Opportunity Finance Network Member Profile
Latino Economic Development Corporation
Latino Economic
Development Corporation
www.ledcmetro.org
Financial and Social Impact
Small business loans made: 64, totaling
$656,000
n Entrepreneurs trained in seminars and
courses: 648
n Tenants educated through affordable housing
preservation program: 3,976
n The mission of the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) to improve the wealthbuilding capacity of low-to moderate-income Latinos and other underserved communities
in the Washington Metropolitan Area. LEDC is a community-based economic development
organization dedicated to working with Latinos in the decision-making processes that impact
their communities. The organization was formed in 1991 in response to civil disturbances
in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, DC, and remains driven by its vision of
creating a community with equitable access to the economic opportunities the metropolitan
area offers. LEDC’s bilingual staff offers products and services in small business development,
homeownership counseling, individual counseling, and affordable housing preservation.
New homeowners supported through
homeownership program: 41
n Clients supported through foreclosure
counseling services: 240
n A microloan from LEDC enabled Benjamin Velasquez—who emigrated from El Salvador in 1982
and started his own catering business after working as a dishwasher, line cook, chef, and kitchen
supervisor—to expand his business into greater DC’s Latino community. The loan helped him buy
a new cargo van that allows him to transport food from his kitchen to events around town. “Now I
can not only work in an enclosed facility, but I have the capacity to mobilize a whole kitchen from
Place A to Place B,” Benjamin said.
Contact
2316 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
P: 1.866.977.5332
F: 202.588.5204
E: [email protected]
We Believe In Opportunity.
For All.
Success Story: Catering by Benjamin, Washington, DC
OFN.ORG