Turning Community Impact into Capital: How Centro CHA Secured $2.6 Million to Expand in Long Beach

For more than three decades, Centro CHA has been a trusted anchor in Long Beach, serving the Latino community through housing support, civic engagement, and economic opportunity. The organization has built deep relationships and delivered integrated services that create lasting pathways to stability for low-income families.

In 2025, Centro CHA took a major step forward: the purchase and redevelopment of a new 10,000-square-foot facility in North Long Beach. The space will serve as a centralized hub for the organization’s work, expanding access to employment resources, housing support, and community services. To make this vision a reality, Centro CHA pursued a multi-million-dollar construction loan.

It was a bold move and one the organization had never undertaken before.

As a member of The Center by Lendistry community, Executive Director Jessica Quintana turned to The Center for guidance. What followed was hands-on technical assistance and strategic support to navigate the complexities of securing a multi-million-dollar loan. The Center helped demystify a process that can often feel inaccessible to nonprofit leaders, breaking down terminology, reviewing terms, and preparing for lender conversations.

With that support, Centro CHA successfully secured a $2.6 million construction loan from Raza Development Fund to purchase and redevelop its new facility.

“The Center helped us recognize that our work, our financial track record, and our community impact are real assets,” said Quintana. “We learned to see our infrastructure as strength and to confidently step into conversations about capital.”

For The Center, this is exactly what access to capital work is about.

“Too often, nonprofits underestimate the power of their balance sheet and their community impact,” said Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, President and CEO of The Center by Lendistry. “Our role is to help organizations understand their value, speak the language of capital, and position themselves to access the resources needed to grow.”

Today, Centro CHA is moving forward with redevelopment plans that will expand its footprint and deepen its impact. The project will help ensure that a longstanding community institution has the tools and capital to thrive for decades to come.