are you a cdfi? is san francisco and s.p.a. in support of cdfi's being established in san francisco? >> yes, we are. we were founded in 1999 with a small business loan. that is how we started our tenderloin office. >> opportunity fund is a certified cdfi, so we are providing a benefit to low and moderate-income communities. he is the city establishing support for new cdfi's? >> mark wanted to address that, in support of cdfi's in the city. >> we have a wealth of partners in the city. s.p.a. is just now rolling out a program for r -- will be the case by the summer. let me get one last point and on the question about relationships to lenders. the question was, do have to have an account with a bank in order to get a loan? may answer is no, but the real answer to it is certainly want to do that. one of the things we see as an important thing for you, as a small-business person to establish a relationship with a lender on a variety of levels before you look for funding. part of that is opening an account with them, letting a lender

whether it's a bank or the cdfis, their costs are unnecessarily too high. and so a lot of activity is going toward bringing down those costs whether it's using technology, looking at different kinds of underwriting that bypasses fico scores and brings in more social, using social media and social demographic data. because a lot of things around big data and technology can really begin to change the business model and the underwriting model used by banks and cdfis to lower the costs. most banks will not make a loan nowadays under $250,000. and so one of the things that aeo is doing is putting -- we've formed a microcapital task force actually out of the works in a forum that don graves and the secretary have created. they created that forum bringing in fin-tech companies, financial and technology companies, and aeo is moving with that and creating a task force that looks at policy changes that are needed and regulatory changes that could be implemented to create a real financial market for sub-$250,000 loans. >> did you want to add to that? >> yeah, just a c

we're a cdfi. a community development financial institution. we focus on market other yentsed solutions. >> what got you to make the switch? what pushed you? what motivated you if you started out on the corporate side? >> i guess i had two switches. i was in new york on 9/11. i watched the towers come down and basically said this isn't what i want to be doing when a plane flies through my window. i felt like i wanted to give something back. i switched to international and human rights. when i made the decision to come back to the united states, peace corps was the way to do that. >> thank you both for coming in. >> thank you. >>> we're "on the money." charging your credit card or signing up for deals would leave [ male announcer ] this is a leather-wrapped steering wheel. this is a heated leather seat. this is a secret storage space. this is another. this is 8.4 inches of go-anywhere. this is 20 inches of water-fording talent. this is armor. this is 31 miles per gallon, highway. this is the freedom to keep chasing all the horizons you want. int

we have been able to access resources through the sba and the cdfi fund which helps get money to small businesses in this time of need. opportunity fund is not a bank or a government agency. we are an independent nonprofit organization with a mission to provide capital to working people to help them earn, say, and invest in the future. we focus primarily on businesses that are not yet bankable. most of our clients are themselves low or moderate income people or working in low or moderate income neighborhoods. but not exclusively. we will look at any business we think can bring about substantial community benefits. i want to talk about what type of loans we make and whatever products we have. that is important to note that in our case, they mentioned -- i mentioned some acronyms. the service corps of retired executives, women's business centers, renaissance and entrepreneurs should here in san francisco, women's initiative for self-employed -- those organizations offer classes often and one-on-one counseling. in some cases, whether or not you are seeking a loan -- in our case, and risin