Author: Lauren Taber

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With national support, California Capital will continue improving Racial Equity Lens underwriting practices

California Capital Financial Development Corporation was recently announced as a recipient of a $100,000 award from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) as part of the 2024 Field Empowerment Fund (FEF). The Field Empowerment Fund (FEF) empowers NCRC network members to level up established service lines through grants that fund expansions to existing projects. California Capital will leverage the funding to bolster equity practices in loan underwriting.   

 As a member of the California Small Business Coalition for Racial Justice, California Capital FDC adopted a Racial Equity Lens (REL) loan underwriting framework in 2022. The REL framework was developed by four Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and the coalition as an experiment in reframing underwriting through an asset-based approach that would lead to increased capital for communities that do not fit traditional borrowing criteria. As part of this project, California Capital created a risk matrix to track and expand credit evaluations.  

 In 2023 California Capital developed its REL criteria using the 4 C’s of credit (Commitment, Character, Conditions, and Capacity), giving extra consideration to Commitment and Character in the review of loan applications. This approach codifies a holistic review of loan applications, ensuring that borrowers are evaluated on attributes beyond finances and increasing the likelihood that businesses from historically under-banked communities can access financing.  

 In 2024, with the help of funding from the NCRC Fellowship for Economic Development, California Capital conducted research into ways to improve our REL. In 2025 and into 2026, with additional funding received through the Field Empowerment Fund (FEF), the organization plans to implement recommendations from the 2024 research.  This continuous improvement is critical to ensuring that California Capital’s lending programs effectively serve all community members.  

 California Capital Financial Development Corporation’s (FDC) mission is to provide capital and business development services to increase economic opportunities for underserved and underbanked communities and people. California Capital FDC is a CDFI mission-based lender providing microloans for start-ups and bridge financing to loans and loan guarantees for expansion, working capital, and equipment.

Blog, Client Success Stories

Priya Kumar Doesn’t Just Help Businesses Become Profitable: She Upgrades Their Money Mindset

When Priya Kumar talks about financial literacy, she isn’t just talking about making money—she is talking about true liberation and empowerment.  

Having grown up in Fiji, Kumar immigrated to the United States with her family when she was young. She watched her parents work diligently to create a comfortable, prosperous life for her and her siblings, and she saw how she could do the same: work a government job, climb the ranks, and retire with a 401(k). But while working as a business investigator for the Franchise Tax Board, Priya saw the alarming rate at which small businesses fail, and she noticed that the cause was often mismanaged revenue and insufficient planning for profit and growth. As a survivor of domestic violence, Priya had become an expert in financial literacy, investments, and the importance of having informed control over one’s income. She had come to understand that prosperity and security means more than just a steady corporate paycheck—and she knew she could make a difference for entrepreneurs by empowering them with the same financial management tools she had used to cultivate her own independence.

The Emotional Side of Money

Thus, during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Pivot My Profit was born. Through consultations, workshops, classes and partnerships with nonprofits, Kumar is on a mission to demystify money and help entrepreneurs and fellow abuse survivors to overcome financial trauma. “We dive into the emotional side of money,” Kumar says about her approach to shifting her clients’ perspectives. “Small business owners are very emotionally involved in their work– they’re trying to break generational curses and cycles of poverty. So, they have this emotional relationship, but many have never asked themselves about the relationship with money. Because of past trauma, they bring a scarcity mindset into their business.”  

 Combining financial strategy with business and life coaching principles, Kumar empowers client—many of whom are women from disadvantaged backgrounds—to analyze their mindset around money. She coaches them to face their finances head-on, understand how money flows through their business, and ultimately make a plan to ensure profitability and sustainability so that their business works for them.

“It all started when I had my own mindset shift,” she explains. “I realized that I was not looking at my opportunities correctly. I needed to build myself up and create new tools to be able to access these opportunities.” 

Partnership to Expand Her Network

In 2023, Kumar began working with the California Capital Women’s Business Center (WBC) to expand her offerings. As a speaker at the WBC’s Motivated Entrepreneur series, Kumar has grown her network of business owners and brought her holistic approach to finances to new audiences.  

“[My first experience with the WBC] really motivated me to keep working with them, because a lot of times when women are sitting around a table with predominantly men, there is little vulnerability,” she says. “But when women are coaching each other, they talk about family, sacrifices they have to make, guilt and shame over having to divide their attention.”  

Kumar found the environment cultivated by women entrepreneurs supporting and learning from one another to be ideal for her mix of technical financial education and empowerment. “They give everyone a chance to shine their light.”

To be sure, creating space for others to shine is the crux of Kumar’s entrepreneurship–and her life. “I love to say that I refuse to waste my journey, my education, my experience,” she explains when reflecting on her vision for the future of Pivot My Profit. “My life’s mission is anyone I meet, I want to leave them better than I found them. That’s what drives me – even if I’m just talking to someone at a coffee shop, I want to make a difference.” 

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How a Loan Guarantee from California Capital FDC Allowed Fortuna Family Medicine to Continue Serving Their Community

For Dr. Nathan Brinckhaus, medicine is more than a career: it’s a family trade, and one that has allowed him and his father to serve their Northern California community of Fortuna for decades. After completing his medical residency at University of California, Davis, Nathan returned to his hometown to join Fortuna Family Medicine – the clinic his father had taken over from a previous owner, which has been open continuously since 1948. This year, when they needed working capital after reopening as a new rural health clinic, a loan guarantee from California Capital FDC through the Small Business Loan Guarantee program allowed them to bridge their difficult first year of the new operation and continue serving their community.  

When Nathan and his father, Dr. Ruben Brinckhaus, were faced with the reality that their revenue would not allow them to continue providing affordable care to their longtime patients, they made the difficult decision to open a new clinic with a new business model.  

“We chose to open a new independent federally-designated rural health clinic,” says Nathan, adding that the model provides more sustainable reimbursement from MediCal insurance, because it allows clinics to functionally decide their reimbursement rate based on their expenses in the first year of operation, known as the rate-setting year. It is a model that can ensure sustainability for clinics in small communities—but one that, as Nathan notes, requires a good deal of up front investment to begin.  

“We chose [the model] knowing it was going to require capital,” he says. “We knew we wanted to spend enough money so that we could get a healthy reimbursement rate.”  

To supplement funds that they received from a private investor, Nathan began exploring borrowing options for working capital. He quickly found that non-traditional lending would be his best bet. “This type of project is not something that you can go to a regular bank for,”  he says, explaining that opening a new business in the medical field can require creative financing options. “[Banks] want to see profits and taxes. For a brand new business without those things, I was told by several banks that they couldn’t help me.”  

When Nathan came upon the network of mission-based small business lenders, he knew he’d found the right fit. He applied for a loan through Arcada Economic Development Corporation, now called North Edge Financing, who were determined to see Fortuna Family Medicine Succeed. “I was able to present our business plan and tell them what we were doing and why we needed money. They were able to see the vision that we had and that we had a plan that was reasonable.” 

To approve the loan, they worked with California Capital FDC, who administers iBank’s Small Business Loan Guarantee program. With a guarantee on the loan, Nathan succeeded in accessing the funding necessary to keep their clinic open, and plan for the future. “Having the capital took a lot of stress off our shoulders,” he says, “It was great knowing we could continue this project and be successful.”

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Equity in Lending: New Report from California Capital FDC Provides Recommendations on Racial Equity Underwriting Practices

This spring, California Capital hosted a fellowship with the UC Berkeley Goldman School for Public Policy, in partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).  The support of these two institutions made this valuable project possible.   

Originally chartered in 1982 as a Financial Development Corporation (FDC), California Capital FDC is a small and emerging Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in Sacramento, California.  Our historic mission is to provide access to capital and capacity-building services to diverse low-to-moderate income communities. Our objectives as a CDFI are to provide fair financing at below-market rate for our borrowers, supported by capacity-building technical assistance, resources, and opportunities for revenue growth and wealth generation.  

As host to a SBDC, WBC, and APEX Accelerator, we serve a diverse range of businesses, and in 2019 we launched a loan fund targeted to provide economic assistance to socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals and very small businesses who cannot access capital through traditional financial institutions.  

As a member of the California CDFI Racial Justice Coalition, we adopted a Racial Equity Lens (REL) underwriting framework in 2022.  The REL framework was developed through four CDFIs and the coalition as an experiment in reframing underwriting through an asset-based approach; and at California Capital, we created a risk matrix to track and expand our credit evaluations.

As a part of our commitment to ensuring that we serve BIPOC communities effectively, we have expanded capital and we strive to evaluate and improve on our REL lending practices. Recognizing the necessity of strengthening the REL program to better meet the needs of our target markets, this fellowship gave us the opportunity to undertake a thoughtful review and adjustment of our underwriting criteria. We are especially thankful to Mr. Ngarangi Joseph Haerewa for his time working with us to produce this report and for his insightful recommendations.  We hope to share this report as it may help other mission-based lenders assess how they can expand capital to BIPOC communities. Click Here to view the report. 

It is imperative that we not only set high standards for equitable investment but also actively work to exceed those goals. We commissioned this study to analyze the outcomes of our original REL strategy, understand the outcomes, and make data-driven decisions on developing new and innovative approaches to making strong loans to BIPOC entrepreneurs. To this end, we are committed to implementing recommendations and revisiting this assessment process in 2 years with a larger dataset, allowing us to measure our progress and evaluate our strategies accordingly. This continuous improvement is critical to ensuring that our lending programs effectively serve all members of our community. 

California Capital News and Updates, Client Success Stories

With Help from the Women’s Business Center, Krystyna Kubran Is Making the Clean Energy Economy Accessible for Small Business Owners

For Krystyna Kubran, her business, 352 Innovation, is the beginning of a paradigm shift of how vehicles are powered around the world. A mechanical engineer by trade, Krystyna is passionate about increasing access to electric vehicles while empowering automotive mechanics to maintain their service offerings as the industry shifts away from internal combustion car engines.  In partnership with her brother, an experienced mechanic, Kubran offers custom engine retrofitting and consults with automotive shops to provide education on servicing electric vehicle engines. 

Meeting a Need for Upskilling

Kubran’s idea for a business focused on electric vehicle retrofitting and education came about when she saw the need to ensure that the economy’s transition away from fossil fuel engines would be inclusive of the entrepreneurs who have made their livelihoods as mechanics. “I asked myself, ‘What would someone need to know to work on an EV effectively and reduce their liability while working on the car?’,” Kubran explains.  

From there, in collaboration with her brother, she set out to upskill mechanics and demystify electric vehicles. With a solid idea but needing insight into the best practices of business operations, Kubran connected with Charles Thomas, a counselor at the California Capital Women’s Business Center (WBC). “[Charles] has been my main guy,” she says about their work. “He’s had ideas that have completely transformed my business.” Through one-on-one business counseling, Kubran created her website, made her service offerings more specific, and learned the basics of cash flow analysis and profit and loss statement tracking. 

In launching her business, Kubran created a training program that she made available for subscription, and created a “Roadmap to the Clean Vehicle World” that envisions the process of undoing society’s reliance on fossil fuels. To increase her credibility and hone her knowledge, she became certified by the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence.  

As she continues to build her clientele and position herself as a resource for education on electric vehicles, Kubran is looking forward to broadening her impact by opening her own shop for converting internal combustion engines.  

California Capital News and Updates, Client Success Stories

With Guidance from APEX Accelerator, Diala Jawhary Brings Meaningful Community Engagement to Sustainability Projects

In many ways, Diala Jawhary’s entrepreneurial journey began decades before she started on the path to business ownership. Established in 2021, Jawhary’s business, A & D Solutions, is a management consulting firm that helps businesses and agencies support their work of climate stewardship and environmental justice—but her vision for ensuring that organizations achieve their development and sustainability goals with authentic inclusion of frontline communities started during her work in international community development.  

Now, with A & D Solutions, Jawhary supports this vision for large agencies through contract project management in areas like community outreach, stakeholder engagement, grant and report writing, research and more. Working with a procurement counselor at the California Capital APEX Accelerator, Jawhary has built a network of clients and collaborators that allow her to work towards a vision of sustainability and resilience.  

Listening to Communities

After earning her master’s degree in environment and resource studies, Jawhary began working for large agencies charged with building sustainable projects in underdeveloped communities—and she noticed a marked disconnect between the work that was reported and the work that was undertaken. “I noticed that there is always a way to present things in a way where it’s not actually what is happening on the ground,” says Jawhary, reflecting on the illuminating early years of her career. “There was no listening to the communities – the projects were just meant to check boxes.”  

Working in conflict areas and with groups sensitive to local corruption, civil war, and distrust of institutions, Jawhary wanted to know what caused this gap, knowing that the aid workers in the field had the best intentions. “I noticed that the communities opened up to me and told me things they wouldn’t tell others, and worked with me when they wouldn’t work with others,” she explains. “Because I was transparent and actually listened and treated them like real partners in reaching the common good.” 

In this way, Jawhary developed her philosophy that projects meant to benefit communities must be led by the priorities of those communities, and solidified her belief that approaches to environmental sustainability must be holistically grounded in community impact.   

From Philosophy to Practice

In 2021, when she was ready to reenter the workforce after several years as a stay-at-home mother, Jawhary explored her options for putting her skillset to use. With her educational background, experience in the field, and natural ability to build connections, creating a consultancy that would allow her to reach multiple agencies and organizations felt like a natural choice. “I always had my way of doing things that didn’t always line up with what happens with larger orgs,” she explains. “I didn’t want to go to a company and have to convince them of my way. So, I thought, ‘Why don’t I start my own thing?’”.   

From this vision, A & D Solutions was launched, and Jawhary put her passion for environmental social governance into action. After attaining the certifications necessary to contract with entities like Caltrans, the State of California, and the California Public Utilities Commission, Jawhary connected with the California Capital APEX Accelerator. Part of a national program under management of the Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs, the APEX Accelerator helps businesses prepare for, pursue, and perform on contracts with government agencies. For Jawhary, this meant mentorship, networking, and encouragement.  

Jawhary was matched with procurement counselor Alex McCracken, and the pair got to work immediately. Because Jawhary had already self-certified, McCracken began by helping her refine her offerings, access educational opportunities, and respond to requests for proposal. 

“[My counselor] was able to engage me at the level I was at rather than treating me like a computer. She made it customized and personalized,” says Jawhary, reflecting on how working with a counselor led her to opportunities she did not foresee. “She would tell me what research to do, but she also went beyond that and introduced me to other businesses that she thought would be good partners for the proposals I was submitting.” 

A Bright Future Grounded in Partnership

As an entrepreneur new to the consulting field, these partnerships were key in helping Jawhary land some of her first contracts. With this network of support, Jawhary has brought her grant writing, community engagement, and end-to-end project management services to clients including the California State University system, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the State of California Coastal Conservancy.  

Looking ahead to the future of A & D Solutions, Jawhary hopes to continue educating agencies and corporations about the importance of environmental social governance that fit the criteria for citizen engagement and sustainability.   

“We need meaningful engagement of all stakeholders, and not just checking the box,” she says when envisioning how she can scale the impact of A & D Solutions. “I believe this is the only way forward with the problems we’re facing—we need the whole community to be partners.”

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Celebrating AAPI Heritage: This Month and Always

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! As we reflect on the important impacts that Americans of Asian and Pacific Island descent have made on communities across California, we would like to take a moment to recognize the amazing members of the California Capital team that identify as Asian American and/or Pacific Islander, and share the stories of AAPI-owned businesses. 

Designated months to honor the contributions of historically underrepresented groups to American society are vital to celebration and education — but just as folks who identify with those groups work day in and day out to uplift themselves and their communities, we must remember to highlight them regularly, regardless of the month.

Meet Our Team

Our staff represents a variety of ethnicities and cultures from across Asia and the Pacific Islands, mirroring the vibrant and diverse backgrounds of the cultures we serve across California. Scroll through the gallery below to meet our team! 

Deborah Lowe Muramoto, President & CEO

May Masunaga (left), Chief Financial Officer

SiewYee Lee-Alix, Director, Sacramento Valley SBDC

Nguyen Nguyen, Sacramento Valley SBDC

Genevieve Duque, Program Coordinator, Women's Business Center

Sarah Harding, Program Manager, Women's Business Center

James Aldea, Procurement Counselor, APEX Accelerator

Michael Aguillio, Procurement Counselor, APEX Accelerator

Celebrate AAPI-Owned Businesses

According the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, 2.9 million businesses in the United States are AAPI-owned, creating 4.9 million jobs. With these numbers, there are plenty of opportunities shop AAPI-owned year-round! In fact, some of our most inspiring success stories are of AAPI clients. Click below to read more: 

Stay in the Know: Read the Hmong Daily News

The Greater Sacramento Area has a large, strong Hmong population. In order to keep folks in the community connected to one another, and keep the broader public informed of issues important to their Hmong neighbors, Macy Yang (a Sacramento Valley SBDC business advisor) created and runs the Hmong Daily News. Start reading today to stay in the know! 

Start Reading
Blog, California Capital News and Updates

California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Visits California Capital Women’s Business Center to Celebrate Women in Business and “Mom-Preneurs”

SACRAMENTO, CA | Yesterday, the California Capital Women’s Business Center (WBC) had the honor of hosting California First Partner, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, for a luncheon honoring California’s women entrepreneurs.  

Presented in partnership with the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (also known as CalOSBA, part of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development) with sponsorship from U.S. Bank, the event sought to highlight the unique contributions of women business owners to the economy and their communities.  

“Women-owned businesses are vital to our communities, as women tend to lead with our values, considering not only our own bottom lines, but the success of our communities,” said the First Partner in a statement on her Instagram page following the event.  

Following remarks from WBC Director Sophia Kanaan, California State Senator Nancy Skinner, who also chairs the Legislative Women’s Caucus, and Director Tara Lynn Gray of CalOSBA, the business owners and state representatives from a variety of agencies participated in a roundtable discussion where they shared their perspectives, challenges, and hopes for the future of their business.  

The entrepreneurs in attendance have worked with the California Capital WBC to launch, sustain, and/or grow their businesses. The industries they represented showcased the diversity of California’s small business ecosystem: businesses owners joined from spaces including childcare and early childhood education, cosmetology, artisan goods, hospitality, consumer packaged goods, and more. 

“Hearing [the First Partner] speak today, validating all of our speed bumps and achievements as an entrepreneur herself, gave myself if not all of us, the little extra push we needed to keep going,” said Charone DeShazier, owner of Enorah Jewelry and one of the entrepreneurs in attendance.  

As the California Capital Women’s Business Center continues to grow their innovative training and networking programs, their clientele will continue to thrive and access new opportunities.  
California Capital News and Updates, Client Success Stories

Two California Capital Clients Honored at SBA Sacramento District Small Business Awards

The sustainability of small businesses is always worth celebrating—and when that comes with an official award, all the better. On Friday, May 3rd, two small businesses that have worked with California Capital programs were honored at the 2024 SBA Sacramento District Small Business Awards, as part of National Small Business Week. The awards were presented at a luncheon ceremony in distinct categories.  

ExcelDent Dentistry, owned by Gabriela Solano and her husband Dr. Miguel Guerra, won Startup of the Year.  

From the beginning of their business journey, Gabriela has worked with Charles Thomas, a California Capital Women’s Business Center business counselor. Charles nominated ExcelDent for the award and presented the award at the ceremony. As they navigated the purchase and operation of their dental practice in Sacramento, Charles helped Gabriela and Dr. Guerra understand their finances, business planning, and permit requirements. “Charles brought a mix of professionalism and encouragement right from the start, which was exactly what I needed to get our dental office off the ground,” says Gabriela. “He guided me through all the essential resources and made sure we dotted our i’s and crossed our t’s with every agency involved.” 

Anvaya Solutions, owned by Shobha Mallarapu, was named Contractor of the Year. has worked with California Capital APEX Accelerator counselor James Aldea over the years to prepare to bid (and perform!) on government contracts, and she has grown to be a major player in the cybersecurity space.  

As entrepreneurs continue to power our local economies and communities, California Capital is proud to put their stories at the forefront and ensure they get the recognition they deserve.  

Black-Owned Business, Blog, California Capital News and Updates, Client Success Stories

“It Always Takes a Team”: How Patrick Bellard Found Support to Launch His Trucking Business

A typical morning for Patrick Bellard begins at 3:45: he is up, finished with his workout, and ready to take on the day’s work orders by 6.  He’ll start his shift at a hauling service, delivering materials for various construction projects including freeways and community development, attend classes in business administration at CSU Sacramento in the afternoon, and return home to spend time with his two daughters. With this ambition and dedication to providing a steady livelihood for his family, Patrick decided in late 2023 to purchase a semi-truck and trailer of his own to begin building his own construction delivery company, Timeless 500.  

With in-depth advising from Sacramento Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and funding from the California Capital Direct Lending center,Patrick purchased his truck in early 2024 and has begun building his clientele operating Timeless 500.  

As Patrick recalibrated his plans for the future after a move to Sacramento from the Bay Area, his studies in business and his experience with the trucking industry led him to a vision of himself as a multi-industry entrepreneur, with a brand that incapsulates his values of hard work, empowerment, and service. He decided to start by launching his own long-haul trucking company—but he knew he would need funding to get started.  

At the recommendation of a friend, Patrick connected with Sacramento Valley SBDC for training on the technical aspects of running a business and preparing to apply for a loan. Patrick’s business advisor, Kevin Herndon, helped him write a strong business plan and realistic two-year financial projections, two documents that every business owner needs when seeking financing.  

“[Kevin] was awesome. He really helped me go through the process” says Patrick.  “I was new to it, and for a while it seemed tedious to me, but it was a great learning process for me.” 

In addition to the technical assistance, Kevin helped Patrick foster a relationship with the California Capital Direct Lending team, knowing that non-traditional financing would be a better fit for a start-up like Patrick’s. 

“I was having a hard time with conventional banks trying to get a conventional loan, so I came over to California Capital,” explains Patrick, reflecting on the importance of working with a team that believed in his vision. “Through them, they made it happen for me. They helped me make my dream come true.”  

Thanks to his perseverence, and the expertise that he tapped into at Sacramento Valley SBDC, Patrick accessed a $50,000 loan to purchase a semi-truck and cover working capital expenses to get Timeless 500 off the ground.  

As he expands his business and his story, he is quick to shout out those who helped him lay the foundations.  

“Sacramento Valley SBDC and California Capital helped me every step of the way,” he reflects, adding that the support has continued after his loan closed. “I didn’t have to do everything myself. It always takes a team.” 

While he sub-contracts with his previous employer to build his clientele, Patrick continues to dream of ways to expand the Timeless brand and provide motivation for other aspiring entrepreneurs.  

“I’m looking for sustainability in my business, and I’m also into teaching and helping people,” he says. “I’m just here to say that you can do it—I’m living proof. Stick to the prayers, work hard, make it happen.” 

 

California Capital’s no-cost resources are made possible in part with support from JP Morgan Chase. 

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