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 2021-2022 WAS ANOTHER UNPRECEDENTED YEAR FOR OUR ORGANIZATION. OUR TEAM CONTINUES TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO SUPPORT LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS IN RECUPERATING FROM COVID-19 PANDEMIC ECONOMIC DEVASTATION THE REQUESTS FOR SERVICES INCREASED DRASTICALLY. EL PAJARO CDC HAS PLAYED A REMARKABLE ROLE IN SUPPORTING SMALL MICROBUSINESSES ACCESS THE NEEDED FINANCING AND TECHNICAL RESOURCES. HOWEVER, THE CRISIS ALSO OPENED OPPORTUNITIES AS MANY PEOPLES CREATIVITY SPARKED AND DECIDED TO START NEW BUSINESSES. DURING THE PAST YEAR OUR TEAM TRIPLED THE OFFER OUR EMPRESARI@ CORE BUSINESS CLASS AND OTHER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND TRAINING ALSO SAW AN INCREASE IN DEMAND. THIS IS DUE TO EL PAJARO CDCS SELECTION AS ONE OF 17 SITES FOR THE CA DREAM FUND PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUED TO INCREASE ITS STAFF AND REQUIRED AN INCREASED AMOUNT OF SERVICE HOURS FROM ITS CONSULTANTS.PROGRAM RESULTS: COVID ECONOMIC RELIEF 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. OUR EL PAJARO REGIONAL WOMENS BUSINESS CENTER SPONSORED THE U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ( SBA) IS PART OF A PART A NATIONAL NETWORK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTERS THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES AND ITS TERRITORIES, WHICH ARE DESIGNED TO ASSIST WOMEN AND OTHER UNDERSERVED 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 SERVICE TO WOMEN, ENTREPRENEURS OF COLOR AND RURAL BASED BUSINESSES. THE INCREASED WORKLOAD GENERATED THE NEED TO RESTRUCTURE THE STAFFING OF THE ORGANIZATION. WE EXPECT THIS TREND TO CONTINUE DURING THE FISCAL YEAR 2022-2023. 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. EL PAJARO CDC TEAM WORKED ON PREPARING AN APPLICATION FOR A CERTIFICATION AS 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 UNDERSERVED 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 BUSINESSESAS OF JUNE 30, 2022 LOANS TOTALING $487,992 HAVE BEEN MADE USING FUNDS FROM HHS-OCS COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR MONTEREY COUNTY FOUNDATION, NALCAB, AND EL PAJAROS INTERNAL LOAN FUND. LOAN TERMS RANGE FROM 12 MONTHS TO TEN YEARS, WITH INTEREST RATES RANGING FROM 5% TO 9%. FLEXIBLE UNDERWRITING CRITERIA AND THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE COLLATERAL ALLOW ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES TO QUALIFY FOR FINANCING. EXTENDED TERMS AND LOW INTEREST RATES CONTRIBUTE TO THE AFFORDABILITY OF PAYMENTS. EL PAJARO CDC ALSO OFFERS A RURAL BUSINESS LOAN AT 0% INTEREST THROUGH A COLLABORATION WITH NALCAB AND HUD. . 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 CONTINUES TO FOSTER 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, IN 2021-2022, EL PAJARO PRESENTED 76 BILINGUAL WORKSHOPS, ATTENDED BY 238 PEOPLE, USING THE EMPRESARI@ PROGRAM TAILORED FOR A WIDE RANGE OF BUSINESS MODELS TO BE INCUBATED FROM AN IDEA TO A FULL-FLEDGED BUSINESS. COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND COACHING ARE PROVIDED TO PREPARE BUSINESS PLANS, IMPROVE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT CAPABILITIES, AND MANAGE START-UP AND EXPANSION. THE EMPRESARI@ MODEL GUIDES BUSINESSES THROUGH START-UP AND EXPANSION USING A CURRICULUM THAT INCLUDES: ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET AND FEASIBILITY PLANNING; BUSINESS PLANNING; BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS, TECHNICAL WRITING AND PITCH PREPARATION; LICENSING AND PERMITTING; MARKET ANALYSIS AND PLANNING; FINANCIALS AND PROJECTIONS; ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND FINANCIAL LITERACY; COMPETITION ANALYSIS; FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING (INCLUDING SYSTEMS); AND DIGITAL MARKETING, ADVERTISING, AND ANALYTICS. DURING THIS PERIOD, 468 CLIENTS RECEIVED 2,924 HOURS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES. OF 517 CLIENTS RECEIVING SERVICES, 61.7% WERE FEMALE AND 90% WERE HISPANIC/LATINO.EL PAJARO CDC 'S COMMERCIAL KITCHEN INCUBATOR (CKI) HAS BEEN SERVING TRI-COUNTY ENTREPRENEURS FOR MORE THAN 9 YEARS AND CURRENTLY HAS 35SMALL FOOD BUSINESSES OPERATING IN THE FACILITY AND FIVE 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 EXPANSION OF A HOW TO START A FOOD BUSINESS TRAINING PROGRAM.