Certifiably Delightful: Tucson Frozen Yogurt Shop Goes Green

Photo credit: Kylee Musslewhite with permission from Frozen Delight

Delicious frozen yogurt, ice cream, and boba may draw you to Frozen Delight, but the friendly relationships that staff have formed with the community will make you want to stay! Frozen Delight prides itself on serving customers for over 25 years and being one of the first frozen yogurt shops in Tucson. In addition to fostering community connections, Frozen Delight consistently explores how to minimize its environmental impacts and recently became the latest business in Tucson to become Green Business Certified!

Owners Cleo and Jose Terrazas grew up in Mexico City, where conserving water was a part of everyday life in their community. Upon moving to Arizona, they were surprised by the amount of water being used in the day-to-day operations of their business, such as in the cooling systems for their frozen yogurt.

Soon, Frozen Delight made the switch to air-cooled frozen yogurt machines and was inspired to continue this trend forward in other areas of their business. Jose installed LED lighting throughout the building, Cleo attended sustainability events, and both owners worked with staff to gather new ideas for the way they can run their business more sustainably.

Frozen Delight now uses recyclable packaging, repurposes old furniture and décor to prevent items from going to the landfill, and created an environmental policy guiding future energy and water initiatives.

Learn more about Frozen Delight at their website: www.frozendelight520.com

Photo credit: Kylee Musslewhite with permission from Frozen Delight

Get recognition for being a sustainability leader in Arizona by becoming a Certified Green Business!

Reach out to the Sustainability team using the Arizona Green Business Certification Interest Form or contact Nick Shivka, Senior Manager of Sustainability Initiatives – nick@localfirstaz.com

Read the original article on Local First Arizona.

Regal Fierce Media Wins BBB Award

Regal Fierce Media team at the 2023 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards

Regal Fierce Media Wins Spark Award from the Better Business Bureau Serving Southern Arizona

Regal Fierce Media team at the 2023 Better Business Bureau Torch Awards

Community Investment Corporation (CIC) is thrilled to announce and celebrate the extraordinary success of Regal Fierce Media as the recipient of the Spark Award from the Better Business Bureau Serving Southern Arizona! The Spark Award recognizes businesses who embody Character, Culture, and Community in their work. Earning this achievement serves as a testament to Regal Fierce Media’s unwavering commitment to providing excellent service to Tucson businesses. 

“Being the 2023 Winners of the Spark Award makes us feel empowered! For us to be recognized as millennial entrepreneurs for our dedication, passion, and creativity to our clients fuels our souls,” said CEO of Regal Fierce Media, Katrina Calderon.

Regal Fierce Media is a Tucson-based media company and advertising agency that Calderon founded in 2019. CIC was able to support Regal Fierce Media through the BIPOC Community Managed Loan Fund.

“CIC’s BIPOC loan played a huge part in our growth,” said Calderon. “They [CIC] helped us with funding when no other bank would. Not only did they look at our financials, but they let us tell our story. We are here today because CIC believed in our vision. With their loan, we upgraded our equipment and reached higher-level clients, leading to our business’s continued growth.”

Calderon’s commitment to giving back to the Tucson community began in her youth. While working at Youth On Their Own (YOTO), Calderon learned how the nonprofit worked to provide dignity and resources to Tucson’s underserved adolescent population. It was this experience that inspired Calderon to use her skills to give back to the community.

It’s no surprise Regal Fierce Media is being recognized for their character. “They are talented and driven, but as importantly, they work with incredible integrity and kindness – qualities too often undervalued in the competitive landscape of business,” said CIC Executive Director Danny Knee.

Receiving the 2023 Spark Award is a full circle moment for Regal Fierce Media. “Last year, when we were event photographers for the BBB Torch Awards, we told ourselves that we would be up there accepting an award one day,” said Calderon. “And here we are, walking the stage as the 2023 Spark Award winners.”

Learn more about Regal Fierce Media and book them for your advertising and media needs at regalfiercemedia.com

New Tucson program offers small business loans without collateral

S-T-A-C Success Through Alternative Capital
S-T-A-C Success Through Alternative Capital

Tucson-area small businesses unable to get traditional commercial loans can tap a new source of capital, thanks to two local nonprofit organizations.

The Tucson-based Community Investment Corporation (CIC) and Startup Tucson, have partnered with the national community-based economic development group Common Future to offer a total of $500,000 in alternative loans.

Launched this week, the Success Through Alternative Capital (STAC) program aims to help businesses without adequate collateral or assets to qualify for traditional loans.

Interested businesses should contact Community Investment Corporation online at cictucson.org/stac.

California-based Common Future is investing $250,000 in the pilot program through its in-house investment entity, Community Credit Lab, while the CIC is matching with $250,000 of its own funds. Startup Tucson is providing business and entrepreneurial education to support local business owners who access STAC funding.

The program uses revenue-based financing, allowing small businesses to pledge future revenues for an advance of financial capital, with payments varying depending on how well a business is doing and its gross revenues.

The STAC program is expected to fund 25 local businesses over the next year, the CIC said.

Payments are higher when the businesses are generating more revenues, and lower when they are generating less revenues — an especially helpful arrangement for seasonal businesses, CIC said.

The program will use Ned, an online revenue-based lending platform, to streamline applications, qualification and disbursement activities, and to automate revenue-based repayments, the CIC said.

CIC Executive Director Danny Knee said the economy works well for those who
have assets to pledge as loan collateral.

“But the over-reliance on asset-based lending without complementary alternatives makes it nearly impossible for many small businesses, and especially those run by entrepreneurs of color, to get the financial capital they need to grow and succeed,” Knee said.

Liz Pocock, CEO of Startup Tucson, said the program is an effort to make the local economy more inclusive.

“We believe revenue-based financing is a way to support emerging entrepreneurs, including entrepreneurs of color,” Pocock said in prepared remarks.

This article was originally published on Tucson.com

A Message From Our BIPOC Loan Committee

Our hearts and sympathies go out to the victims and survivors that were involved in the shooting in Buffalo, NY.  We’ve seen an uptick in racially-motivated shootings since 2021 and feel that now more than ever, is the time to take concrete action to continue to address these issues.

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Celebrating our biggest year yet!

What a year it has been indeed! We couldn’t close 2021 without taking a look back at the highlights from this year. Join us in celebrating CIC’s biggest year to date, and we’re just getting started!

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VOLUNTEER SHOUT OUT!

Jeff brings varied experience and vast knowledge to his volunteer work having been a small business consultant, a strategic analyst, and Angel Investor for twenty years. With expertise in HR, PR, finances, management, marketing, and everything business, Jeff also serves on the National Small Business Association and is a member of the National Regulatory Fairness Board.

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CIC featured on Tipping Point with Zach Yentzer

Executive Director Danny Knee sharing CIC's work to support small business during the COVID-19 pandemic

On Thursday, April 2, 2020, Danny joined Zach Yentzer on Tipping Point on 1030 am KVOI The Voice to discuss the state of small business during the current economic crisis and what both CIC and the community at large are doing to support. Hear about the critical work of the Community Investment Corp. and our emergency loan products and the Tucson Helping Tucson initiative.  

LISTEN NOW

COVID-19 Response from CIC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 18, 2020

Danny Knee, Executive Director

Community Investment Corporation (CIC)

520-609-2596

DannyK@cictucson.org

 

Community Investment Corporation (CIC) – Emergency Microloans for Small Business

Local Small Businesses Affected by COVID-19 Eligible for CIC Programs

 

[Tucson, Arizona]: Community Investment Corporation (CIC) is supporting local small businesses in this time of uncertainty via specialized loan products and partnerships. CIC’s immediate offerings will help bridge current and impending gaps in cash flow for small businesses as the details for a government stimulus package and qualifications for assistance are finalized:

 

  • CIC, which specializes in business microloans up to $10,000, is making any local small business affected by COVID-19 eligible for its nonprofit partnership and enhanced community benefit rates of 3%. Loan terms can also be extended out to 5 years as needed.

 

  • CIC will also be offering loans with interest-only payments for up to six months to allow small businesses to recover from the economic challenges caused by COVID-19. This product is still in development phase but will be launched within a week.

 

  • In partnership with Growth Partners Arizona (GPAz), CIC has brought Kiva, a globally successful capital resource model, to Arizona. This will provide no-interest, no-fee, community-backed business loans ranging from $1,000 to $15,000. The loans are crowdfunded on Kiva’s worldwide online platform and can help businesses at risk from the COVID-19 fallout gain access to much-needed capital. Kiva is currently offering a six-month grace period for new payments. In addition, anyone can become a Kiva lender for as little as $25 and support the small businesses in town that are on the platform. GPAz has additional offerings at https://www.growthpartnersaz.org/

“Small businesses are essential to our economy and culture in Tucson,” said Danny Knee, Executive Director at CIC. “During this crisis we’re asking the community to rally around our local merchants with a different kind of giving – zero percent interest loans which may make the difference between a business surviving or having to shut its doors for good.”

 

Knee pointed out that this kind of communal lending has been done for thousands of years across a wide range of cultures to help neighbors during difficult times. “This is what makes a close-knit community like Tucson special – we help our neighbors in times of need,” he said. For CIC’s part, Knee committed $50,000 of funding to match community investments to local businesses through its partnership with Kiva and Growth Partners Arizona.

 

About CIC: Community Investment Corporation is a nonprofit economic development organization dedicated to the prosperity of Pima County and the surrounding area since 1996. Committed to expanding economic opportunities, CIC pursues three distinct program areas including support and financing for entrepreneurship/small business, home ownership and education. CIC’s goal is to promote economic inclusion for all members of southern Arizona, regardless of socioeconomic status. Specifically, CIC’s work ensures that more people in the community can get the funding they need to start, sustain, and grow their small businesses, can buy homes, and can access the education they want for their children. We fund YOUR dreams! CICTucson.org

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