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The Power of a Low-Interest Loan

// July 29, 2025

WFCO Giving Circle Members Make Life-Changing Investments in Women Entrepreneurs

Colleen LaFontaine is the director of women’s initiatives at Impact Finance Center. She is working alongside The Women’s Foundation of Colorado to oversee the fourth cycle of our Women’s Impact Investing Giving Circle beginning in October 2025.

My life changed with a low-interest loan

When I was 22-years-old I bought my first house. It was a tiny prefab near the beach at the Jersey Shore. It was modern and new and a space all of my own. The house was $89,000 but it only took $2,500 to buy it. I benefited from a first-time homebuyers program that helped me with a low-interest loan and covered my closing costs. A few years later I sold that home. I paid back my closing costs to the program and with the remaining $20,000 profit I bought another house. This time on the California Coast – no more Jersey shore for me.

I grew up in a household of economic instability. Sometimes we were the haves, sometimes the have-nots. All I wanted was certainty, stability, and control. I am proud to say that today I have it, due in very large part to the domino effect of buying that first house. A house I never would have been able to afford without that low-interest loan.

Homeownership, entrepreneurship: Two ways to achieve the “American Dream”

Homeownership is a very American way of moving up the ladder. To change your circumstances, to improve your family’s lives. Another is entrepreneurship. Women often start businesses to gain control over their income and build wealth. Sometimes to solve problems no one else is addressing. For women of color, especially Black and Latina entrepreneurs, starting a business is often a pathway to close the racial wealth gap.

Not all funding opportunities are created equally

Nearly half of all businesses are started by women. Yet, they only receive about 17% of the funding that men receive from programs like SBA.

Women business owners are more likely to promote family‑oriented company policies, such as flexible schedules, parental leave, and supportive caregiving arrangements—while such policies are less frequently championed in male-owned businesses.

Women founders emphasize “profits + purpose,” often designing business models around social value—such as hiring mothers or people of color, offering training, or supporting local communities.

That’s why WFCO is committed to funding women making a difference in Colorado.

Aspiring impact investors can help Colorado women launch businesses, uplift communities

The Women’s Impact Investing Giving Circle (WIIGC) at WFCO is a bold example of what happens when women come together to put their capital to work for systemic change. Just as that homebuyers program helped launch my personal journey toward stability and independence, WIIGC helps Colorado women entrepreneurs launch businesses that uplift families and communities—especially those that are historically underfunded or excluded from traditional financing—by providing low-interest loans.

Through WIIGC, women pool their financial power to invest in ventures (including projects, nonprofits, small businesses, startups, cooperatives, and hybrid structures) that prioritize equity, economic mobility, and community impact. These aren’t just businesses—they’re solutions to deeply entrenched challenges.

WIIGC’s investments have supported ventures that provide affordable child care, job training for single mothers, culturally competent mental health services, and art as a social justice tool. These are the kinds of enterprises that often go unnoticed by conventional funders but are essential to building a more just and inclusive economy that works for everyone.

I can see myself in the women WIIGC supports—resilient, resourceful, and ready to build something that lasts. Whether it’s a first home or a first loan, that kind of investment can change everything. It did for me.

Learn about the Women’s Impact Investing Giving Circle

Read about the impact of the first three cycles of our Women’s Impact Investing Giving Circle.

Register for our learning sessions in August. I hope to see you there!

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