Summer, 2024

Dear Friends,

I hope you are able to take time off this summer to relax with family and friends. At Accompany Capital, we are taking turns taking much-needed vacations by visiting family in our home countries, for those of us who are immigrants, or discovering new places in the US.

This is also the time of year when we review where we are with our annual goals and, once again this year, we are on track to meet and exceed all our deliverables. That can only happen with great teamwork and, with that in mind, we are pleased to announce well-deserved promotions for three talented and committed team members: Jessica Martin, Maria Paulino, and Tshering Gurung! See below for more details.

Thanks so much to everyone who has generously contributed to the Leonid Ostrovsky Lending Fellowship Program fund! We are now actively accepting applications (see below to learn more!)

And finally we want to extend our thanks to the Small Business Administration (SBA) for renewal of our microloan TA grant; to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) which enables us to serve refugees with rental assistance and matching grants, and to TD Charitable Foundation for generously increasing their support which will enable us to provide more webinars, credit counseling, and business advice for small business owners.

Yanki Tshering

Executive Director

Promotions

We are very pleased to announce the promotions of several of our long-time team members!

• Jessica Martin to the position of Director of Portfolio Management and Investor Relations.
• Tshering Gurung to the position of Director of Business Development and Training
• Maria Paulino to the position of Director of Small Business Lending

Please join us in congratulating them as they take on these new responsibilities.

Supporting Refugees and Evacuees

For over 20 years we have administered a specialized savings program for refugees and asylees. As part of the program, we recently offered a financial education workshop, The Basics of Money and Assets, which was hosted by Santander Bank at their Williamsburg Work Cafe for over 30 of our refugee clients. An additional grant has enabled us to support 66 Afghan evacuee families with rental assistance and for whom we hosted an informative Tenants’ Rights workshop to provide further support.

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Finding the Right People Skills + Community

This summer we traveled to the Windy City for the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Small Business Finance Forum, a gathering for mission-driven small business lenders. We were particularly pleased to have participated in a timely & important panel: Internships, Outreach, and Indeed: Practical Solutions for Recruiting Diverse Candidates to Your CDFI.

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Our Upgraded AERIS Rating

In case you missed the news: we are very pleased to announce that we have received a three-star impact management rating and an A+ financial strength and performance rating from Aeris, the rating and information service that provides comprehensive, third-party assessments of the financial strength and performance and impact management of CDFIs.

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The 11th Annual CBA Symposium: Connecting Communities 

This summer over 350 nonprofit financial coaches, financial educators, partner organizations, non-profit leaders, government agencies, credit reporting agencies, fintechs, regulators, Tribal Entities, and allies were in attendance for the CBA’s 11^th annual symposium in Washington DC. whose theme was Connecting Communities Through Credit.

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Leonid Ostrovsky Lending Fellowship

We are pleased to announce, and actively looking for candidates for, the Leonid Ostrovsky Lending Fellowship, an early-career opportunity for individuals with an interest in small business lending to immigrants and refugees. Previous related work experience is not required. If you, or someone you know, is a potential candidate, please click the link below to learn more.

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Save the Date for the Momo Crawl

As a founding sponsor, we're pleased to announce that the 12th Annual Momo Crawl will be held Sunday, September 15th, in Jackson Heights. One month from now so Save That Date!

Thanks to TD Charitable Foundation, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and the Small Business Administration for their support!