The Eva Longoria Foundation granted Accessity a three‑year, $500,000 infusion to super‑charge its loan arm for Latina entrepreneurs in Southern California. The partnership, which began in 2013 with a modest $55,000 seed, has already licensed 65 loans totaling nearly $525,000 and kept 150 jobs humming. Now the grant will let the nonprofit double its reach, opening doors for another 70‑plus Latina business owners. The money will fund Spanish‑language workshops, outreach, and a new Accessity Academy cohort.
Since its inception, the fund has morphed from a micro‑loan pool into a regional engine. Accessity, a community‑development financial institution, now chases loans up to $100,000, filling gaps left by traditional banks. Over 30 years, it has rolled out more than $70 million to small‑business owners, a figure that dwarfs the foundation’s current infusion.
Take Cinthya Salas, who launched Fiu‑Fiu Flautas after a workshop. She now runs seven food carts, employs six part‑time workers, and credits the program for her lift. Her story echoes that of dozens who have slipped through the cracks of the credit maze.
The Accessity Academy, a fall‑term Spanish course, has already graduated about 70 entrepreneurs, each armed with the know‑how to paper a business and build a network. The new grant will add an annual in‑person meet‑up, expanding the academy’s reach to 25 new trainees each year. Earlier webinars pulled in 130 participants; the goal is to triple that within the next 12 months.
Accessity will roll out the expanded program in the second quarter, aiming to disburse 10 new loans per month and double the number of jobs created by 2027. The foundation’s CEO, Elizabeth Schott, said the partnership will "hit the ground running".
The $500,000 grant is a strategic leap for a community that has historically been underserved, and its ripple effects could reshape Southern California’s entrepreneurial landscape.