Meet Candice Gonzales: Former RDF Intern Turned Small Business Owner
Once a part of the RDF team, you’re always a member of the Familia! That’s why we love reconnecting with our former interns. In the spirit of National Women’s Small Business Month, we are proud to cheer on Candice Gonzales, owner of the House of RemiRose bridal boutique. She interned for three summers, and she is now a part of the South Phoenix small business owner community. “I am very proud of her and what she’s accomplished,” shares Star Reyes, RDF’s Client Services Manager, Candice’s intern supervisor. “She’s a fighter and I am so glad to have had her as my …
Raza Development Fund muda su sede al corazón de la comunidad
Volvemos a casa! En Raza Development Fund estamos ansiosos de mudar nuestra sede a South Phoenix, para servir desde el corazón de nuestra comunidad. Para hacerlo, nos hemos aliado con Gould Evans —una firma con sede en Phoenix que conoce la misión e historia de RDF—, para que diseñe nuestro nuevo hogar. “Ha sido una gran alianza. Hacen un excelente trabajo y les tenemos confianza. No requirió ningún esfuerzo elegirlos porque nos conocen bien y pueden entender la dinámica de lo que estamos tratando de hacer y lo que estamos tratando de crear dentro de la comunidad”, compartió Star Reyes, …
Volvemos a casa: Una colaboración de diseño con Gould Evans
¡Volvemos a casa! En Raza Development Fund estamos ansiosos de mudar nuestra sede a South Phoenix, para servir desde el corazón de nuestra comunidad. Para hacerlo, nos hemos aliado con Gould Evans —una firma con sede en Phoenix que conoce la misión e historia de RDF—, para que diseñe nuestro nuevo hogar. “Ha sido una gran alianza. Hacen un excelente trabajo y les tenemos confianza. No requirió ningún esfuerzo elegirlos porque nos conocen bien y pueden entender la dinámica de lo que estamos tratando de hacer y lo que estamos tratando de crear dentro de la comunidad”, compartió Star Reyes, …
Raza Development Fund headquarters moves to the heart of the community
We’re coming home! The Raza Development Fund looks forward to moving our corporate headquarters to South Phoenix, serving from the heart of our community. To do that, we partnered with Gould Evans, a Phoenix-based studio that knows the RDF mission and history, to design our new home. “We’ve had a great partnership. They do good work, and we trust them. It was kind of a no brainer to choose them because they know us well and could understand the dynamics of what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to create within the community,” shares Star Reyes, RDF’s Client Services Manager who has worked closely with the Gould Evans team on the …
RDF Celebrates Hispanic Heritage
At the Raza Development Fund, our Familia is thrilled to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. Just as we are passionate about serving our Latino community, we enjoy spotlighting our heritage and culture. The Latino culture is rich and vibrant – our language, food, art and music – brings beauty to our families, to our communities and to the country as a whole. In our Latino community, we stick together and help each other out. We carry this into our work every day at RDF as we strive to provide capital, capacity and cariño into our community while having pride in our roots. This is the energy we’ll carry into our new building. As a national nonprofit, …
RDF Invests In Its Familia: Meet Fernando Ortega, Jr.
Raza Development Fund is proud to welcome Fernando Ortega, Jr., RDF’s Loan Operations Specialist, to our team of experts. Fernando brings experience in client relations, loan documentation processing and administration, portfolio management and Small Business Administration lending. He joined the Familia earlier this month with passion to serve his community and contribute to RDF’s mission. Just as RDF invests capital in its community, it invests in its Familia. Fernando looks forward to overcoming obstacles and pursuing his dreams of attaining higher education– with RDF’s support. Join us as we get to know Fernando and cheer on his upcoming education journey …
RDF Retreat to Celebrate Our Mission
We showed up with our bags packed, ready for two full days of bonding, motivation and individual growth. The Raza Development Fund Familia stayed at a local resort together a couple weeks ago to enjoy inspiring speakers, great food and connection. This retreat was part two of our recent in-person staff meeting in June, the first time together in over a year. It gave us a chance to spend even more time together. And this time, many of our out-of-state Familia who support RDF’s East Coast Region, Pacific Northwest Region and South-Central Region offices joined us as well. “It was …
RDF Invests in Education Initiative Study
At the Raza Development Fund, we pride ourselves in supporting our youth and education community. We know this support is more important than ever due to the pandemic. With the abrupt changes, social isolations and fears related to the virus, many students experienced learning loss or didn’t fully complete a grade level. That’s why we invested in an education initiative study, with the assistance of our partners at Capital One, to find the best ways of supporting our students, parents, and educators. Adrian Ruiz, RDF’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer, shares the study’s initial analysis with best practices for school in …
Meet Paulina Ugalde
Raza Development Fund is proud to welcome Pauline Ugalde, RDF’s Investment Analyst, to our team of experts. She joined the Familia earlier this month with enthusiasm to support community development and expertise in data analytics. After recently receiving her master’s in public policy, and overcoming obstacles along the way, Paulina has spent the last couple of weeks diving in to learn all she can about RDF’s investment projects and our team. As she gets to know RDF, we decided to get to know her as well and share a glimpse into our newest expert with a Q&A. Where are you …
Our RDF Familia Reunites
Last month, the Raza Development Fund Familia reunited in-person for the first time in over a year. It was a momentous occasion full of smiles, hugs and a bit of work. “RDF prides itself in pursuing staff relations as a Familia. With COVID-19, those relational bonds were difficult to live out virtually. Words cannot express the delight to finally connect with our colleagues and extend our heartfelt abrazos and joy to finally meet again in person,” says Francisca Montoya, RDF’s Director of Community Development & Special Projects. Just like many working teams and family members, our Familia has relied on …
