Unlocking Capital and Opportunity in Communities

Inclusive Action for the City is building an economic landscape that works for the small entrepreneurs who drive Southern California. Inclusive Action was vital in legalizing and formalizing street vendors in 2018, helping them enter the formal economy and escape predatory lenders. But there is still a long way to go in building a system that actually supports the entrepreneurs who are contributing to their neighborhoods. Currently, if your small business helps a neighborhood turn around, your reward is that your rent becomes unaffordable, and richer people move in. In addition to loans, grants and coaching, Inclusive Action is helping successful businesses acquire real estate and become community anchors. They are working to create an economy where people get the fair benefit of their hard work.

Rudy Espinoza understands first hand the struggles of growing up in a low-income immigrant household. At a young age, Rudy watched his mother escape abuse and struggle to make ends meet. Later, he realized how many other families struggled with economic stability. Ever since, Rudy has been driven to work at the intersection of capital and community.

Rudy was part of a group of volunteers who founded Inclusive Action for the City in 2008, and is committed to putting capital into the hands of those who have been left out of our economic system. He’s not waiting for legislators or big banks to change. As president and CEO of Inclusive Action, he’s creating a more inclusive economy right in the heart of LA—and a model for cities around the country.

What started as a campaign to legalize street vending in California, Inclusive Action empowers entrepreneurs in Los Angeles by providing them with the tools to take ownership of the places where they live and work. Now a Community Development Financial Institution, Inclusive Action has grown to meet the needs of the community, providing capital, business coaching, and pathways to own real estate. As urban communities face ICE raids, natural disasters, and an economy where only 11 percent of people can afford a single family home, Inclusive Action is doubling down to unlock opportunities so immigrant vendors and other microentrepreneurs can run businesses, preserve their neighborhoods, and be recognized for the economic engines they are in their own communities.

Before Inclusive Action was formed, street vending was illegal in Los Angeles and entrepreneurs did not have access to low-interest loans. Through persistent coalition building and advocacy, Inclusive Action has helped create an environment where entrepreneurs have increasing access to legal protections and capital, passing critical legislation across California that has since been adopted by other states.

Rudy has a bold vision for Inclusive Action’s role in the Los Angeles community. Over the next three years, they will expand their community real estate work to create opportunities for more entrepreneurs to own property and remain rooted in their neighborhoods. Looking ahead, Rudy is scaling IAC’s programming so that they can move $100 million in assets into the ownership of vulnerable Angelenos by 2030.