Serving our local communities has been a focus since our founding. It’s core to our culture. This commitment to our communities reflects the shared values of our employees. Through our Uplift program, we leverage our business acumen, problem-solving skills, and time and resources to support nonprofit organizations.
As we approach the end of the year, when many focus on giving, we reached out to a few of our Uplift partners to learn more about their mission, their work, and what seasonal giving means to them.
Here’s a conversation with Jessica Sveen, the Chief Executive Officer at Rocky Mountain Microfinance Institute in Denver, Colorado.
Q: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us! Can you tell us about the mission of RMMFI and your role within the organization?
Rocky Mountain Microfinance Institute (RMMFI) creates the space for communities and people of all backgrounds to realize their unique potential through the power of entrepreneurship. We invest in entrepreneurs’ personal and business development through a proven mix of capital, classroom, coaching, and community. I’m the CEO at RMMFI and have been with the organization for 8.5 years in various roles. It’s been a wild ride of growth, innovation, community, and empowerment.
Q: Where can the community see your team’s work in action?
We support entrepreneurs throughout Colorado! We are in the Denver Metro area and rural communities. Anyone can support our entrepreneurs through our many mentorship opportunities, buying from our entrepreneurs, or attending one of our events. You can see what we have going on at our website: www.rmmfi.org.
Q: This year, Uplift sought partnerships with nonprofits addressing inequality. Could you share a little about how your organization is working to reduce inequality and some of the key programs or initiatives you’ve implemented to support that mission?
Entrepreneurship is a powerful tool to build both individual and community prosperity. The median net worth of business owners is nearly 2.5x higher than non-business owners. Business ownership increases economic inclusion when one’s background, education, or household needs create obstacles to financial stability.
But barriers — personal, professional, systemic, political, and economic — prevent many from accessing the benefits of ownership. For example, historical discrimination from financial systems and a lack of access to tailored and relevant support are barriers to this day. These barriers undermine individual and communal belief in accessible pathways to business ownership, resulting in an inequitable opportunity for economic inclusion and community autonomy as well as a poorly diversified economy. According to Global Policy Solutions, the racial wealth gap in business ownership costs 9 million jobs and $3 billion to the economy. RMMFI works to level the playing field and build new pathways to ownership.
RMMFI doesn’t just invest in businesses; we invest in people and communities, and we do it with more than dollars. Over the past 15 years, our whole-entrepreneur, cohort-based model has catalyzed the launch of over 470 businesses in Colorado. We have a 94% repayment rate on our 388 loans totaling $1,263,822, and we’ve made 209 grants totaling $311,500. Three foundations of our approach set us apart from other community lenders:
- Whole Entrepreneur Support: Our immovable belief is that at the center of every business is a person. It is ultimately the strength of entrepreneurs as individuals that leads to the creation of healthy businesses and vibrant, prosperous economies. That’s why our impact measurement strategy is centered around personal financial stability gains, social supports, and community involvement, in addition to traditional business metrics.
- Capital Meets Capacity: Lacking purpose, capital can be destructive. RMMFI’s model integrates capital at strategic points along our holistic and intentional business support programming. Lasting outcomes come from strong foundations, from which capital can be an activator. Without that, we risk doing more harm to communities on the receiving end of less-than-intentional support systems.
- The Readiness to Grow: RMMFI is focused on scaling across Colorado in urban, rural, and suburban communities. RMMFI has developed the capability to rapidly deploy multiple entrepreneurial incubator sites across the state in English and Spanish, virtually and in person. Within this strategy is a commitment to leverage the strengths of communities in a community-led approach to inclusive economic development.
Q: We know many nonprofits are supported by individual donors. Can you tell us the impact seasonal giving has for RMMFI?
Giving at RMMFI is a year-long season, and we depend on the generosity of our community to continue to support Coloradans in launching their businesses. We see giving as a collective impact — we are in this together as we all work to develop and strengthen a community where everyone thrives. Our unique model creates a $3.98 social return on every $1 invested in the form of measurable social and economic gains among entrepreneurs and our shared community. That’s a lot of impact!
Q: Anything else you think our readers should know?
It’s never too late to pursue a dream or support someone else’s dream. RMMFI is a space where dreams happen alongside community, and we invite you to come and be a part of equitable business ownership that transforms and strengthens our communities.
# About Uplift
Serving our local communities has been a focus since our founding. This commitment to community and corporate responsibility reflects the shared values of our employees. Through our Uplift program, our people can do good work in their communities and make a lasting impact by leveraging their business acumen and problem-solving skills to support nonprofit partners. We uplift organizations through pro bono strategy, professional development, and direct service.
We’re always seeking ways to engage with our local communities. Whether you need help solving a complex problem with pro bono project support, seek volunteers for a project or event, or would benefit from brief mentorship — the Uplift team is devoted to supporting our communities.
