In 1998, they saw venture capital firms doing something to drive startups to greater success: pairing entrepreneurs with not just capital, but expert business advising as well. Their founders Bud Colligan and Penelope Douglas connected the dots: small businesses are the engine of job creation in America, but more of them fail then should. Their innovation in founding PCV was to bring the tools that empowered tech companies to brick-and-mortar Main Street businesses around the country.
Pacific Community Ventures was one of America’s first double-bottom-line investors, and helped create the impact investing movement as part of the U.S. National Advisory Board on Impact Investing, the G8 Social Impact Investment Task Force, and the White House Impact Economy.
Small businesses are the character of their communities. The bakery that makes your favorite muffins, the store that makes and sells those one-of-a-kind-shirts and hats you love, the coffee shop you remember going to with mom every weekend. That list goes on and on. Small businesses make your neighborhood, town, or city unique. They’re also creating the best local jobs — better pay and benefits, and they keep way more money in the community, than chain stores or big multinational corporations.
Since their start, we’ve helped thousands of Mom-and-Pop small businesses grow and create tens of thousands of jobs in neighborhoods that need them most. We’ve paired equity investments and small business loans with extensive advice networks to help their companies create good jobs at ten-times the national rate.
Today, Pacific Community Ventures is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community development financial institution (CDFI) that engages small businesses, impact investors, and policymakers to build an economy that works for everyone.
They put volunteerism and financial capital to work supporting the real economy and creating good jobs with living wages. They do this by empowering small business owners with working capital, free advice and mentorship, and access to the networks they need to grow their companies. They also provide customized research and advisory services to investors and policymakers to drive more money to social good and local economic impact instead of just financial return.
Their programs repair and strengthen local economies, create new quality jobs, and stimulate private and public investment in underserved communities.
