The Wildflowers Social Investment Fund focuses on two areas: community projects for the social good and small businesses that are looking to expand.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Lao Iu Mien Cultural Association: Immigrants in the Bay Area donated $5 or more monthly as a nontraditional guarantee for a loan to build a community center. Tenderloin, San Francisco: Wildflowers is mapping the neighborhood’s underground art scene to discover how best to preserve it, as an ArtPlace America project. Sitang Community Park: Wildflowers advised the sub-district of Shanghai and led Model-Building on the design of an open space for a new residential complex. Santa Clara County Idir: Hundreds of Ethiopians make lifelong contributions to an informal traditional insurance fund and help to arrange the three-day funerals. The El Caballero Aguila Recording Studio: The studio received a peer-to-peer loan for recording equipment to document indigenous music in the Southwest. |
SMALL BUSINESSES Mitchell’s Chem Dry: An African American–owned green-certified cleaning business wanted to acquire the franchise rights for San Mateo County. Eji’s Ethiopian: This chef, who was the C.E.O Women 2011 Entrepreneur of the Year, took out a loan for equipment to package her cuisine for Good Eggs. Red Wolf Band: A group of indigenous people from different tribes in Albuquerque worked together to build a greenhouse and sell their produce at farmers’ markets. St. Mary’s Mahiber: Ethiopian women from the St. Gabriel Tewahedo Church started a catering business for events and wanted to upgrade their kitchen. Everett Baldwin’s Tipis: A Diné spiritual leader in Gallup, New Mexico, needed seed capital for a ceremonial handmade tipi business. |