A $15,000 grant will help Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios Program expand services for Latino, BIPOC and low-income entrepreneurs in Portland.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A program that helps Latino, BIPOC and low-income entrepreneurs launch food and beverage businesses has received a $15,000 grant from the WaFd Bank Foundation to expand its services and support more small business owners.
The funding will go to Hacienda Community Development Corporation’s Empresario Program, which provides guidance to aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs.
“We respond to the needs of the community by offering educational food and business-related workshops so that folks can get ahead and stabilize and grow their businesses,” said Melina Romero, manager of the Empresarios Program at Hacienda CDC.
She said the funds will also help the program explore new tools.
“We’re going to be exploring AI and what the basics are for small businesses, how it can be leveraged, in addition to our curriculum around social media strategies, as well as website design and development,” Romero said.
One family helped by the program runs Ta Bueno Ne, a food cart in the Delta Carts Food Pod in North Portland. Bethzy Huitzil Interian’s father owns the business and initially struggled to navigate the early steps of opening it, especially with a language barrier.
“In the beginning of this business, it was a little hard because my dad didn’t know where to start. But because Hacienda gave us this opportunity, he actually had a lot of help on what to do, how to start, and not struggling as much, actually having the opportunity to achieve his dream,” she said.
Jamie Steiskal, assistant vice president and branch manager at WaFd Bank, said the foundation awarded the grant to strengthen small businesses in Portland.
“This is the largest grant we’ve done in the Portland area under my branch leadership for Hacienda CDC, but I know we’ve given about $17,000 so far this year in the Portland area itself,” she said.
Steiskal stressed the importance of supporting local entrepreneurs.
“We want to help those looking for a path to entrepreneurship, help them be sustainable, get off the ground, and really make it past the statistics of businesses not surviving,” she said.
She added, “We think it’s really important, especially in the Portland area, where we’ve seen a lot of small businesses struggle in the last few years. It’s coming back alive, and we’re really happy to be part of that.”
The Empresarios Program launched statewide earlier this month, thanks in part to funding from Business Oregon.
