The Great Recession destroyed almost 3 million jobs at small businesses, and devastated America’s working people and low-income communities. Pacific Community Ventures has fueled the recovery since the end of the Recession five years ago. We’ve created 1,297 jobs for working people in underserved communities, and empowered 867 companies across 25 states. The small business owners in our network saw a 12% job growth — vs. the U.S. average of only 2%.
At the same time, we know that fostering one small business at a time isn’t enough to combat economic inequality. That’s why we’ve also worked at a national and international level with policymakers and investors to build impact investing markets and drive more private capital toward social good and underserved communities.
Head here to check out our impact >
Reinventing Prosperity
Traditional small business lending from banks has slowed since the end of the recession, leading CDFIs like PCV to step up and fill that need. In 2014 we doubled our small business lending from the year prior, providing $886,000 in working capital to help small companies create new quality jobs. But we also know that small businesses need more than just a paycheck. In 2014 we fully launched our unique and innovative BusinessAdvising.org platform, and scaled our small business advising program nationally. Pacific Community Ventures’ business advising program is now matching companies in 26 states with pro bono business advisors.
Pacific Community Ventures creates economic opportunity in underserved communities through essential support networks for small business:
- Our research and policy work directs private capital to underserved communities and small businesses;
- From there, our advising services enable those businesses to succeed
- Our companies’ success makes them ready for additional investment, including capital from our loan program; that business’ growth creates jobs and stimulates the local economy
- Their success enables us to demonstrate our theory of change and draw more investment to underserved communities
Focusing on Small Businesses and Local Jobs to Combat Income Inequality
Small businesses create jobs — and 2014 was the best year for small business job creation since the ‘90s. But simply creating jobs won’t stem the tide of income inequality. The kinds of jobs being created, and where those jobs drive their wealth, matters just as much.
“Mom and pop” businesses and entrepreneurial ventures bring stability and renewed energy to deteriorating neighborhoods, and help revitalize poor inner city, suburban and rural areas. And, studies have found that locally owned stores generate much greater benefits for the local economy than national chains do.
A community’s level of social capital and well-being is positively related to the share of its local economy held by local businesses; and small businesses donate about twice as much per employee to charitable organizations as large businesses. Even more striking: big-box retailers as a whole depress wages and benefits for retail employees, and median incomes have risen faster in places with more small businesses compared to those dominated by big businesses.
For these reasons and more, small businesses are arguably more important than large businesses in local economies because they create jobs with higher wages and better benefits, and support raising minimum wages, helping to combat income inequality. PCV is working to help them survive: that means a stronger economy, stronger neighborhoods, and a more equal marketplace.
You Can Help
Join PCV in creating stronger communities. For every $3,000 invested in PCV, a job that pays an average of $43,000 is created. Your support makes this kind of positive economic progress possible. Visit www.pacificcommunityventures.org/donate and create a job today.
How else can you help? Shop small and independent when you can. If you’ve built up a body of business experience, volunteer your time as an advisor. If you have an updated LinkedIn profile, signing up will only take a few minutes. And tip off a small business owner you’d like to support to the value of mentoring through a platform like BusinessAdvising.org. Small businesses can carry the weight of rebuilding our economy and fighting income inequality, but whenever possible, let’s help lighten their load.