGING AND OTHER BUSINESS-RELATED TOPICS. SPECIALIZED TRAININGS WERE PROVIDED FOR FAMILY CHILDCARE PROVIDERS, FOOD BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURS, START-UPS, FARMERS AND CALWORKS PARTICIPANTS. DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021, EL PAJARO CDC ASSISTED 42 IN PREPARING LOAN PACKAGES OR TO ACCESS OTHER TYPES OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES TO START OR EXPAND THEIR BUSINESSES. ALTERNATIVE SOURCES INCLUDED FAMILY INVESTMENT, OWNER INVESTMENT, AND COMMUNITY LENDERS. OF THE CLIENTS ASSISTED ELEVEN HAVE RECEIVED OVER $2,330,000 IN CAPITAL INFUSION FROM BANKS AND OTHER LENDERS. SEVERAL CLIENT LOANS ARE STILL IN PROGRESS AT THE CLOSE OF THE FISCAL YEAR.EL PAJARO CDC'S COMMERCIAL KITCHEN INCUBATOR (CKI) HAS BEEN SERVING TRI-COUNTY ENTREPRENEURS FOR EIGHT YEARS AND CURRENTLY HAS 30 SMALL FOOD BUSINESSES OPERATING IN THE FACILITY AND SEVEN NEW ENTREPRENEURS ARE IN THE LICENSING PROCESS. DURING PAST YEARS THIS PROGRAM HAS SUPPORTED NOT ONLY FOOD ENTREPRENEURS THAT OPERATE AT THE FACILITY BUT OTHER FOOD-BASED BUSINESSES. THIS INCLUDED THE CREATION OF A HOW TO START A FOOD BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM. EL PAJARO CDC IS PROUD OF CREATING THIS COMMUNITY ASSET AND LOVES TO SHARE THE FACILITY WITH THE COMMUNITY BY HOSTING EVENTS. DUE TO THE COVID PANDEMIC THE PAST FISCAL YEAR WAS UNABLE TO HOST ANY EVENTS, HOWEVER, OUR KITCHEN MANAGER SUPPORTED ENTREPRENEURS IN FINDING NEW MARKETS BY CONNECTING THEM WITH OUTDOOR FARMERS MARKETS AND POP-UP EVENTS. OUR STAFF ALSO HELPED ORGANIZE FOOD TAKE OUT AND FOOD GIFT BOXES SALES.