Philanthropic Ventures Foundation (PVF) is passionate about sparking innovative ideas and forging collaborations, and so are we! They are also dedicated to bringing joy, simplicity, trust and effectiveness to grant-making, and we could not be happier to attest to that.

Last week, James Higa and Bill Somerville, Executive Director and Founder of PVF respectively, visited our offices in old downtown Oakland to learn about our work. Shortly after we were extremely excited to receive a grant to go towards the development of our entrepreneurship education mobile app, and a heart-warming letter of support. Here are some highlights we’re proud to share:

We are so inspired by the work you are doing to partner with low income, underserved entrepreneurs to create sustainable businesses.

Centro’s access to microloans like Kiva Zip for these entrepreneurs and your pairing, training, and mentorship with MBA students is making a difference to lift these people out of their circumstances but also revitalizing the community of Oakland as more vibrant grassroots microenterprises are added to the city.

Your idea to augment your curriculum with a mobile module so that you can scale and reach many more multiples of these entrepreneurs is a wonderful idea.

Our deepest gratitude to James and Bill, and everyone at Philanthropic Ventures Foundation for investing in the future of Centro, and the creative and courageous small entrepreneurs of our community.