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PROPOSED PREVIOUSLY APPROVED ITEM AMENDMENT
Department: Bureau of Economic Development, Office of Economic Development
Request: Listing an additional subrecipient that will provide technical assistance services
Item Number: 25-3953
Fiscal Impact: N/A
Account(s): N/A
Original Text of Item:
FUNDING TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION (CFI) SMALL BUSINESS LENDING
WHEREAS, in 2022 item 22-4706, a resolution requesting the Bureau of Economic Development (BED) assess the capital landscape for small businesses in Cook County and provide recommendations on the County’s potential role, was introduced to the Board; and
WHEREAS, the assessment focused on two key questions:
• Capital Access Dynamics: What challenges do small businesses face when seeking capital? How have these challenges evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic; and
• County Role: Given these challenges, what role should the County play in expanding access to capital?; and
WHEREAS, in response, BED submitted the report Opportunities for Cook County to Address Access to Capital Challenges for Small Businesses via item 23-5301 to the Finance Committee on November 13, 2023; and
WHEREAS, key findings from this report showed:
• Few community financial institutions (CFIs) in Cook County offer small business lending-despite their critical role in serving underserved communities; and
• Of the 26 certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the County, only one-third offer small business lending, and few operate at scale; and
• Of the $316 million in identified CDFI investments in Cook County, only 9% ($29 million) supported small businesses; and
• In 2019, CDFI investments in small businesses in Cook County lagged behind peer counties (e.g., $90.1 million in Philadelphia, $34.6 million in New York); and
WHEREAS, the report advised the County to provide grants to CFIs to build their capacity for small business lending; and
WHEREAS, the report recommended that Cook County develop a grant program to facilitate increasing the capacity of Community Financial Institutions to directly support small
business with lending services and products; and
WHEREAS, in October 2024 pursuant to item 24-5299, the third installment spending plan for budgeted FY25 Equity and Inclusion Special Purpose Fund, the Bureau of Economic Development was authorized to carry over its previous allocation of $1.0 million in Equity Fund dollars, to support the design of financial products and strategies to increase access to capital for this population; and
WHEREAS, Cook County publicly announced and posted the availability of funding opportunity to support increasing the capacity of community financial institutions on June 16, 2025, and directly invited over 60 non-profit lenders to submit proposals; and
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Economic Development received 10 fully eligible applications from a wide range of non-profit lenders through the application process which closed on July 25th, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Economic Development engaged a distinguished panel of external subject matter experts to review and evaluate proposals; and
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Economic Development and the review panel considered the following elements as part of their evaluation: proposed use of funds and stated impact, alignment with program objectives, organizational capacity and track record, and data infrastructure and reporting capacity
WHEREAS, based on the evaluations provided, the Bureau of Economic Development recommends providing funding to the five six following non-profit organizations:
• Allies For Community Business ($500K)
• SomerCor ($500K)
• Pursuit ($400K)
• Greenwood Archer Capital ($500K)
• Jewish Free Loan Fund ($400K)
• CAMEO Network ($100,000)
WHEREAS, Allies for Community Business, Somercor, Pursuit, Greenwood Archer and the Jewish Free Loan Fund are all Community Financial Institutions and will use funds to directly support small businesses; and
WHEREAS, the CAMEO Network, will 
the remaining balance of funds up to $100K can be used to provide additional support, training and customized technical assistance to the five listed grant recipients and additional training to the other five organizations that were eligible but not selected; were deemed eligible; and
WHEREAS, the Bureau of Economic Development will fund two organizations with funds from the 2025 Equity Fund, and three four organizations with additional funds contained in the 2026 Cook County Budget subject to appropriation and approval by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, to pursue the services outlined in respective submissions; and
WHEREAS, the term of each award will be for an eighteen-month period; and
WHEREAS, by investing in the infrastructure and/ or loan pools of Community Financial Institutions, and providing additional technical assistance to grant recipients, the County is enabling these institutions to deploy more capital to small businesses, particularly those in historically excluded communities; and
WHEREAS, this approach addresses systemic barriers to capital access by expanding the number and strength of non-profit lenders that serve these businesses; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners recognizes that time is of the essence and authorizes the Chief of the Bureau of Economic Development to enter into subrecipient agreements with each CFI awardee and the named technical assistance provider to catalyze small business lending, enhance the resilience of the small businesses ecosystem and spur economic development in Cook County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby authorize the Chief of the Bureau of Economic Development or its designee to modify all agreements subject to the availability and appropriation of funds by the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
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