In a conversation with LISC Small Business Vice President Steve Hall, the team at Pacific Community Ventures (PCV), a nonprofit impact investor and community development financial institution (CDFI), describes how they created a loan product to support small businesses in the green sector—as a bridge to accessing Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) dollars. While GGRF capital promises to be transformative, gaps still remain that CDFIs can step in to fill, underscoring the importance of bridging green lending gaps.

With restorative capital at the heart of its approach, PCV’s Good and Green loan product offers low-cost, flexible predevelopment capital that helps business owners bid for larger contracts in the green economy, bridging green lending gaps.

It is part of PCV’s overarching support for small business owners and their communities in the fight for economic, racial, and gender justice. PCV works side-by-side with small business leaders and “solopreneurs,” offering impact-first restorative capital and pro bono business advising through its Good Jobs Innovation Lab, which propels thriving communities with equitable jobs.

Bulbul Gupta, PVC’s president & CEO, Casey Bell, chief impact officer, and Bob Porter, chief lending officer, shared their insights and green lending strategy in the conversation below.

Steve Hall: It's going to be extremely important for our partners to demystify green lending products and help build success in this emerging economy. How is your work in green lending impacting your communities, and how could your model be beneficial to other CDFIs?

Bulbul Gupta: This really started for us three or four years ago when we were launching a strategy around what we call “restorative capital.” As an impact-first, civil rights-centered, community investment institution, we had to think about what it means to invest in historically excluded and redlined communities and what success looks like for us if a restorative capital strategy works.

For a long time, PVC focused on good jobs, and really making sure that the small businesses we are investing in are helping to create good quality jobs for both those entrepreneurs and for their workers.

Read the full article about bridging green lending gaps at LISC.