December Olamina Update 2021

$35M of our $40M loan fund is now serving communities! Two years out from Olamina’s official launch, we’re at a phase of the fund’s evolution where we’re eager to begin sharing more stories of our vibrant portfolio, uplifting the contributions of our Community Advisory Board (CAB), and imaging what else might be possible with the right capital and relationships in our ecosystem.

Taking a moment to reflect: at the start of the fund, we set out to invest at least $10m into each of three key U.S. regions: Indian Country, the Deep South, and Rural America — communities that have endured decades of disinvestment and intentional extraction from the traditional financial system. With $5M still left in underwriting, we’re excited to share that we have so far lent $9M to organizations that serve Indian Country, $20M to organizations that serve the Deep South, and over $16M to organizations that serve Rural America. Additionally, we want to highlight that 100% of our portfolio has been invested in BIPOC- and women-led or founded organizations. We invite you to learn more about our newest partners and growing team in this newsletter, and stay tuned for more news on Olamina’s portfolio, and plans in the new year!

Portfolio Update

We’re proud to announce new loan closings with 3 partners: Historic District Development Corporation ($3m), Kibilio Community and Farm ($500k), and Carolina Small Business Development Fund ($2m)!

HDDC is one of Atlanta’s oldest surviving community development corporations and the only non-profit organization specifically dedicated to preserving the availability of affordable housing in the Old Fourth Ward district. For nearly four decades, HDDC has been a catalyst for equitable urban revitalization in Atlanta. Olamina’s investment will be used to acquire additional parcels in support of HDDCs mission to revitalize the Martin Luther King, Jr. historic district. Access to this capital allows the organization to acquire historic properties that would be demolished or redeveloped by private developers.

Kibilio Community and Farm is rooted in Black and Queer land sovereignty. It is an intergenerational, intentional community dedicated to embodied healing, and reparative, ecological, and reproductive justice. Olamina’s investment will help secure more real assets so that they may cooperatively work towards educating for Indigenous land justice and ecological balance.

Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF) is a 31 year old nonprofit that provides financial, policy, research, and technical assistance to small businesses throughout North Carolina. CSBDF focuses on underserved communities with an emphasis on businesses owned by people of color, women, veterans, rural residents, and low income individuals. Resources from Olamina Fund will help CSBDF provide lower cost debt through their Revolving Loan Fund.

View all Olamina Borrowers

Team Update

Please join us in welcoming Leticia Corona, Olamina’s new Portfolio Manager! Leticia is the proud daughter of immigrant farmworkers from Guanajuato, Mexico, and grew up in a small rural town in Fresno, CA. She is driven by pride in her family and Mexican culture alongside her embrace of innovation and sustainability. She is equally able to blend the cultural and regenerative practices of her rural heritage with social impact investment and business strategies to create a more equitable and just world.

She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and her master’s degree from the University of San Diego. She has been selected to several prestigious fellowships and certificate programs, including most recently the Yale Center for Business and Environment’s Financing and Deploying Clean Energy program.

Leticia’s work has focused on solving complex environmental, economic, and social problems and co-creating innovative solutions. Most recently, Leticia served as the first Central California Regional Lead Advisor of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, a position she was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. During her term she led strategy development for the state of California’s small business ecosystem-building work, access to affordable capital and diverse entrepreneurship, and innovation portfolios, and created a model across California. In previous positions, she has worked alongside organic small-scale coffee producers and indigenous women's textile cooperatives in Mexico, designed policy strategies for investments in long-term water, renewable energy and clean energy projects in low-income rural communities as well as managed a multi-million-dollar social impact investment portfolio.

We’re honored to have Leticia continue her journey here with us at Candide, and look forward to having her brilliance and care for relationships shine throughout the Olamina portfolio.

More about Olamina

Candide Group’s wholly-owned Olamina Fund addresses the historic lack of access to capital in American communities

— namely Black and Native communities, who have faced decades of disinvestment and intentional extraction.

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View our list of past specific recommendations for the last 12 months For more information about Candide, please see our Form ADV, Part 2A.

Disclosures: Candide Group, LLC (“Candide Group”) is an SEC-registered investment adviser located in Oakland, California. Such registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Real Money Moves is a fiscally sponsored educational non-profit and does not provide any investment advice. The content herein has been provided for information purposes only, and is not intended to serve as investment advice or as a recommendation for the purchase or sale of any security. Candide Group does not render or offer to render personal investment advice or financial planning advice through this post. Candide Group’s specific advice is given only within the context of our contractual agreements with each client. The strategies and/or investments referenced are not suitable for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives. There is a risk of loss from any investment in securities, including the risk of loss of principal. Candide Group is not responsible for the consequences of any decisions or actions taken as a result of the information provided herein. The information and opinions stated herein reflect Candide Group’s views as of the time of publication. Those views are subject to change. The information and opinions stated herein do not represent a complete analysis of every material fact concerning any industry, security or investment.The investment discussed herein have been included based on the following methodology: all loans Candide Group has facilitated through the Olamina Fund since the publishing of our last all-network Olamina Update newsletter. Holdings are subject to change.There is no assurance that securities purchased will remain in an account’s portfolio, or that securities sold will not be repurchased. In addition, it should not be assumed that any securities discussed were or will prove to be profitable. Candide Group, or one or more of its officers, may have a position in the securities discussed herein and may purchase or sell such securities from time to time. Candide Group does not provide tax or legal advice. To the extent that any material herein concerns tax or legal matters, such information is not intended to be solely relied upon nor used for the purpose of making tax and/or legal decisions without first seeking independent advice from a tax and/or legal professional. For your convenience, this post may contain hyperlinks to websites and servers maintained by third parties. Candide Group does not control, evaluate, endorse or guarantee content found in those sites. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the actions, products, services and content of these sites or the parties that operate them. Your use of such sites is entirely at your own risk. While the information herein has been obtained from sources which Candide Group believes to be reliable, these sources have not been verified. Candide Group does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided. This newsletter may not be duplicated or reprinted without the express permission of Candide Group.