To create new opportunities and spur future growth for Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce (LALCC) small businesses with financing and loan opportunities, LALCC Chairman, Darrel Sauceda recently met with Melissa McDonald, Chief Operating Officer, of RAZA Development Fund (RDF) to offer small business loans to LALCC members from $25,000-$250,000 which can be used to refinance existing loans, finance facilities, purchase equipment, and working capital to fund operations and future growth projects. RDF was founded in 1999 as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). RDF’s mission is to invest capital and create financial solutions to build generational wealth for Latino and underserved families across the country.

The funding for the small business loans was made available with a recent $3.2 million capital commitment in March 2023 by Charter’s Spectrum Community Investment Loan Fund to RDF. The funds are 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.

As part of the financing agreement with RDF, LALCC will provide technical assistance for small businesses who receive a loan from RDF. Housed in Southern California, LALCC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and serves businesses covering all areas of California. LALCC is the leading organization dedicated to organizing and uniting Latino business owners to grow and create positive economic impact. This is accomplished by providing LALCC members with procurement, technical assistance, strategic planning, advocacy, access to political decision makers, economic development and business education.

RDF is currently working with a number of mission-aligned community partners in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Philadelphia, Texas, Florida, Minnesota, and Ohio to ensure affordable access to credit for small, minority-owned business enterprises.

LALCC members who are looking to grow through new financing with a business loan, should contact LALCC immediately to learn more about this exciting new loan opportunity.

The Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce and the Department of General Services (DGS) will launch a 3 Part webinar series in August 2021.  The focus is how members can utilize DGB services to their benefit.  

Part 1 - Topic: How to do business with the State of California on August 3, 2021 from 10 - 11:30am.

Part 2 - I'm Certified. Now What? on August 10, 2021 from 10 - 11:30am.

Part 3 - Topic: Contracting with the State of California on August 17, 2021 from 10 - 11:30am.

These webinars are FREE and open to the public.  Register at www.lalcc.org today.

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Avanzar Hispanic Enterprise Accelerator was founded in 2018 in partnership with Wells Fargo to provide small Hispanic and Latino-owned businesses educational training, guidance, counseling, and support through a year long accelerator program designed to help small scalable Hispanic Business Enterprises (HBE's) "Avanzar" or  "advance" to take their business to the next level.

For a second year in a row, Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce was selected as one of seven chambers in the country to execute this program. 

Additional information and to apply visit www.lalcc.org/avanzar

Applications will be made available the middle of May 2021.  For additional information, please contact our office during business hours Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm at (213) 422-9019

Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce announces Elevate Together, powered by Round It Up America is a nonprofit initiative designed to address systemic discrimination and historical racial disparities in business growth and profitability in Black and Hispanic communities.

Through a partnership with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the initiative helps support Hispanic small businesses with five or less employees.  . The ODP Corporation (parent company to Office Depot and CompuCon) is the initiative founding partner.

For more information and grant application visit www.lalcc.org/elevatetogetherw.

Wells Fargo and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Announce Expansion of Innovative Small Business Accelerator Program to 5 New Markets including Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce (LALCC) has been selected as one of five new partners (seven overall) to participate in the Avanzar Small Business Accelerator Program, a United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) and Wells Fargo project designated for Latino small businesses ready to take their business to the next level.

In 2020, five new market regions have been selected to invest and expand the Avanzar program by partnering with five local Hispanic Chambers of Commerce.

The other new chambers selected by the USHCC as partners are Latin Chamber of Commerce of Las Vegas Nevada (Las Vegas, NV), Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Phoenix, AZ), Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Atlanta, GA), and the Hispanic chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando & Prospera (Orlando, FL)

In 2019, Wells Fargo and the USHCC piloted the Avanzar program in partnership with the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Avanzar (‘advance’ in Spanish) is an eight-month business accelerator designed for Latino small businesses that are ready to take their businesses to the next level. Each Latina and Latino entrepreneur participates in courses that are aimed to help develop business plans, strategy, and the leadership skills needed to scale their small businesses. Course topics include building financial plans, streamlining operations, lowering expenses, marketing, leveraging social media, and obtaining access to capital for each business. Subject matter experts, from Wells Fargo, will provide the access to capital training. Throughout the Avanzar Program the USHCC Chambers will track and monitor certain performance metrics with the Hispanic Business Enterprises (HBEs) in the Avanzar Program, including jobs created, access to capital and access to contract opportunities.

“Wells Fargo is proud to be the founding sponsor of the Avanzar program. We fundamentally believe that capacity building, access to capital, and effective mentoring are critical ways to ensure that Hispanic-owned businesses grow and scale. The Avanzar program is about empowering Hispanic business owners to grow sustainable firms that create jobs in communities all across the United States,” said Regina Heyward, Senior Vice President and Head of Supplier Diversity at Wells Fargo.

“We are very excited to expand Avanzar to five new cities thanks to the support from Regina Heyward, on behalf of Wells Fargo, and the great results from our first pilot thanks to Rocio Gonzalez, President and CEO of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte and Ernie C’De Baca, President and CEO of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce,” said Ramiro A. Cavazos, USHCC President and CEO. “Wells Fargo’s investment in Avanzar proves their commitment to helping support Latina and Latino entrepreneurs, America’s fastest growing business group, and our Hispanic Chambers across the country.”

“In the current economic environment, programs like this are critical to help Latino-ed enterprises navigate the current economic crisis, recover and continue to grow,” said Lilly Rocha Executive Director of LALCC. “The Chamber is excited to be partnering with the USHCC, Wells Fargo and our other partner Chambers to bring this important program to our Latino business community.

LALCC board and staff had the pleasure of meeting with new Consulado General de Mexico, Marcela Celorio, to discuss the importance of partnering in creating business opportunities for the Latino Community as well as the importance of identifying ways to enhance cultural awareness in Los Angeles.

The sold out 2019 Latino Economic Forum was a complete success! Thank you to Title Partner, Wells Fargo, and Participating Partner, Chase and all who attended. The event featured experts on business succession, taxes, access to capital and social media on top of a macro economic overview from our event Keynote speaker. A special thank you to Abel J. Montanez, Wells Fargo Private Bank Regional Managing Director (LA Region) for his part in being instrumental in helping develop the content of this session, as well as moderating the event's phenomenal panel. For those that did not attend last week's Latino Economic Forum, following is a summary of our speakers:

Sanjay Varshney (Keynote), PhD, CFA, investment strategy specialist, Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management Group. He provides thought leadership on investment management strategies and market commentary for Wells Fargo Private Bank and serves as professor of finance at California State University, Sacramento, as well as the chief economist for the Sacramento Business Review – one of the most comprehensive economic analysis and forecasting publications for California and the region. Varshney will provide an overview on global and local economies and offer tips on what business owners can do to remain competitive.

Christopher Pegg, senior director of planning, Wells Fargo Private Wealth Management Group. He leads the wealth planning efforts for Wells Fargo Private Bank in California. A certified financial planner, he speaks and writes frequently on matters relating to tax law and wealth planning and has been quoted in various national publications. He is experienced in structuring asset protection strategies, business succession techniques as well as estate planning vehicles for business owners and their families. He will share strategies to help move family businesses to the next generation.

Chirag Sagar, co-founder of Digital Luxury Agency, a global Internet marketing and branding agency and also a fundraising/syndication group, which has worked with over 3,000 Fortune 500 and small companies, governments, nonprofits and investment firms. He will discuss the importance of digital and social media in today’s business climate and some of the must-have tools needed to grow and succeed.

Vanessa Torres, assistant vice president and business relationship manager, J.P. Morgan Chase. She supports business owners and community stakeholders in the Greater Los Angeles Area and serves on multiple internal advisory boards promoting corporate diversity and community mentorship. She will cover some of the access to capital and scaling challenges Latino and other entrepreneurs face and what they can do to overcome these hurdles.

Vanessa Faggiolly, chief financial officer, Amerisal Foods, a privately-owned wholesale food distribution company that imports Latin American food products. She and her mother, Nora Saca, bought the financially struggling company in 2008, and today, it’s a multimillion-dollar enterprise with more than 500 employees and distributing products to supermarket chains such as Superior, Vallarta and El Super. Faggiolly will share how the El Salvadoran mother-daughter duo started with nothing and worked to achieve the American dream.

They are a diverse group: a corporate executive, an inventor, a coffee retailer, a parking and transportation services provider and the head of an influential business association. What they have in common is their leadership and commitment to advancing the interests of Los Angeles’ Latino business community.

These individuals and organizations were honored at Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce’s (LALCC) 10th Anniversary Latino Business Awards held May 21 at the Intercontinental Los Angeles. Award recipients included: Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO, Edison International; Maria Salinas, president and CEO, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce; Robbie Cabral, inventor, founder and CEO, BenjiLock; Tierra Mia Coffee; and Parking Company of America.

“Our honorees have set an example for others to follow through their support of Latino businesses and helping to ensure their success and viability,” according to LALCC CEO Norma Gomez. “They inspire others to step up and use their voice to advocate for and promote the economic development of Latino-owned businesses in Los Angeles. I can’t think of a more deserving group of Latino business leaders.”

Awards

In accepting the Corporate Executive of the Year Award, Pizarro spoke of Edison International’s subsidiary, Southern California Edison, and its diversity and inclusion initiatives. He said in 2018, the utility procured more than $2 billion in goods and services with diverse business enterprises, of which over $700 million was spent with Latino suppliers.

Salinas, recipient of the Inspirational Leader of the Year Award, was cited for her trailblazing role as the first woman and Latina to lead the L.A. Area Chamber in its 131-year history, taking the helm in August 2018. As the largest and most influential business association in Los Angeles County, the chamber represents more than 1,650 members and 650,000 employees.

Cabral was introduced as the inventor who disrupted the padlock industry with BenjiLock, the world’s first rechargeable padlock with fingerprint technology. The Innovator of the Year Award recipient was featured on ABC’s Shark Tank, where he landed a deal with Kevin O’Leary (whose video message was shown at the awards luncheon) in 2017. Cabral’s patented invention is now available at Lowe’s, Home Depot and Ace Hardware.

Tierra Mia Coffee President Ulysses Romero, receiving the Rising Star Award, shared his company’s rise from one café in South Gate in 2008 to 16 stores across California. He thanked his parents and 350 employees and said the success of Tierra Mia Coffee “shows how investing in our communities can create jobs and improve the quality of life for those in these communities.”

The final Legacy Award was presented to Parking Company of America. In his acceptance remarks, CEO Alex Martin Chaves said, “Who would have thought that when my mom and dad started their parking business…over 52 years ago that we would become the largest Hispanic family-owned parking companies and one of the largest privately-owned minority-certified parking and transportation companies in the country?” He attributed his family’s success and legacy to “long hours, hard work, respect for others and a little luck!”

Fireside chat/workshops

Preceding the awards program was a fireside chat on “Unstoppable Women” featuring Monica Gil, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, and Zoila Escobar, president of AltaMed Foundation and senior vice president and chief administrative officer of AltaMed Health Services.

When asked what Gil would do differently early in her career, she said understand the politics between an organization and the competitive landscape, improve financial acumen regardless of industry, work to become a better public speaker and move out of her comfort zone by leaving home and traveling outside of California earlier.

The event also included a workshop on how to do business with the state, held in conjunction with State of California Department of General Services. The information session covered resources and tools to determine if businesses are suited for contracting opportunities with the state.

Event sponsors

This year’s presenting event sponsor was Bank of America. Other sponsors included: Coca-Cola, Entravision, Wells Fargo, Commercial Bank of California, CIT Bank, AltaMed, US Bank, Southern California Edison, Delta, AeroMexico, Vasquez & Company, Citi, Kaiser Permanente, JP Morgan Chase & Co., ACS Group, Airbnb, Adventist Health White Memorial, AlvaradoSmith, AT&T, Banc of California, First Choice Bank, Fox Deportes, SoCalGas, TELACU, 4over Inc., Union Bank and Walmart.

We want to give tremendous applause and congratulations to LALCC member & 2018 Latino Business Awards co-host Maria Salinas for her recent appointment to CEO of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce! 

This is a momentous moment in history for the 130-year-old organization, as Maria's appointment makes her the first women and the first Latina ever to be selected to lead the LAACC. What Maria will bring to her new role is decades of qualified experience in financial planning and business management. The Founder and President of Salinas Consulting, Maria possesses wisdom in leading organizations through their financial plans, reporting, controls & compliance and general accounting matters. Before launching her business, she’s held several finance and accounting leadership roles at The Walt Disney Company for 11 years and has served as Director and former Chairwoman of ProAmérica Bank. Her leadership has extended from Ernst & Young LLP, where she managed and supervised audit engagements as Audit Manager, to her current role as Chair of the Board of Regents at Loyola Marymount University.

Congratulations Maria! The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is in great hands! 

Dear Ms. Waddell,

On behalf of the Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce (LALCC) and its thousands of business owner members, we are writing to convey our disbelief and disappointment at the, some would argue, biased demands by AFT 1521 to block David Vela’s appointment to the Los Angeles Community College District Board.

The Latino community is stunned and very disappointed that on the AFT 1521 Facebook page, soon to be appointed trustee David Vela, a Latino and a member of the LGBT community is dubbed as a person who does not “reflect our diverse student population.” This statement is simply not true. It seems that the person who made this statement is not aware that Latinos make up the largest student population (60%) in the Los Angeles Community College District, and that the LGBT community has become an integral and influential part of our diverse Los Angeles population.

Here are some additional statistics that will add additional insights to into this matter. As we’ve stated, more than 60% of LACCD’s student population are Latinos –yet, only 40% of the LACCD Board is Latino. Further, only 20% of the LACCD teachers are Latinos. With Mr. Vela’s appointment, 56% of the board would be Latino, which more fairly represents LACCD’s student population.

LACCD’s appointment of Mr. Vela will make LACCD the first major government organization in Southern California whose board is majority Latino and is consistent with the population of Los Angeles. Mr. Vela’s appointment is seen by many in our community as historic and a step in the right direction. I remind you that more than 55% of LA County is comprised of Latinos. LACCD’s board action in supporting Mr. Vela is consistent with the composition and population of LACCD and the County of Los Angeles.

Your Facebook statement from our vantage point indicates that you chose to embark on an underhanded attack on a very deserving, worthy and influential Latino American citizen. Further, it is our firm belief that your sole interest is to advance your union’s political agenda -over the best interests and desire of the community at large. Such a narrow position only serves as a serious detriment to the LACCD. Additionally, it is our understanding that you have divided union support on the tack that you are taking which generates additional questions.

The Latino and LGBTQ community supports Mr. David Vela’s appointment to the LACCD board and will attend the next public board meeting to show our support for the LACCD Board’s decision to appoint someone who is clearly a reflection of our community and who is a very well-qualified person.

The LALCC vigorously supports Mr. Vela’s appointment.