As the go-to small business support system for Orange County’s under-resourced communities, immigrants, and people of color, we have touched the lives of over 4,000 people and helped 450 of them launch businesses or become launch ready. Through individualized entrepreneurial training and coaching, we provide resources where there are none, connections where they are scarce, and support where it’s hard to find.
CIELO catalyzes hope, resilience, and stability in under-resourced communities by helping enterprising individuals transform their dreams of owning a neighborhood business into reality.
Be the mentors, network, and trusted partners that under-resourced communities turn to for help building thriving community businesses and opportunities for all.
Transformation
We help cultivate entrepreneurial aspirations to fruition, hard workers into smart business owners, and transform struggling communities into symbiotic, small business ecosystems.
Inclusion
Tools. Classes. Connections. Confidence. We facilitate it all with the ultimate goal of overcoming the economic inequality that has plagued the communities in which we work.
Community
Guided first and foremost by empathy and compassion, we’re a unified team committed to helping individuals make a dignified living and communities thrive.
Trust
We have a notable and widely respected track record of helping all people, regardless of race, religion, or economic status, to identify and realize their entrepreneurial dreams.
In 2012, CIELO began as an incubated project of Oak View Renewal Partnership (OVRP) to serve the under-resourced community of Oak View in Huntington Beach, CA. While CIELO’s programming was being tested and refined in this neighborhood, an economic study on potential community impact revealed staggering inequality for many of Orange County’s low-income and under-resourced entrepreneurs. CIELO was honored to fill the gap. After officially launching in 2016 and operating as a fiscally sponsored project of OVRP for three years, CIELO received independent 501(c)(3) status in March 2018. Today, as a comprehensive small business ecosystem, CIELO is proud to lead the way in ensuring equal access to individualized entrepreneurial training and support for our immigrants and communities of color.
Director, Business Education & Funding
Development and Communications Coordinator
Jessica Escalante
Director, Childcare Business Incubator
Director, Community Engagement & Leadership Development
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