Commercial Lending Partner of SMBs in the Greater New Orleans Region
We envision opportunities for business ownership, entrepreneurship, access to capital, and creation of wealth to be passed from one generation to the next.
Our Goals
To increase the number, net worth, and hiring ability of small businesses in the greater New Orleans region.
To increase support for non-profits that support our disadvantaged communities.
To increase our ability to provide capital to disadvantaged enterprises from an average of 50 per year to 300 per year while also expanding our core operating framework.
To organize and educate citizens, community leaders, business leaders, and elected officials around the issues of economic inclusion
To promote effective public policy and support leadership that empowers citizens and replaces strategies of dependency with strategies for asset building, wealth accumulation, and self-actualization
Our Strategic Approach
CUEE embraces a comprehensive approach to building assets, linking development finance to local ownership, entrepreneurship, and policy. We do this through strategic lending, personalized technical assistance, and data-driven advocacy. The organization focuses on two terms: economic and equity.
Economic: Generates a viable financial return, either by maintaining or creating profits, return on investment or a tangible asset.
Equity: Provides an opportunity for disadvantaged groups and/or individuals to access financial resources for businesses, housing or livelihoods/employment.
CUEE supports projects that, with CUEE financing, lead to positive change for the borrower and their employees and customers.
CUEE is also interested in the employment potential of each of our loan clients. For example, we look to invest in businesses: that plan to hire new employees in "quality jobs" (benefits, a living wage, healthy and safe working conditions, opportunities for growth and advancement); that hire low-income workers in "quality jobs"; that hire participants who train/hire/apprentice local youth, or improve part-time or seasonal positions to full-time or year-round employment; or businesses that operate community facilities, such as child care or assisted living centers that serve low-income people.
CUEE also endeavors to affect the policy environment to create resources and a favorable regulatory environment for our work. This work will be done through partnerships and collaborations with other organizations around common issues.
Going forward, CUEE intends to focus on building organizational capacity, capital capacity and strategic partnerships, and to efficiently collect data that will allow it to more aggressively impact and advocate for the economic growth and stability of its clients and their communities.