Anne-Marie Saint-John, Alva, Long Island City, NY >
Credit Lines: Celebrating the Women of Ascendus
Celebrating the Women of Ascendus
I want to dedicate this newsletter to the women of Ascendus whose leadership, dedication, and effectiveness continue to assist our clients in finding ‘This Way UP!’ From our Board officers (all women) to our Leadership Team, our managers, and individual staff members, Ascendus is an organization primarily led and operated by women. These women continuously innovate to drive our people, processes, programs, and relationships forward. They emulate and demonstrate our core values of adaptability, dedication, empathy, inclusion, integrity, and passion. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I want to give credit where credit is due and thank the women of Ascendus who continue advancing our mission.
Yours in celebration and homage,
Paul Quintero
Ascendus’s Wins $800,000 FA Award From The CDFI Fund
Ascendus will use the CDFI award to power products in new industry verticals; bolster existing products – such as the Line of Credit, Get Ready Loan, and Childcare Provider Initiative; and expand into new geographies. “The capital awarded to us from the Treasury’s CDFI Fund will allow us to lend at a greater scale, absorb the credit risks inherit with innovation, and create tailored programs centered on the solutions small business owners need to thrive. “We are proud to have earned a Financial Assistance award from the CDFI Fund this year. The award expands our lending volume beyond the limits of our existing debt, increases our net assets to attract future capital, and facilitates innovation through the absorption of credit risk. Reputationally, the award confers national validation that Ascendus is successfully executing its strategy for serving our target audiences.” – CEO of Ascendus, Paul Quintero. Ascendus has received nine (9) of these highly competitive awards over the prior ten (10) years. The awards have supported growth in annual deployments from $7 million in 2012 to over $35 million today. Nearly half of those dollars support women business owners.
Ascendus Participates in Recoverable Grants With The Boston Foundation
Recoverable grant portfolios allow investors to direct dollars into the issues they care about the most. Through The Boston Foundation, individuals can directly contribute to Ascendus’s work in BIPOC Small Business Lending and Equal Opportunity for Families. This includes our work with licensed childcare providers in Greater Boston through our Childcare Provider Initiative. The program helps clients run and grow childcare businesses – improving accessibility and affordability of childcare in local neighborhoods. Over 99% of clients served through the program are women; they are providing an average of one job per business for another woman and helping mothers and families return to work.
Ascendus Expands Inclusion and Mobility Opportunities Through Eastern Bank
Ascendus has partnered with Eastern Bank’s Equity Alliance for Business. Through the program, Ascendus will be better positioned to serve women and entrepreneurs of color, populations that have been historically underserved and underprivileged. Ascendus will provide business insights, networking, and financial learnings to a larger network of small business owners across New England, moving the needle towards addressing historic racial wealth inequities.
With a Get Ready Loan, Makeiba Provides Safe Travel & Job Opportunities
Makeiba started The Luxe Travel Plug to create safe travel opportunities for women of color. She started her business in 2021, and by 2022 had conducted 11 trips; she’s got twice that planned for this year. Makeiba needed a line of credit to reserve the flights, hotels, and experiences for her clients; but she had damaged credit and couldn’t get a loan. Without the line of credit, her planned trips in 2023 for clients, and the success of her business, hung in the balance. Through the Get Ready Line of Credit Program, Makeiba not only can invest in her business, but she can also improve her credit. Makeiba is now providing job opportunities through hiring an assistant and a team of travel agents to accompany clients on their trips.
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