NFF Dollars at Work

Supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs and communities in San Francisco

$250,000 bridge loan (June 2022)

The mission of En2action is to engage, empower, and inspire action to promote equitable growth, build resilient communities, and achieve transformative social good – with a focus on serving BIPOC entrepreneurs. Primarily serving BIPOC communities with a focus on Black communities, En2action provides collaborative kitchen space for BIPOC chefs, offers marketing training for Black business owners, and organizes a weekly food box distribution program for neighbors facing food insecurity. En2action reports that 80-90% of their clients are low-income, and most identify as BIPOC. Since its founding in 2019, En2action has supported the growth of 50 Black-owned businesses, engaged with at least 5,000 community members, and produced over 1,000 food boxes.

En2action receives much of its funding from grants and contracts with the city and county of San Francisco. However, like many government agencies, San Francisco agencies pay nonprofits after work is conducted, not before – and COVID-19 exacerbated delays in these payments that already existed. Financed through NFF’s Bay Area Racial Equity Fund, which provides zero-interest loans with flexible repayment plans to BIPOC-led nonprofits in the San Francisco Bay Area, this loan will smooth over cash flow issues caused by delays in government reimbursement and provide some of the cash needed for En2action to meet payroll and focus on growing its essential programs. With support from this financing, En2action can continue building programs that foster equity and collaboration in BIPOC communities across the Bayview region.