Opportunity Fund advances the economic well-being of working people by helping them earn, save, and invest in their future.

Opportunity Fund believes that everyone should have the chance to build a dignified life, regardless of their economic background. Our role is to help working families realize their dreams and move beyond worrying about how to live day to day. By investing in those who don’t have ready access to financial resources, we strive to break the cycle of poverty for good.

Description:
Here's the Problem
Hard work isn't always enough. For many working people, a solid economic foundation is simply out of reach. Consider these facts:

A single parent with two kids in the Bay Area needs approximately $65,000 just to pay for basic needs.
A minimum-wage earner in California working 40 hours a week has an annual gross income of $16,640.
One quarter of all families in the Bay Area is not self-sufficient. This means one in four families in the Bay Area has to make daily tradeoffs between paying rent, buying food, and staying healthy.

Who Do We Help?
At Opportunity Fund, we help our neighbors, the hard-working people getting by on modest wages in the Bay Area. Some are refugees from around the world. Some live in homeless shelters even while holding jobs. Others start businesses on the side to help make ends meet. All of them share a determination to build a better life for their families.

How Do We Help?
We help our clients get a foothold and get ahead. We help them join the financial mainstream. We achieve this by lending a helping hand, through our award-winning approach that includes financial education, microfinance loans, matched savings accounts, and affordable housing financing.

We offer our clients an opportunity to take charge and a chance to change their lives. Their successes are the proof: that a little help goes a long way.

History:
1992-1994: Planning

Eric Weaver hired as Project Coordinator to explore feasibility of creating a bank lending consortium in Santa Clara County. The project is convened and housed by Silicon Valley Bank and the Community Foundation of Santa Clara County (now Silicon Valley Community Foundation)
Articles of Incorporation filed, creating Lenders for Community Development, a for-profit multi-bank community development corporation—15 local banks purchase shares
17 banks sign an agreement to provide funds for two loan pools: one focused on affordable housing and one on small business loans
1995-1997: Launch

First small business loan is granted to Treasure Chest Aquarium for $17,000
First affordable housing loan, to South County Housing, to acquire land for an affordable rental development in Gilroy
In 1997, LCD hosts a “Million Dollar Party” to celebrate $1 million in cumulative microloans to small businesses
1998-2001: Partnership

LCD and Center for Venture Philanthropy launch the IDA Savings Program (called the Assets for All Alliance)
LCD helps the Sobrato Foundation launch the $10 million Sobrato Affordable Housing Fund. LCD also begins managing loan programs for the Housing Trust of Santa Clara County
LCD completes conversion from a for-profit to a non-profit
2002-2004: Innovation

LCD enrolls the 1,000th participant in IDA Savings. The program is now the largest and most successful of its kind in the country.
LCD receives its first $25 million New Markets Tax Credit Allocation for community real estate projects and closes the first two New Market Tax Credit loans in the Bay Area: Preservation Park in Oakland and National Hispanic University in San Jose.
LCD receives the Skoll Award for Innovation in Silicon Valley
2005-2007: Scale and Impact

LCD celebrates $100 million invested in the community with over 2,000 IDA Savers, 5,000 homes financed and loans to over 600 Bay Area entrepreneurs
LCD awarded Wachovia Impact award
LCD Founder and CEO Eric Weaver is one of the first six recipients of the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, created to recognize people advancing innovative and effective solutions to some of the challenging issues facing California
2008

LCD becomes Opportunity Fund!

Contact people:

Shaolee Sen, Communications Director, (phone), (email) Liz Given, Vice President, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (408) 297-0204
Office fax number: (408) 297-4599

Address:

111 West Saint John St San Jose, CA 95113 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.opportunityfund.org

Directions:

Opportunity Fund's main office is located in downtown San Jose, at the corner of St. John and San Pedro streets. Our offices are easily accessible from both the 101 and 280 freeways, and are a short walk from either CalTrain’s. . . (more)

Miscellaneous Information

Besides English, which languages are spoken at your agency?
	Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Vietnamese
What is the minimum age for volunteers at your agency?
	18
Is your agency wheelchair accessible?
	Yes
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 10?
	No
Does your agency have the capacity to host groups of more than 20?
	No