Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco Awards Grants to Two California Nonprofits through Community Vision Sponsorship

We are pleased to have partnered with Alchemist CDC and Sierra Business Council in obtaining grants through the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB)’s Access to Housing and Economic Assistance for Development (AHEAD) program. Through our membership with the FHLB, Community Vision was able to sponsor both organizations. Alchemist CDC was awarded a $45,000 grant to support Alchemy Kitchen, a…

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Welcome Ruby Harris, Community Vision’s New Manager of Community Development Lending

Earlier this Summer we welcomed Ruby Harris to our lending team as our Manager of Community Development Lending. Ruby joins Community Vision with more than 18 years of experience in the affordable housing field, ranging from nonprofit management, program/product design, project management, public policy, finance, and grant-making. Welcome, Ruby! What were you doing before joining…

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A Place to Call Home – Life Learning Academy

Life Learning Academy (LLA), a San Francisco-based public charter school, builds greater equity in education for local young people. Founded in 1998 in an effort to reform San Francisco’s Juvenile Justice System, the school utilizes a number of innovative teaching methods and mission-driven programs to target historic gaps in opportunities and better meet the needs of its students.

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Community Vision Assumes Administration of California Fisheries Fund

We are pleased to announce that Community Vision is the new administrator of the California Fisheries Fund (CFF), an award-winning loan fund that lends to borrowers involved in the West Coast fishing industry. CFF works with small businesses, including small-scale fisherman, fishing enterprises, and ports. The mission-focused program increases profitability, economic mobility, and stability for…

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Billions for Housing on the November Ballot

By Guy Baldwin, Community Vision’s Policy, Research, and Information Manager  Two ballot measures will let California voters decide in November to raise up to $6 billion for housing for veterans, low-income people, and the homeless. Proposition 1 calls for issuing a Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond — $3 billion for affordable housing, and $1 billion…

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Community Vision Moves to New Fresno Office

Last month we relocated Community Vision’s Fresno Office to the Bitwise Hive, a new co-working space promoting technological education, innovation, and increased creativity. A former 50,000-square-foot old county records building off of Santa Fe and Ventura Avenues, the Hive is now home to 24 companies, including Community Vision. With this move, we will continue to deepen our community connections and strengthen our…

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Blog: Using Financial Tools to Build Greater Food Equity in South Los Angeles

By Catherine Howard, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Director of the California FreshWorks, a statewide food access financing and technical assistance program. Cross-posted from www.cafreshworks.com.   South Los Angeles is comprised of a collection of communities steeped in historical significance. Post-WWII, African Americans flocked to the area to take advantage of expanding opportunities to purchase…

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A Permanent Place for the Arts: the Imaginists

Working at the convergence of art, social justice, and community-building, the Imaginists create new pathways for inclusion within the arts. Co-founded in 2001 by artistic directors Brent Lindsay and Amy Pinto, this experimental nonprofit theater company engages youth and adults alike to write and produce original and reworked theatrical productions.

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Fresno’s New Public Art: Acero Picado

On February 26th, community members gathered at Mariposa Plaza in Downtown Fresno to celebrate the dedication of the city’s newest public art installation. Children danced in the plaza and others sat eating snacks on the Free Speech Stage. Community leaders prepared remarks, people took selfies with the new art and awaited the formal program to begin.

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Community Vision program creates pathways for Fresno Students

Photo: Former Community Facilities Challenge alums Jennifer Khy and Rudy Serrato with Mary Rogier, Community Vision’s President For the past six years, Community Vision has partnered with Fresno State University (FSU) on the Community Facilities Challenge (CFC), a project where student teams compete to create solutions to real world nonprofit facility projects in their own community.…

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