Impact

Dear Friends, Valued Partners and Supporters,

As I reflect on 2025, I am filled with gratitude and resolve. This year tested our region’s resilience and reaffirmed the urgency of our mission. Despite elevated borrowing costs, shifting labor markets, and uneven growth across sectors, the entrepreneurial spirit of the Inland Empire has not wavered—and neither has our commitment to nurturing it.

The numbers matter, but the people behind them matter more. When we report that our network facilitated over $125 million in capital, we’re really talking about Maria, who expanded her catering business after three banks turned her down. When we cite 21,500 jobs created or retained, we’re celebrating families like the Nguyens, whose small manufacturing shop now employs twelve neighbors from their community.

In 2025, the Inland Empire’s growth slowed to about 1%—down from 3% in 2024—as logistics and manufacturing cooled while healthcare, public administration, and services grew. Our response was simple and strategic: follow the data, and follow our entrepreneurs. We redirected resources to help business owners pivot into growth sectors and provided stabilization support to those in industries under strain. At the same time, we expanded access to capital and financial education so that entrepreneurs facing inflation and rising costs could better manage cash flow and prepare for loans.

Our impact this year reflects the strength of our ecosystem. We expanded into Los Angeles and Orange counties, increasing our capacity to serve diverse entrepreneurial communities by 40%. In collaboration with more than 750 financial partners, we facilitated $125 million in small business loans and deepened relationships with CDFIs and mission lenders willing to look beyond traditional credit scores. Our Small Business Assistance Tool reached over 32,500 users, with growing engagement in Spanish, and we completed a full website accessibility overhaul so entrepreneurs of all abilities can find the resources they need.

Equity remains at the center of our work. This year, 78% of the entrepreneurs we served identified as people of color, 55% were women, and 31% were immigrants or refugees, communities that have too often been excluded from wealth-building opportunities.

Every program we design, and every partnership we pursue, is guided by a simple set of questions:

• Who benefits?
• Who might be left behind?
• How can we be more intentional?

I was honored in 2025 to be recognized by the Inland Empire Community Fund as a Woman of Achievement and by Senator Reyes as a Woman of Distinction, and our organization received its fourth consecutive Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid. These recognitions belong to our entire collaborative ecosystem, our board, staff, partners, and the entrepreneurs who trust us with their stories, ideas, and dreams.

Looking ahead, forecasts for 2026 point to modest growth with continued cost pressures. We are choosing not to pull back, but to press in, doubling down on relationship-driven support, data-informed programming, and advocacy that keeps small business voices at the center of policy and capital decisions. 

Our priorities include growing our partner network, innovating capital products with community lenders, connecting local businesses with regional innovation efforts, and leading on issues that protect fair lending and relationship banking.

The work we do is fundamentally collaborative. No single organization can dismantle systemic barriers or build inclusive prosperity on its own. 

To the entrepreneurs we serve: your creativity, resilience, and determination fuel not just your success, but the vitality of entire communities. We see you. We believe in you. And we remain committed to removing every barrier we can between you and your potential.

Together, we are not just supporting small businesses, we are helping build a more equitable, prosperous, and resilient Southern California.

With deep gratitude and unwavering commitment,

Pamela Deans, Execuitive Direction
Microenterprise Collaborative of Inland Southern California