Latino Business Alliance
Empowering Communities, Building Futures: A Partnership Fueling Latino Entrepreneurship
The Latino Business Alliance’s (LBA) mission is to empower small businesses in financial growth while promoting engagement and visibility within the larger American economy. By building trust in both the Latine Business and Non-Latine community, we can bring together like-minded people with a common vision of a better Willamette Valley for all.
Partnership Quick Facts
The Challenge
Latino entrepreneurs in Oregon faced a dual challenge: limited access to capital (only 20% of Latino-owned businesses secured loans over $100k vs. 50% for white-owned businesses) and systemic gaps in culturally relevant business education. LBA needed funding to:
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Grant financial support to small businesses struggling with startup costs and expansion.
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Scale their Latine Microenterprise Development Program (LMDP) to equip rural entrepreneurs with skills in financial management, bidding, and business planning.
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Address soaring demand for services, particularly in underserved rural areas like Woodburn and McMinnville, where language barriers and reduced DEI funding exacerbated disparities.
The Journey
In 2020, Elaine Navarro met LBA founder, Jose Gonzalez, at a bustling coffee shop in downtown Salem. Over café y pan dulce, they discussed LBA’s urgent need to scale funding for its rapidly growing programs. At the time, LBA operated largely on volunteer power, with just one part-time employee. Jose shared his vision: to transform LBA into a sustainable force for Oregon’s Latino entrepreneurs.
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This conversation sparked a trust-based partnership. As JLL’s first client, the collaboration focused on:
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Strategic Grant Calendar: Mapping funding cycles to align with LBA’s program expansion goals.
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Funder Relationship Building: Identifying and connecting with equity-focused foundations and state programs.
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Narrative Crafting: Highlighting LBA’s 15-year track record, rural impact, and success metrics to create compelling proposals.
The Results
Over five years of partnership, Just Look Left empowered the Latino Business Alliance to secure $1.3M+, fueling transformational growth across Oregon’s Latine business community. This funding enabled LBA to mature from a volunteer-driven initiative into a professionally staffed organization, hiring multiple full-time employees to deepen program impact. Critically, these resources directly supported rural entrepreneurs through 100+ grants and low-interest loans, lifting financial barriers for startups and expansions alike. ​
Simultaneously, LBA’s flagship Latine Microenterprise Development Program (LMDP) enrolled 100+ entrepreneurs, with 74 graduates gaining skills to stabilize and scale their businesses. Beyond formal training, LBA now provides bilingual business guidance, referrals, and workshops to 500+ individuals annually, creating a thriving ecosystem where Latine-owned businesses access tools once out of reach.
Conclusion: Scaling for the Future
The partnership with JLL has positioned LBA for long-term sustainability, with a diversified funding portfolio, tens of thousands of dollars in reserves, and a growing membership base. By securing multi-year grants and deepening relationships with equity-focused funders, LBA is poised to expand the LMDP to serve additional rural entrepreneurs, strengthen partnerships with rural chambers of commerce, and support Oregon’s fastest-growing entrepreneurial sector, with Latino businesses expanding 144% since 2002.