Inclusive Action for the City

Communities across #LosAngeles need access to capital to run their businesses, deserve to own and steward land in their neighborhoods, and should be able to exercise power in the political systems that shape their lives. As we enter our 15th year, we’re sharing our three-year strategic plan to invite you into where we are headed and to join us in the journey! We’re focused on three problems affecting underinvested communities, and three interventions we will make to address them: Problem 1: Entrepreneurs and their families are still struggling to access capital and income inequality is increasing.  Intervention 1: Expand our small business lending, stabilize it with supportive infrastructure, and optimize our technical assistance. Problem 2: Capital assets, including land and real estate, are being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Intervention 2: Prototype integrated capital approaches - financial, physical, social - that grow wealth and build power for low-income communities. Problem 3: Community members feel powerless in the political systems that shape their lives Intervention 3: Deepen our commitment to policy advocacy to remove red tape, make budgets equitable, and create justice-centered investments.” Will you join us? 

We want #smallbusinesses to thrive, but how do we do it? Check out this article from Next City, Oscar Abello highlighting the groundbreaking Commercial Tenant Protections Act (SB1103)📝. Our very own Doug Smith stresses the importance of this legislation, tying it to broader aims of #community power and #ownership: 💬 "These new commercial tenant rights are crucial to stabilizing and preserving LA’s vibrant commercial corridors. This will help us move closer to a future of community ownership and sustainability.” 💬 ✨ In 2025, this transformative law will ignite the spark we need to combat displacement and give small business tenants & nonprofits a real chance to stay rooted in their communities! 🏘️ Thank you, Next City org, for amplifying the importance of SB1103! 🙌 https://lnkd.in/g7uPQ5WY

🗣️ ICYMI: Last week Governor Gavin Newsom signed our bill – #SB1103 the Commercial Tenant Protection Act – into law! As a result, community-serving small businesses and nonprofits now have: ✅ Language Justice through translated leases ✅ More Time to plan and stay in the neighborhood with longer notice periods for rent increases and lease termination. ✅ No More Hidden Fees, with added transparency and standards for charges relating to building operating costs We couldn’t be more proud of this accomplishment – and our dedicated partners who fought alongside us this past year to get this done. Thank you to our incredible author and champion, Senator Caroline Menjivar for your leadership! We are proud to stand with Public Counsel, Small Business Majority, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, CAMEO Network, and all the small business owners and nonprofit leaders who helped create and advance this bill. These protections are vital to ensuring that small businesses and nonprofits can continue to power our economy and serve as the backbone of our communities all across the state. Huge thanks to all the advocates who supported #SB1103!

When they needed a loan, Yasmeen said she was curious about CDFIs, also known as community development financial institutions, and that’s why she was drawn to Inclusive Action for the City. Once she discovered that CDFIs are backed by the Department of Treasury, she said she had an a-ha moment. “We should explore this.” They received much more than their $15,000 loan. Like all IAC loans, theirs came with a business coach who helps borrowers navigate the process and offers guidance in preparing a business plan, marketing, website, technology, and connecting to other services. Their coach, Josephine Gardner, made a world of difference to Yasmeen and Mychael. https://lnkd.in/ehfKW6te

When they needed a loan, Yasmeen said she was curious about CDFIs, also known as community development financial institutions, and that’s why she was drawn to Inclusive Action for the City. Once she discovered that CDFIs are backed by the Department of Treasury, she said she had an a-ha moment. “We should explore this.” They received much more than their $15,000 loan. Like all IAC loans, theirs came with a business coach who helps borrowers navigate the process and offers guidance in preparing a business plan, marketing, website, technology, and connecting to other services. Their coach, Josephine Gardner, made a world of difference to Yasmeen and Mychael. https://lnkd.in/gNrEc5zs

We are honored to have been a part of the Community-Based Lending program using a Racial Equity Lens approach led by Mission Economic Development Agency. Check out what Inclusive Action, along with other lenders across the state learned from the program. https://lnkd.in/gZcum9EU 

We did it!!! 🎊🙌 Governor Gavin Newsom has signed #SB1103 into law to protect small businesses and nonprofits from displacement and help us build a more inclusive economy here in California! Thank you to Senator Caroline Menjivar for your incredible leadership in authoring this bill. We couldn’t be more proud of this accomplishment – and our dedicated partners who fought alongside us this past year to get this done. We are proud to stand with Public Counsel, Small Business Majority, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, CAMEO Network, and all the small business owners and nonprofit leaders who helped create and advance this bill. These protections are vital to ensuring that small businesses and nonprofits can continue to power our economy and serve as the backbone of our communities all across the state. Huge thanks to all the advocates who supported #SB1103!

Did you feel that earthquake earlier this month? We sure did—and we’re keeping the momentum going by shaking things up here at Inclusive Action! It’s Latino Heritage Month! In recognition, we celebrate Latino businesses, an essential part of our local economy. According to the Los Angeles Business Journal, the Latino Business Sector is so big and powerful that if it were its state, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would be larger than that of Louisiana and Oregon. Read our September 2024 newsletter now! #newsletter #nonprofit #latinoheritage #economicjustice

💥 Last week's Citi #ProgressMakers Kickoff was so refreshing.💥 It was a gathering of 50 grantees from across the country who received an unrestricted(!) $1M. A fantastic mix of community lenders #CDFIs, #housing organizations, & #technology and #equity groups. Inclusive Action for the City and peer grantees will spend the next 3 years learning from each other, building partnerships to innovate, and advocate for what needs to change to make change. We are honored to be a part of it and share in it with friends in #LosAngeles, SoCal and NorCal Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) William Chun Mimi Cheung Central City Neighborhood Partners Margarita Gomez @lizzettearzola New Economics for Women Mayra Castillo City Heights Community Development Alexis Villanueva, MS Kendyll Sepulveda ICA Fund @allisonkelley PCR Business Finance @colettemoore M. Selena Davis; new inspiring friends from across the country 1863™ Ventures @melissabradley; and my incredible colleagues from the U.S. Department of the Treasury #racialequity committee Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development (ANHD) Barika Williams and @pacificcommunityventures Bulbul Gupta (and shout out to Janis Bowdler, our fearless Treasury leader, who opened the event with such smart, motivating remarks). Thank you to the Citi Foundation and Urban Institute team! Brandee McHale Philip Fitzgerald @kenyabryant Vera Moore-Shaheen Anabel Santamaria Sergio Quero @judahaxelrod @laurenfarrell @myriamhernandezjennings

The stakes are high for small businesses & small nonprofits in CA. We urge Governor Gavin Newsom to sign #SB1103 into law! Protect the backbone of our economy. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gpJanVhi #SupportSmallBusiness #SmallNonprofits