Equity In Action: 30th Anniversary Celebration

CAMEO Network is a national micro-business association made up of 400 organizations, agencies, and individuals dedicated to furthering Micro-Business development with small and micro-business financing such as loans and credit, technical assistance and business management training. Annually, CAMEO members serve about 200,000 very small businesses with training, business and credit assistance and loans. These firms – largely start-ups with less than six employees – support or create 300,000 new jobs and generate a total of $15 billion in economic activity.

CAMEO Network

30 years of CAMEO - join our next chapter as we come together to innovate the small business ecosystem.

The Dana on Mission Bay

It’s CAMEO Network’s 30th anniversary so we’re going all out to celebrate!We’re building out a great agenda that includes Tara Lynn Gray, Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate, as well as Donna Gambrell, President and CEO of Appalachian Community Capital and former CDFI Fund Director. We’ll also host sessions on underwriting for racial justice, climate resiliency for small businesses, the impact of AI on small business development, and more! Of course, it wouldn’t be a CAMEO event without some fun, and what better backdrop than the beautiful Mission Bay? Pricing<ul><li>$700 per ticket</li><li>CAMEO members qualify for a $150 discount. Contact Dara Dado at ddado@CAMEOnetwork.org to verify your membership and get the discount code/link. Optionional evening activity on 11/13:</li><li>$30 – Spend the evening enjoying a boat ride around the Mission Bay from 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Your ticket includes one drink.</li></ul>

<h3>Hotel Reservations</h3>Secure your stay at The Dana on Mission Bay! While our room blocks have closed, we still encourage you to book directly at our venue and enjoy the convenience of staying on-site.

<h3>Join us for an evening cruise around Mission Bay!</h3>Just a 2 minute walk from the Dana Hotel, this optional evening activity follows Day 1 of our summit on 11/13. Your ticket includes boat admission and one complimentary drink.Click on "Get Tickets" to book your spot. Cost: $32.90 Cruise San Diego: 1617 Quivira Road, San Diego, California, 92109 Flat shoes are recommended.

For those of you participating in the SCALE: Capital Access program, our yearly in-person meeting will be held on November 12th in the same location. Click on the ticket button and add it to your cart.

Payment Eventbrite uses PayPal for payment processing. You can pay with your PayPal account or check out as a guest using your credit card.

Kindly register by November 1st to ensure we can accommodate your food preferences appropriately.

pre-event - Nov 12, Tues

Registration / Networking

Join us on November 12th at 5:30 PM for the Equity In Action: 30th Anniversary Welcome Reception! We are excited to gather with CAMEO Network members and friends from across California and beyond. We extend our gratitude to our Superstar sponsor, US Bank, for their commitment to building wealth and strengthening communities through entrepreneurship.

The reception will take place outdoors, adorned with string lights, palm trees, and a breathtaking view, all complemented by ambient music throughout the evening. We’ve planned a brief agenda to maximize your networking time.

Schedule:
5:30 PM: Kickoff with appetizers and drinks available throughout the evening  
6:15 PM: Opening remarks by our CEO, Carolina Martinez, followed by welcoming remarks from Rockette Ewell, Vice President, California Region Manager, Community Affairs at U.S. Bank
7:30 PM: Reception ends   
We look forward to celebrating with you as we prepare for the start of our conference on November 13!

Welcome Reception

Day 1 - Nov 13, Wed

Breakfast and Networking

As the theme for this summit is Equity in Action: Innovating the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, we open the summit with a focus on the e-words: Equity. Entrepreneurial. Ecosystem.

The pandemic ushered in a historic small business boom, which brought a renewed urgency to our efforts to build a more equitable ecosystem for small businesses. With so many new businesses starting, we doubled down on our work to ensure every entrepreneur has access to the capital, connections, and coaching they need to grow their business – no matter who they are or what zip code they come from. We also advocated to work toward policies and regulations that brought more resources to the ecosystem and broke down barriers to entrepreneurship. 

Our CEO, Carolina Martinez, lays out the vision for CAMEO Network’s plans to enrich the entrepreneurial ecosystem so that our diverse small businesses can thrive.


Welcome: The Equitable Ecosystem

Hear from three organizations that exemplify interacting pieces of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that work together to provide the support system for our entrepreneurs.

Maribel Rodriguez, Prospera
Jay Diallo, First Community Capital
Pamela Deans, Micro Enterprise Collaborative of Southern California


The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Action: Coaching, Capital and Connections

Time for something fun and time to meet your neighbors. Test your knowledge! Learn something new about the small business sector. And win a prize.



Small Business Trivia

Hear from two organizations that exemplify interacting pieces of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that work together to provide the support system for our entrepreneurs.

Iosefa Alofaituli, CIELO
Doug Smith, Inclusive Action for the City 


The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Action:  Culture and Climate

Reflections on the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in California and Beyond, a Fireside Chat with Tara Lynn Gray, Director of the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. 

After a morning of theory and practice of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem that we’ve built together in California, Carolina and Director Gray will reflect on the current state and the future vision of the ecosystem and small businesses and why diversity matters.


Fireside Chat with Tara Lynn Gray

Ms. Gambrell, a leader in the CDFI industry, will share with CAMEO Network the opportunities facing rural small businesses and the opportunities for CDFIs across the nation to create impact. We'll hear about trends to continue equitable lending in underserved communities as well as Appalachian Community Capital's new climate initiative creating a Green Bank for Rural America as an awardee of the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s Clean Communities Investment Accelerator.

 Donna Gambrell, President and CEO, Appalachian Community Capital


Lunch with Keynote Donna Gambrell

The 5Cs of credit are used by many lenders to determine whether or not a borrower receives a loan, but often is a systematic barrier to access to capital for many of our clients. The California Small Business Racial Justice Coalition worked to "blow up" the 5Cs and create a new set of underwriting criteria that meets our sector's clients where they are. Meet the new 4Cs of credit. 

During this session, you’ll have an introduction to the 4C’s, how they can help clients from a business advising perspective, how they differ from the 5Cs, who is lending on the 4Cs and through interactive case studies show how the 4Cs can help your business advising clients that may have been declined elsewhere to access capital.

For CDFI and mission-based lenders who want to learn how to apply the 4Cs of underwriting to their lending, we'll discuss process adoption, loan policies, practical considerations, and risk management.


Lending for Equity: Blowing up the 5Cs of Credit

Under the shared services center, which is funded by Citi Foundation’s Community Finance Innovation Fund, small business lenders can gain access to better technology, human resources and financial tools and guidance by pooling their resources. Accessity, Access Plus Capital, Pacific Community Ventures and Working Solutions share their experience being part of the cohort. This session focuses on the use of shared services to advance capacity building in the CDFI industry and why Citi Foundation is supporting this initiative. Commonalities and opportunities have been identified in each of the functional areas to provide transformative solutions under a shared cost model. Presenters will discuss the impact on cohort members along with opportunities to lead industry change. 

Breakout 1: Shared Service Center

We all know that small businesses face many challenges, and owners wear many hats.The fires, floods, and other effects of climate change constitute another of those challenges. 
How do we convince our clients that they need to participate in the climate solution?  How do we obtain buy-in from our clients when they have so many other issues to deal with?

CAMEO Network board member Naima McQueen will lead a discussion on what it takes for small businesses to act and how to debunk the economic vs environmental justice conflict, and where to start to help business clients build climate resiliency into their business plans.

Breakout 2: Integrating Climate Responses into Small Business Development 

Enjoy the Marina to the sounds of flamenco guitarist, Jason El Rubio
Shop at one of the small businesses displaying their wares
Meet the lenders who will be available to talk about their loan products 
Or simply catch up with old friends and make new ones


Mix and Mingle

The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem 5Cs Reception and Awards

 Just a 2 minute walk from the Dana Hotel, this optional evening activity follows Day 1 of our summit on 11/13. Your ticket includes boat admission and one complimentary drink.

Cruise San Diego: 1617 Quivira Road, San Diego, California, 92109

Flat shoes are recommended.

Evening Cruise Around Mission Bay

Day 2 - Nov 14, Thur

Mayor Todd Gloria welcomes us to San Diego and discusses the importance of small business to San Diego's economy. Then he's followed by a fireside chat with Alphonso David, President of Global Black Economic Forum, and co-counsel for Fearless Fund on the importance of diverse small businesses on a national scale and what California can do to ensure that diversity is protected.

Diverse Small Business: Local to Global

Embracing emerging technology gives organizations a competitive edge, and AI is no exception. According to a recent survey, 80% of Entrepreneurial Support Organizations (ESOs) - which include CDFIs and TA providers - have either implemented AI or plan to do so within the next six months, demonstrating a need to better understand this technology to harness it for positive impact. 

Laura Kozien of Stop Whispering will highlight their recently completed a comprehensive three-part landscape analysis exploring how ESOs and the small businesses they serve are approaching AI adoption in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Morning Session 1: AI for Small Business

A panel together of AI thought leaders will explore:

*How AI implementation aligns with CDFI and ESO mission and goals
*How AI can drive equity, efficiency, productivity, and new opportunities across operations
*Real-world use cases and ideas for implementation
 *Considerations for successful AI implementation including governance, roadmaps, and resource allocation
 *How ESO ecosystem stakeholders can collaborate to support AI transformation

AI for Small Business Panel

Break

Whether you're an AI pro or have yet to try the tools, Roberto Martinez, Braven Agency and Google Digital Coach, will lead an interactive, hands-on activity that will utilize some AI tools.

AI for Small Business In Practice

Aimed to align strategies to better meet the needs of underserved entrepreneurs, this moderated conversation will explore the key lessons learned, innovative strategies, and best practices that are driving funding decisions and shaping sustainable, equitable growth in a post-COVID economy. Gain valuable insights into how funders are adapting their investment approaches to meet the evolving needs of the communities we serve. This engaging panel discussion features corporate leaders spearheading community and economic development initiatives that benefit microbusiness owners around the nation.

Morning Session 2: Innovating the Ecosystem

Lunch with Keynote

We’ve heard about the rise of anti-DEIB lawsuits. Will we be next? 

Public Counsel's Community Development Project, which provides free legal and technical support to nonprofit organizations, will offer insights on the current state of the law in light of escalating legal attacks on race-conscious programming and charitable giving. They will provide a legal training addressing the evolving challenges faced by nonprofits and small businesses committed to advancing equity and racial justice. They will cover the national legal landscape and special considerations for California-based organizations. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of these complex legal challenges and practical strategies to navigate them, empowering them to continue their important and urgent work. Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm in Los Angeles committed to advancing civil rights and promoting racial and economic justice.

Breakout 1a: LEAD for Racial Justice

Join David Madie from Growth Wheel for a discussion on what it takes to be a good business advisor.

Breakout 1b: Business Advising: What Does it Take

What steps has your organization made to recruit and retain employees? Learn how your organization can avoid having a high turnover rate and attract talent. This interactive session will dive into best practices and tips.
Challenges in hiring and retaining employees in the nonprofit world.
Case studies of how non-profit organizations have been able to recruit and retain employees.
Share best practices and lessons learned.
Michelle Fujiaski-Thomas, HR Business Partner at Mission Edge
Anthony Piccoli, HR Business Partner at Mission Edge

Breakout 2a: Recruiting and Retaining Nonprofit Talent

This presentation equips nonprofit professionals with the essential knowledge and tools to understand the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) program. Designed as a "train-the-trainer" session, participants will learn about MEHKO regulations, the benefits of legal home-based food businesses, and how to support aspiring home cooks in their communities.

Breakout 2b: MEHKO 101 Train-the-Trainer

Summit Wraps

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Equity In Action: 30th Anniversary Celebration

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