Celebrating $75MM Invested in California Small Businesses

Working Solutions is excited to announce that we have reached $75 million invested in California small businesses! In late 2024, we set out to double our all-time deployment from $50 million to $100 million by 2029, and we are well ahead of schedule. This bold goal is the cornerstone of our current 5-year strategic plan—impact at scale. 

We are thrilled to celebrate this $75 million milestone, representing nearly 3,500 small-dollar loans and grants to small businesses across California. It is also a milestone rooted in mission-aligned impact. Last year, 99% of Working Solutions borrowers were either low-income individuals, women, BIPOC entrepreneurs, or early-stage business owners, AND nearly 25% of loans were made to businesses at the intersection of all four of these priority groups. 

Behind every one of these dollars is a story that highlights the importance of this work—like the story of María, owner of Paraíso Plant Studio, who leveraged CDFI financing to build a sustainable future and a thriving business. The stories behind these dollars are the ‘why’ of what we do—the mission that makes the case for community development finance.

As the First to Believe in Small Business, Working Solutions is investing in local entrepreneurs and the communities that surround them. When our borrowers succeed, their neighborhoods, families, and local economies grow stronger, too.

Thank you to the stakeholders, funders, investors, and referral partners who share our commitment to collaboration and inclusive economic opportunity as the engine of thriving California communities.

This year has brought plenty of exciting news from Working Solutions, including the announcement of our strategic partnership with Main Street Launch, and there is still more to come. We are so happy to celebrate each milestone with our community, and we look forward to many more ahead—$75 million and counting!