Business & Community Lenders (BCL) of Texas, celebrated alongside officials from the City of San Marcos and Wells Fargo, marking the first statewide expansion in San Marcos.
City leaders from San Marcos attended a recent ribbon cutting ceremony for the new location at 302 West Hopkins St. Mayor Jane Hughson thanked BCL of Texas for coming to San Marcos.
“Welcome, BCL, to San Marcos,” Hughson said. “Thank you for what you do to help small businesses in your service areas and thank you for coming to San Marcos. We have a number of small businesses that can use your help and I know they look forward to working with you.”
A $75,000 investment by Wells Fargo will be used to support a brand-new small business ecosystem for the Hays County area, providing entrepreneurs and business owners easy no-cost, online access to a wealth of resources, events and opportunities.
Christopher Rios and Mike Pena — Wells Fargo Vice President of Social Impact & Sustainability and Senior Business Development Representative, respectively — were on hand to present the award.
“Small businesses are the heart of our communities,” Rios said. “We are honored to support BCL as they expand their services into San Marcos. As a company, we are committed to providing small businesses with access to capital, experts, and recovery resources to help them stay open, maintain jobs, and grow. With this investment, we are proud to help open economic pathways that will help the San Marcos small business community thrive.”
Josie Falletta, Downtown Manager of the San Marcos Main Street Program called Wells Fargo’s investment, “exciting.”
“It was a wonderful surprise to hear that Wells Fargo is investing $75,000 in our community to support small businesses,” she said. “This funding will help to amplify the investment from the City of San Marcos into the Think B!G Business Improvement and Growth program, and we are excited to offer these opportunities to our small business community.”
Earlier this year, the nonprofit was awarded the first contract of its kind by the City of San Marcos to provide no-cost coaching and education to eligible small business owners through the brand new ThinkB!G Business Improvement + Growth program. The program’s focus is to connect businesses to resources and meet the needs of small businesses with less than 25 employees.
“Thanks to our partners we have been able to create a permanent space in San Marcos to offer our services,” said Raquel Valdez Sanchez, COO of BCL of Texas. “We look forward to serving this area and growing along with the community.”
Headquartered in Austin, BCL of Texas offers flexible lending products, education, and customized coaching for entrepreneurs, homebuyers, and families and individuals looking to build their assets. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion, the goal is to build financial security and independence for underserved communities throughout Texas.
