Community Enhancement Fund
ABOUT
ERRA designed the Community Enhancement Fund (CEF) as a transformative vision for small business investment in Washington State to address the racial wealth gap. The CEF aims to fill a critical void in strengthening and stabilizing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) owned small businesses by utilizing a radical approach: leveraging community trust, knowledge, and decision-making to design and implement the program. The CEF consists of the following elements:
COMMUNITY CONTROL
ERRA and its partners envision the CEF as a means to leverage community trust, knowledge, and decision-making, recognizing that BIPOC communities know what investment is needed.
IMPACTFUL CAPITAL
The CEF aims to provide large grants and loans ($50,000 to $150,000) in order to expand businesses’ capacity and financial resilience over the long term.
CONCIERGE-STYLE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Funded businesses have access to culturally responsive, concierge style technical assistance (TA) with providers from trusted, BIPOC-led organizations.
OPERATING SUPPORT FOR BIPOC-LED CBOs
The CEF includes funding to support the infrastructure of CBOs who help design and administer the fund, cementing its commitment to an equitable approach that strengthens communities as holistically as possible.
Photos by Emily Un.
CEF PILOT: 2023 - 2025
From 2023-2025 ERRA and its partners designed and implemented a two-phase pilot of the CEF, supported through funding from the federal Small Business Administration and the Washington State Department of Commerce. The CEF pilot was co-designed and implemented by five community-based partners: Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle, Crescent Collaborative, El Centro de la Raza, Latinos en Spokane, and the White Center Community Development Association. These organizations brought deep local knowledge to design the grant program and provided technical assistance to grantees.
Pilot Phase 1 Partners
$750,000 federal grant from the federal Small Business Administration that supported six businesses:
- Salima Specialties expanded space, repaired equipment, and purchased inventory and processing equipment.
- Mynt Salon relocated to a larger space and made tenant improvements.
- Chu Minh Tofu purchased equipment and built out its tofu processing facility.
- Shark Bite opened a brick and mortar location and expanded its marketing.
- Se Habla Media purchased media equipment and hired additional staff.
- Marjorie Restaurant constructed a new space and made tenant improvements.
Pilot Phase 2 Partners
$750,000 one-time match from the Washington State Dept. of Commerce that supported seven businesses:
- 8 Regiones, LLC (DBA La Tipica Oaxaqueña) expanded its staffing and relocated to a new space.
- Happynest Nidos Felices made capital improvements to build a childcare center.
- Inter-Tribal Beauty LLC supported staffing and expanded marketing and brand development.
- AxSM ART LLC (DBA Made Space Seattle) expanded their space and increased staff support.
- Macs by Don LLC (DBA Puffy Pandy) made capital improvements and expanded retail space.
- Samway Market made capital improvements.
- Kakurenbo made capital improvements to a historic building.
To learn more about each of the businesses, view case studies here.
Evaluation of the Pilot
ERRA contracted Equitable Development LLC to evaluate both phases of the CEF pilot. They assessed the program’s impact, sustainability, and scalability. Key findings include:
- The CEF created a transformative environment and a significant opportunity by building a small-business ecosystem that deepened community ties and leveraged technical assistance to drive long-term economic vitality and inclusion.
- The CEF had a range of impacts (personal, social, and material) for example, personal impact on grantees well-being and that of their families, like taking time for family after hiring additional employees.
- Data showed that the community-directed process helped those who were unlikely to apply for standard loans and meaningfully identified small businesses that valued their role as community anchors.
- Larger grants supported real business outcomes. Business owners suggested that traditional small business grants are often not worth the time and effort because they are not large enough to change the business’s trajectory.
A Vision for a Fully Scaled Fund
Today, despite the US national economy being at record levels, reports indicate that small businesses’ post-pandemic recovery is plateauing as the ecosystem continues to face headwinds and new challenges, including inflation, a tighter credit market, volatility, tariffs, state budgets in disarray, and the withdrawal of federal funding. Access to capital for small businesses is not only needed—it’s urgent. The CEF represents a transformative model for economic equity and community wealth-building. ERRA continues to advocate for long-term funding while exploring additional pilot opportunities, including building a revolving loan fund.
“We are excited to see the impact when we provide community-directed, flexible, and meaningful funding to businesses that are anchors in their community. This pilot proves what our communities have long known: the need is great, but so is the potential. Now we must meet that potential with real, sustained investment.”
