Three years ago, Rita Forte was preparing to call it quits on her East Oakland small business.

The owner of The Olive Street Agency had tried for years to get a bank loan to expand the boutique marketing business she launched in 2012.

“The banks said my credit wasn’t good enough, and I hadn’t been in business long enough,” Forte said. “I was tired of having to use outside production facilities to get our clients’ work done. It was very discouraging.”

Then Forte got a low-cost loan from Pacific Community Ventures, a nonprofit impact investor dedicated to nurturing small businesses and promoting racial equality.

The loan enabled her to lease commercial space and buy a screen-printing machine. Within a year of expansion, she said her business and revenue quadrupled.

“It was amazing, but it wasn’t a surprise. I knew I needed capital to grow.”

Helping small businesses survive

Kaiser Permanente is funding low-cost loans like the one that helped Forte through a grant to Pacific Community Ventures. It’s one of 11 grants to Oakland nonprofits totaling $15 million that will help the city’s small and diverse-owned businesses survive and grow at a time of significant challenges for Oakland.

The grants, made through a Kaiser Permanente fund at the East Bay Community Foundation, are part of a larger plan to address the most urgent health and safety needs of Oakland, home to Kaiser Permanente’s national headquarters.

Many Oakland businesses have been struggling with crime, a slow-post pandemic recovery, and lack of access to affordable loans. Affordable loans are particularly needed, given that interest rates are higher than they’ve been in years.

Bob Porter, chief lending officer for Pacific Community Ventures, said the cost to pay back the no-fee, 5% interest loans through the Oakland Restorative Loan Fund 2.0 will be significantly lower than the 11% to 17% currently offered by other lenders in Oakland.

“The goal of the fund is to build a thriving local economy by bolstering the resilience of Oakland small businesses,” said Porter. “It is intentionally designed to increase access to affordable, no-fee capital, while also providing culturally-relevant businesses advising at each step of the process.”

Improving health and vitality

In addition to the low-cost loans, the grants will fund a variety of supports for small businesses including:

• Rapid response grants to quickly address community safety and economic concerns
• Culturally relevant trainings, one-on-one coaching and mentoring, and business incubation
• A pilot program to encourage procurement through local small businesses
• Chamber of commerce membership scholarships, marketing and mentoring opportunities

Yvette Radford, vice president, External and Community Affairs for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, said the grants are the result of a series of listening sessions with community partners.

“We learned about the numerous needs that small businesses have in order to survive and thrive including low-cost loans, technical assistance and training, networking opportunities, and much more,” Radford said. “We’re proud to fund the organizations that will provide these resources and supports that Oakland’s resilient, diverse, small businesses need to succeed.

Building a vibrant Oakland economy

Oakland’s Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the city’s 4 ethnic chambers of commerce are among the organizations receiving funding. Plans are under way for all organizations funded by the grants to meet and work together.

Barbara Leslie, Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, emphasized the importance of this united approach.

“The era of working in isolation is over,” she said. “Together, we have the opportunity to address the challenges faced by our small businesses, provide crucial support, and promote a vibrant, inclusive, economy in Oakland.”

See the press release for the full list of grants.