The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation

What The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation does

The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in the early 2000s and headquartered in Fresno, California. Its mission is to develop self-sufficiency for individuals through entrepreneurship and financial opportunities, with a vision of economic advancement and wealth creation across the Central Valley. The Foundation serves Hispanic/Latino and other underserved small business owners, women entrepreneurs, and rural Central Valley residents through a bundled service model combining bilingual (English/Spanish) business incubation, technical assistance, and microlending.

The Foundation's core platform is the Downtown Business Hub (DBH), a 13,000 sq. ft. physical incubator opened in 2011 as the first bilingual business incubator in the Western United States, offering 2-3 year incubation with one-on-one counseling, conference rooms, training facilities, and virtual office services. Adjacent programs include the Technical Assistance Program (workshops, mentoring, business plan support), the CDFI Micro-Loan Program (FAHF Loan Fund up to $15K, USDA Rural Micro-Enterprise Assistance up to $50K, Coalinga Revolving Loan Fund up to $75K), and a Consumer Loan Program ($500-$3,000 at 12% APR over 24 months). Specialized sub-brands target women entrepreneurs (Latinapreneur/Womanpreneur, Punjabipreneur), rural communities (Confía Rural across eight cities), import/export enablement, and clean energy procurement opportunities (Darden Clean Energy Project).

Revenue is generated through a hybrid nonprofit model: interest income from the CDFI loan portfolio ($5M+ distributed across 250+ loans), tiered annual memberships ($125-$1,500 across four tiers), event/workshop registrations, and a heavy reliance on philanthropic and government grants (notably a $1.7M EDA grant in 2009, $500K CDFI Fund grant in 2023, $1M Citi Foundation grant in 2024, $250K federal community project funding in 2024, and $35K from FHLB San Francisco in 2019). The Foundation is led by President & CEO Dora Westerlund, who has run the organization since its inception, with an approximately 17-person team, and operates with a community-led, event-driven go-to-market anchored in the Fresno Hispanic/Latino business community.

Name

The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation

Legal name

Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation

Website

https://fresnoahf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation is a Fresno-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit and CDFI that supports Central Valley Hispanic, women, and rural entrepreneurs with bilingual business incubation, technical assistance, and micro-lending through its Downtown Business Hub and Confía Rural programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Financial Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC)

Keywords

• Small business development
• Business incubation services
• CDFI micro-lending
• Entrepreneurship training
• Technical assistance programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Fresno

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Consumer Loan Interest: Affordable consumer loans ranging from $500 to $3,000 at 12% annual interest with 24-month terms, serving individuals in Fresno and rural Central Valley communities.
2. Business Micro-Loans: CDFI loan program providing up to $15,000 for urban and rural Central Valley businesses, with terms up to 3 years at WSJ Prime Rate plus 2.0-6.0%. USDA Rural program offers up to $50,000 for rural businesses. Coalinga Revolving Loan Fund provides up to $75,000 for Coalinga businesses.
3. Membership Fees: Annual membership tiers: $125 (Rural Business, Student), $300 (Partnership - Sole Proprietor, Non-Profits, Government), $500 (Corporation), $1,500 (President's Circle). Benefits include networking, workshops, conference room access, and technical assistance.
4. Grants and Donations: Philanthropic funding and government grants supporting operations and programs, including recent $250,000 federal community project funding for business development incubator.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF) operates a bilingual (English/Spanish) business development platform centered on the Downtown Business Hub incubator in Fresno, California. The organization provides small business incubation (2-3 year program), one-on-one technical assistance counseling, and CDFI micro-lending (up to $75,000) to underserved Hispanic and minority entrepreneurs in California's Central Valley. Additional offerings include consumer loans ($500-$3,000), targeted cohort training programs for women entrepreneurs, and rural community financial wellness outreach.

Product overview

The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation (FAHF) operates a multi-service platform for small business development in California's Central Valley, centered on the bilingual Downtown Business Hub incubator. The core offerings include the Technical Assistance Program for hands-on business support, the CDFI Micro-Loan Program providing capital access (up to $15,000-$75,000 depending on loan type), and the Consumer Loan Program for individual financing ($500-$3,000). Specialized programs target women entrepreneurs (Latinapreneur/Womanpreneur, Punjabipreneur) and rural communities (Confia Rural). Additional services include an Import Export Project, the Darden Clean Energy Project for procurement opportunities, and tiered membership access. These services work together to provide a continuum from business incubation and technical support to capital access and market expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Latinapreneur: Spanish-language virtual cohort program for women entrepreneurs launched during COVID-19 to help minority women market their products and services using online platforms.
• Womanpreneur
• Punjabipreneur
• Confía Rural

Products and services

• Downtown Business Hub (DBH) The first bilingual (English/Spanish) business incubator in the Western United States, providing a one-stop-shop service center for start-up and growth of businesses through technical assistance, outreach, advocacy, and access to capital. Includes a 13,000 sq. ft. facility with offices, conference rooms, training center, and virtual office services, and houses 20 in-house businesses plus 12 virtual businesses with a 2-3 year incubation program.
• Technical Assistance Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ businesses incubated since 2011
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• City of FresnocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 February 2026Partnership to establish a full-service business development incubator. The City of Fresno received $250,000 in federal community project funding and partnered with FAHF to house the facility at the Berkeley Building, which FAHF acquired in 2024 for $1.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Accion Serving Southern California & Arizona (Opportunity Fund): Accion is a CDFI providing micro-loans and small business capital to underserved entrepreneurs, including Hispanic and immigrant business owners. It is comparable to FAHF as a CDFI lender in the broader underserved-small-business segment with overlapping bilingual service commitments, though at significantly larger scale and multi-state geography.
• Grameen America: Grameen America is a microfinance nonprofit providing small-dollar loans to women entrepreneurs in underserved U.S. communities. It shares with FAHF the micro-lending model targeted at underbanked, often minority women business owners, though Grameen operates at a national scale rather than a single region.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): LISC is a national CDFI providing loans, grants, and capacity-building to community-based development organizations serving low-income neighborhoods. It is comparable to FAHF as a CDFI channeling capital into underserved small businesses, though LISC operates at multi-state scale and works through intermediary partners rather than direct service delivery alone.

Direct peers

• Pacific Community Ventures: Pacific Community Ventures is a CDFI and small business support organization based in Northern California that combines capital, advising, and growth programs for under-resourced small businesses. It is a direct peer to FAHF due to overlapping CDFI designation, mission-driven small business services, and bilingual/culturally competent outreach comparable to FAHF's Hispanic-targeted programs.
• Kiva U.S. Kiva is a non-profit crowdfunding micro-lending platform that finances small loans to underserved entrepreneurs in the U.S. and globally. It is a direct peer to FAHF given its microloan product ($500-$3K range), zero-interest or low-interest structure, and concentration on borrowers excluded from mainstream credit.
• Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center: Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center is a Bay Area nonprofit providing business incubation, training, and micro-lending to underserved entrepreneurs, including immigrant and women business owners. Comparable to FAHF in scope: bilingual incubation, technical assistance, and micro-loans for low-income entrepreneurs.
• Women's Economic Ventures: WEV is a California-based nonprofit providing business training, loans, and technical assistance targeted at women entrepreneurs. Directly comparable to FAHF's Womanpreneur / Latinapreneur programs and its blended incubation-plus-capital model.

Emerging players

• Small Business Majority: Small Business Majority is an advocacy and small business support organization running entrepreneurial education, training, and resource programs for underserved owners nationwide. Comparable to FAHF in its educational/outreach role for small business owners, though it is primarily an advocacy and policy organization rather than a CDFI lender.

Regional players

• San Joaquin Valley Small Business Development Center: The San Joaquin Valley SBDC provides no-cost business advising, training, and access to capital to small businesses in the same geography that FAHF serves. It is a regional peer delivering technical assistance and capital access to small businesses, partially overlapping FAHF's programs while being government-administered rather than community-rooted.
• Valley Small Business Development Corporation: VSBDC is a Central Valley-based CDFI lender with long experience providing SBA 504 loans, commercial lending, and credit analysis to small businesses in the same market as FAHF. It is a regional peer given overlapping CDFI lending product, Fresno-area operation, and community-development focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fresnoahf
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCrZF5nxHNBjHYMY_ZvNLdqA
• Facebookfacebook.com/fresnoahf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fresno-ahf
• Instagraminstagram.com/fresnoahf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors3 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation