Written by: TFVstaff • November 5, 2020• Eat + Drink In the Community

Amerant Provides Support to the Community Fund of North Miami-Dade to Help Micro-Businesses

Amerant Bank, one of the largest community banks in Florida continues to lend support to organizations providing micro-grants to local small businesses in need of financial assistance.

Most recently, Amerant partnered with the Community Fund of North Miami-Dade (CFNMD), an organization that has been actively involved in providing technical assistance and funding to micro and small businesses in the area, helping them become better equipped and prepared to face these challenging times.

The Community Fund of North Miami Dade, is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a subsidiary of the Opa-Locka Community Development Corporation, that assist distressed and under resourced communities throughout Miami-Dade County. The CFNMD does this by providing funds through affordable loans and skills based training to small businesses that have limited resources and that lack eligibility required to obtain traditional financing or loans.

As a hyper local, community-based institution, the CFNMD aims to help drive economic development by helping small business owners and entrepreneurs who otherwise would be unable to get loans through major banks and financial institutions. For example, while many local businesses are able to obtain PPP loans as well as other types of financial assistance and government programs, many mom and pop shops do not meet the requirements to receive loans.

“We are very proud to provide financial assistance to The Community Fund of North Miami Dade,” said Millar Wilson, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Amerant Bank. “The small businesses of our community make up our DNA, so helping them during these critical times is important to us as South Florida recovers and ensure economic vitality at a local level, one community at a time.”

Small businesses in Miami make up more than 50 percent of the workforce and while several businesses in the community have struggled to stay open, organizations like The Community Fund of North Miami Dade generate opportunities and contribute to the needs of small businesses so that they may continue to operate and stay afloat in times of crisis.

“Business ownership is a path to wealth building, particularly in Black and brown communities where people of color are oftentimes stifled by growth in the established business industry,” said Nikisha Williams, Chief Operating Officer, Community Fund of North Miami-Dade. “With Amerant’s support, we are helping those oft forgotten businesses manage through the pandemic and providing them with the support they need to get through these difficult times in order to stabilize their operations and reopen their shops.”

For more information on Community Fund of North Miami-Dade programs and services, please contact smallbiz@cfnmd.org or 305-687-3545 ext.238. CFNMD is also on Facebook and Instagram at @TheCFNMD

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