Genesis LA

What Genesis LA does

Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation is a California-based nonprofit founded in 1998 by former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. Operating as a dual-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE), the organization provides flexible, patient capital and capacity-building services to nonprofits, community development corporations (CDCs), community land trusts (CLTs), small businesses, and emerging enterprises in underserved Los Angeles County communities. Its core lending products are CDFI Loans deployed through the internally managed Genesis Community Investment Fund (GCIF) and New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) financings that leverage public and private capital to subsidize approximately 20% of project costs. Since 2002, Genesis LA has deployed over $280 million in CDFI loans and $440 million in NMTC financing across 250+ projects.

Genesis LA's business model combines net interest income on its loan portfolio, NMTC allocation and deployment fees, and intermediary fees earned from public and private partners (notably LA County) for administering grant and forgivable-loan programs such as the Commercial Acquisition Fund (LACAF). Revenue model types across streams include subscription-style recurring interest income, licensing/royalty-equivalent NMTC economics, and professional services fees for intermediary work. The organization supplements direct lending with multi-year programs — Block by Block (10-year neighborhood revitalization in South LA and Pacoima, 2023), Cal CORE (6-year statewide capacity building with Community Vision, 2021), the 3C program (Connecting Capital & Community, funded by JPMorgan Chase, 2021), and SPARCC (recoverable grants for community land trusts, 2021) — that integrate capital deployment with technical assistance and borrower capacity building. Recent capital inflows include a $4.13M U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund award (April 2023), a $2.6M LA County DEO partnership (2024), a $550K Wells Fargo grant (2025), and a $10M Bank of America zero-interest loan commitment for wildfire recovery (December 2025).

The company is governed by a Board of Directors including Chairman Richard Maire and Chairman Emeritus Lee Kanon Alpert, with a lean executive team led by President & CEO Tom De Simone, supported by CFO Jem Dicioco, General Counsel Jessica Waybright, Director of Lending Anthony Santana, and Director of Strategic Initiatives & Investments Sara Harris. It maintains dual CDFI/CDE certification, an Aeris third-party impact rating, a CA Finance Lenders License, and active social/web presence across LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, and YouTube. Revenue is not publicly disclosed and headcount is reported in the 11–50 range.

Name

Genesis LA

Legal name

Genesis LA Economic Growth Corporation

Website

https://genesisla.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Genesis LA is a dual-certified CDFI and CDE nonprofit founded in 1998 that deploys flexible loans, New Markets Tax Credits, and capacity-building programs to nonprofits, small businesses, and developers across underserved Los Angeles County communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Finance

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Administration of Urban Planning and Community and Rural Development (92512), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Savings Institution, Federally Chartered (6035), Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs) (FSABAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Land Acquisition, Lot Development & Construction Financing (AD&C) (FSALAHAI)

Keywords

• Community development lending
• CDFI financing
• New Markets Tax Credits
• Affordable housing loans
• Small business lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

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, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. CDFI Lending: Genesis LA provides direct loans to nonprofits, small businesses, and emerging enterprises through its internally managed Genesis Community Investment Fund (GCIF) and special purpose capital pools. Revenue is generated through interest on loans and financing fees.
2. NMTC Lending: New Markets Tax Credits allocation from U.S. Treasury's CDFI Fund enables leveraged finance structures that generate tax credits, with Genesis LA raising and deploying NMTC to invest in community projects by leveraging public and private investment capital.
3. Intermediary Services: Genesis LA provides intermediary services to third parties, deploying subgrants, administering programs, and underwriting loans/PRIs on behalf of public and private partners such as LA County.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Genesis LA is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE) that provides direct loans and New Markets Tax Credit financing to nonprofits, small businesses, emerging enterprises, and local developers across Los Angeles County. It deploys capital through its internally managed Genesis Community Investment Fund (GCIF) and supports borrowers with technical assistance, capacity building, and intermediary program administration for partners such as LA County.

Product overview

Genesis LA operates as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and Community Development Entity (CDE) offering a comprehensive suite of financial products and programs. The organization provides two core lending products: CDFI Lending (direct loans to nonprofits, small businesses, and emerging enterprises through the Genesis Community Investment Fund) and NMTC Lending (New Markets Tax Credits financing). These are supplemented by multiple programs including Block by Block, CalCORE, 3C, LACAF, and SPARCC, as well as Intermediary and Development Services. Together, these offerings form an integrated community development approach combining capital deployment with capacity building.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CDFI Lending
• New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) Lending
• Genesis Community Investment Fund (GCIF)
• Block by Block (BxB)
• California Community Owned Real Estate (CalCORE)
• Connecting Capital & Community (3C)
• Los Angeles County Commercial Acquisition Fund (LACAF)
• Strong Prosperous and Resilient Communities Challenge (SPARCC)
• Intermediary Services
• Development Services

Quantifiable outcome

• $280 million in CDFI loans and $440 million in NMTC financing deployed to over 250 projects since 2002
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Los Angeles County Department of Economic OpportunitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 April 2026Partnership to deploy approximately $2.6 million through the Commercial Acquisition Fund for small businesses and nonprofits to acquire commercial properties across LA County. Includes $1 million in discretionary funding for projects in the county's 2nd District.
• Clearinghouse CDFIminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 December 2025Partner CDFI in Bank of America wildfire relief initiative, focusing on housing recovery.
• Pacific Community VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 December 2025Partner CDFI in Bank of America wildfire relief initiative, focusing on community rebuilding and economic resilience.
• Pacoima BeautifulcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Community partner organization in the Block by Block 10-year community development initiative focused on revitalizing Pacoima neighborhoods.
• Community Coalition (CoCo)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Community partner organization in the Block by Block initiative focused on revitalizing South Los Angeles neighborhoods.
• PrimestormajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Experienced developer partner in the Block by Block community development initiative.
• Holos CommunitiesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Developer partner in the Block by Block initiative for neighborhood revitalization.
• Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Developer and community partner in both the Block by Block and 3C programs, focusing on increasing homeownership for Black and Latinx families.
• Coalition for Responsible Community Development (CRCD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Developer and community partner in Block by Block and 3C programs for South LA homeownership initiatives.
• Community VisioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2021Co-launched the California Community Owned Real Estate (Cal CORE) program in May 2021, a 6-year statewide capacity-building initiative for CDCs, CLTs, and nonprofit real estate efforts. Community Vision implements Northern California training while Genesis LA handles LA County.
• Center for Community Investment (CCI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Facilitates the Connecting Capital & Community (3C) program utilizing CCI's capital absorption framework to address racial inequities in housing. Genesis LA serves as the convening organization for Los Angeles.
• Low-Income Investment FundmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership to function as fiscal sponsor for SPARCC (Strong Prosperous and Resilient Communities Challenge), a recoverable grant program financing due diligence costs for community land trust projects.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Clearinghouse CDFI: California-focused CDFI providing lending and development services in underserved communities. Direct co-partner with Genesis LA on Bank of America's $10M wildfire relief initiative, operating a similar CDFI/CDE model in Southern California.
• Low-Income Investment Fund (LIIF): National CDFI focused on low-income communities, with deep California presence. Genesis LA's co-partner on the SPARCC program and a fellow intermediary for affordable housing and community development capital deployment.
• Pacific Community Ventures: CDFI operating in California with focus on small business lending in underserved communities. Co-partner with Genesis LA on Bank of America's wildfire relief initiative, sharing similar nonprofit CDFI structure and target borrowers.
• Community Vision: Bay Area-based CDFI and community development partner. Co-launches the CalCORE capacity-building program with Genesis LA, providing the Northern California counterpart to Genesis LA's LA County coverage.

Broad incumbents

• Enterprise Community Partners: One of the largest national CDFIs with deep affordable housing and community development expertise. Operates broadly across LA but at much larger scale, offering overlapping CDFI lending, NMTC deployment, and capacity building services.
• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Major national CDFI with active LA programming, providing community development lending, NMTC, and capacity building across the country. A much larger incumbent with similar mission and overlapping borrower base.
• Capital Impact Partners: National CDFI focused on equitable economic development, affordable housing, and community services. Competes with Genesis LA for NMTC allocations and CRA-motivated capital while offering similar community development loans.

Regional players

• CDC Small Business Finance: LA-based CDFI focused on small business lending, with deep Southern California roots. Comparable CDFI lending mission but with a narrower small-business focus versus Genesis LA's broader community development mandate.

Others

• National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC): National network organization promoting fair access to banking and capital for underserved communities. Tangentially related as an advocacy and capacity-building peer to the CDFI/CDE ecosystem in which Genesis LA operates.
• Opportunity Finance Network (OFN): National membership network of CDFIs. Not a direct competitor but the primary trade association and capital conduit for the CDFI industry, providing funding, policy advocacy, and capacity support to Genesis LA and its peer CDFIs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/genesisla_cdfi
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/GenesisLA1
• Facebookfacebook.com/genesislacdfi
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3788748
• Instagraminstagram.com/genesisla_cdfi

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Genesis LA