San Diego-based lender CDC Small Business Finance has been selected to receive this year’s Jody C. Raskind Award from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The award is bestowed annually upon a “mission-focused” lender that has distinguished itself in helping small businesses start, grow and expand, the SBA said.
Raskind, who died in 2014, led the SBA’s Office of Microlending for many years She was known in the microlending community for her commitment and dedication to small businesses, particularly in underserved areas, the SBA said.
“CDC Small Business Finance’s dedication to serving the most underserved and economically disenfranchised markets, acting as a champion and advocate for the interests of small business located in these communities, embodies the essence of Jody C. Raskind’s legacy,” the agency said in a news release. The Jody C. Raskind Award was first presented in 2015.
CDC Small Business Finance has facilitated more than $13 billion in financing to more than 11,000 small businesses, which created and preserved 193,000 jobs, the SBA said. More than 20 percent of those loans went to minority small business entrepreneurs, including women and military veterans, it said.
Kurt Chilcott, president and CEO of CDC Small Business Finance, is slated to accept the award in Washington D.C. on April 19 during the inaugural event of National Small Business Week at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Reach reporter Sarah de Crescenzo at sarahd@sdbj.com.
