Everyone knows Starbucks, but who is Opportunity Finance Network

Small business remains the backbone of America, creating more than 65 percent of our new jobs in the past 15 years. Unfortunately, in communities across the country, job growth remains stagnant as small and community-based businesses — critical sources of employment — lack access to the capital they need to create and sustain jobs. Providing the capital that community businesses need to grow will go a long way to address the nation’s job crises.

Starbucks and Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) recognized the community business’ important role in job creation, and in November of 2011, we teamed up to address — and help create a solution to — this dire unemployment problem and help get Americans back to work.

Everyone knows Starbucks, but who is OFN?

OFN is a leading national network of community lending institutions that provide financing to community businesses in the hardest hit areas in the U.S. OFN’s community lenders build businesses, create health care centers and charter schools, develop low-income housing, and bring healthy foods to low-income communities… all while creating jobs every day.

In a little more than a year, Create Jobs for USA raised $15 million in donations, supporting $105 million in financing by OFN’s community lenders, and created and retained more than 5,000 jobs in the U.S.

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Create Jobs for USA: Help Americans Get Back to Work.