Join DreamSpring in equipping entrepreneurs across Colorado with the credit and training to open and operate thriving small businesses.
When native Cubans Yuneisi Oliva and her husband, Greico Herrada, relocated to Colorado from Florida, there were many things they missed. One of their heartaches was the lack of Cuban food. Inspired to do something as a family, Yuneisi and her mother started selling homemade Cuban food at local festivals. "My mom taught me to cook and do everything in the kitchen," she says. "She's my right hand." Their food was a hit, and Yuneisi knew they could expand their operation.
She went in search of capital for a food truck but was turned down by a traditional lender due to insufficient income. Yuneisi was referred to DreamSpring and was quickly approved for a small loan. The food truck was a success, and less than a year later, the financially savvy Yuneisi paid off her loan and began saving to open a restaurant. With the help of another small loan from DreamSpring, Yuneisi opened El Bohio Criollo Cuban Cuisine restaurant in Golden, Colorado.
Reflecting on starting a business that has grown rapidly, Yuneisi notes, "It was stressful but later on I thought, I'm going to make it, don't worry." Today, El Bohio is a growing family-run business. Yuneisi proudly employs her mother, younger sister, husband and three sons, in addition to a few locals.
Down the road, Yuneisi plans to open more El Bohio locations with room for live music and salsa dancing.
DreamSpring is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization guided by a mission to provide financial opportunity to all people, and particularly those in underserved communities, DreamSpring has a long history of serving small business owners (SBOs) in Colorado and the surrounding Southwestern states.
Our target areas are low-income communities where limited access to safe and affordable credit is a barrier to small business development. Certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), DreamSpring is a pacesetting microlender with a reputation for innovation, accountability, and impact.
DreamSpring is an award-winning, 28-year-old nonprofit organization that increases access to credit, makes loans and provides a community of support to help entrepreneurs realize their dreams.
Our unique approach - called microlending - can trace its roots back more than 40 years with efforts to reduce extreme poverty in Latin America. Now, the organization supports small business owners in 27 states generate income and enhance economic security for themselves, their families, and their communities. Since making our first loan in 1994, we have helped more than 28,000 small business owners, working in some of these states' most underserved urban neighborhoods and most isolated rural communities.
Organization name
DreamSpring
other names
Accion Colorado, DreamSpring, Accion, ACCION New Mexico, Inc., Dream Spring
1994
Category
Community Improvement & Capacity Building
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
1441 18th St. Ste. 150Headquarters
2000 Zearing Ave., NWMailing
2000 Zearing Ave NWNM, US
CO, US
TX, US
NV, US
AZ, US