Charter partnership with Raza Development Fund focuses on Latino-owned small businesses
STAMFORD, Conn. – Charter Communications, Inc., which operates the Spectrum brand, and Raza Development Fund (RDF), the largest Latino focused Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), today announced a $3.2 million capital commitment by Charter's Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund to provide loans to Latino-owned local businesses in financially underserved areas of California, Texas, Ohio, and Florida. RDF intends to use at least $1 million of this investment to provide loans to small businesses within Charter's California service area. Small business owners looking to learn more can visit razafund.org/phx/spectrumloan.
Charter is also providing a grant to RDF to support its loan loss reserve enabling loans for small business owners. Charter's investment is expected to be combined with additional capital from other sources, and lead to the creation of hundreds of new jobs in these underserved communities. Through this loan fund, RDF is here to help entrepreneurs keep their businesses open and growing to support their families, employees and future generations.
The Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund, with over $27 million in committed loan capital, capacity grant donations, and in-kind contributions, is a pool of capital that Charter Communications invests in businesses in economically under-served communities withing its 41-state footprint. By directing capital to local businesses through investments in CDFIs, the Loan Fund provides much needed growth capital, creating new jobs and strengthening the economic infrastructure in both rural and urban areas.
Through partnerships with organizations like RDF, the Loan Fund directly invests in the communities where Charter's employees and customers live and work, and issues grants to provide technical assistance and small business education to local business owners. The Loan Fund has made commitments to CDFIs in 14 states covering nearly 85% of Charter's footprint.
Read the full announcement here.
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