Bright Futures

At the Center for Employment Training (CET), we’ve always believed that with the right skills, people can take control of their futures. That belief has driven us since 1967, when we first stepped in to help farmworkers in San Jose, California. As farmland was sold off for urban development, many workers were left without jobs and faced an impossible choice—move somewhere else in search of work or return to their countries of origin. But for many, San Jose had become home. Leaving wasn’t an option.

CET was created to provide a new path—training for stable, well-paying careers. Over the years, we’ve helped nearly 300,000 people launch careers as bus drivers, mechanics, electricians, cooks, nurses, medical assistants, and more. The people who come to CET are driven—they want to build better lives for themselves and their families. Their determination, combined with our training programs, fueled our nationwide expansion, growing to 40 training centers across the U.S. and even international offices in Belize and Chile. As a nationally accredited institution, CET became a model for workforce development programs across the country, proving that with the right skills, anyone can create a brighter future.

Like any organization, we’ve had to navigate economic ups and downs, and each downturn has tested us. The 2008 financial crisis forced us to close several locations and sell properties just to stay afloat. Owning our buildings had always been a source of stability and pride, but just as we were regaining our footing, COVID-19 hit—and at the same time, we lost the lease on our Oxnard location. This was a major hit for us, as Oxnard’s large and growing Latino community has a criti1cal need for workforce training programs that provide economic opportunities for Spanish speakers.

Because of RDF, we’re not just continuing our work—we’re building on it. With a permanent home in Oxnard, we can keep doing what we do best: equipping people with the skills they need to build better lives.

As CEO, I was determined to return to owning our buildings, stabilize our finances, and strengthen our enrollment. So when we found a perfect spot in Oxnard—a place that could serve our students and community for generations to come—I knew we had to secure it.

Of course, the bank didn’t see it that way. Despite our long history, strong track record, and national profile, they turned us down.

Enter RDF. While the bank focused on numbers, RDF focused on our mission. They understood the impact of our work and saw the bigger picture. With their support, we secured the acquisition loan we needed, allowing us to purchase the building we had set our sights on. Now, because of RDF, we’re not just continuing our work—we’re building on it. With a permanent home in Oxnard, we can keep doing what we do best: equipping students with the skills they need to build better lives and make their dreams a reality.  

In 1970, Carlos Rosario, a Puerto Rican born community leader who dedicated his life to empowering immigrants through education, founded the Program of English Instruction for Latin Americans (PEILA) in Washington, D.C., creating a space where Latinos could learn English and support one another. Over the years, PEILA became a cornerstone of adult education in the city. By the 1990s, when I joined as an ESL teacher, it was a nationally recognized model, earning accolades from the Department of Education.

Then, everything came crashing down.

During a financial crisis in 1995, Washington, D.C. eliminated funding for adult education. The school closed, and we lost our building and resources. It could have been the end of our story—but it wasn’t.

Our principal, Sonia Gutierrez, began rebuilding from scratch, working out of her basement. We incorporated as a nonprofit and applied for charter school status. As an affiliate of UnidosUS (then known as the National Council of La Raza), we received invaluable technical support. (Their CFO at the time literally taught me how to make a spreadsheet!) 

Right around this time, UnidosUS was spinning off the Raza Development Fund (RDF) as its capital arm, with Tommy Espinoza at the helm. Tommy and RDF quickly became tremendous allies.

By 1999, RDF was providing us with the financing we needed to purchase a building for our school—a lifeline at a time when banks were hesitant to support charter schools. Their backing not only gave us resources but also credibility. 

And Tommy went above and beyond to help us. He and his team walked through potential properties with us, offering strategic advice, and even helped us create a corporation to hold and lease our building. When the D.C. charter authority held a public hearing to consider our application—an anomaly since we were serving adults—Tommy flew in from Phoenix to testify on our behalf. We pulled out all the stops, packing the hearing room with prospective students and alumni to demonstrate the overwhelming need. I’ll never forget Tommy walking in, trench coat on, ready to advocate for our cause.

In 2004, we finally opened the doors to our Harvard Street campus and officially adopted the name Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School, honoring our founder’s vision and legacy. Within months, we had a waiting list of over 1,000 students. With RDF’s continued support, we soon opened a second campus.

From the very beginning RDF has been all in with us. They have been our advocate — and they’ve been instrumental to our success.  

The 2022 mass shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas was a tragedy that shook the nation. For us at Chicanos Por La Causa, it was also deeply personal. One of our early childhood education sites is just a few blocks from the school. Many members of our staff had children attending Robb Elementary or family members working there. Some of the children who lost their lives had been part of our early childhood program, and our team had formed close bonds with their families. For our team, it felt like losing one of their own.  

In the immediate aftermath, we focused on supporting the community however we could. We brought in counselors to help everyone navigate the unthinkable grief. 

We provided computers and laptops so children could continue learning at home during those uncertain days. But we knew that wasn’t enough. 

When the Uvalde CISD Moving Forward Foundation—a nonprofit established in the weeks following the tragedy — started to raise funds to build a new elementary school to replace Robb Elementary, it was clear we had to be part of the effort. Through our CDFI, Prestamos, we secured new market tax credits to contribute to the project, but more support was still needed. 

That’s when we turned to RDF. Over the years, we’ve worked so closely with RDF that they feel more like family than partners. We knew they would see the heart behind this project and understand its significance. 

I don’t think anything can ever truly erase the pain of that day. The son of one of our staff members was among the last to leave the school, helping his teacher lift smaller children out of the window to safety. He still has nightmares. Everywhere you go in Uvalde, there are flowers, photos, and murals of the children. The artwork is beautiful, but it’s a constant reminder of what was lost. 

Scheduled to open in the fall of 2025, the new school is about creating safe space for children and families, a place for healing and hope. When I walked the site this past August, it was a very emotional experience, a reminder of both the loss and the resilience of this community.

This project demonstrates what’s possible when organizations with heart come together. From day one, RDF recognized their role extended far beyond financial support—they were partners in helping a wounded community move forward. Together, we're laying the foundation for Uvalde's renewal.

For more than a century, Guadalupe Centers has been a pillar of support for Kansas City’s Latino community. Founded in 1919 by a Catholic women’s club, the organization was created to help Mexican immigrants facing discrimination gain access to education and healthcare. More than 100 years later, those remain central to our mission. Today, we operate the largest charter school system in Kansas City—the second largest in Missouri—along with an early childhood center, counseling services, senior programs, workforce training, and essential family assistance programs to ensure no one goes without food or support.

As we expanded, we quickly realized that we needed more space to meet the growing demand for our schools. About a decade ago, we found the perfect location—a former theological seminary on Kansas City’s east side, a sprawling 19-acre property that could serve as a separate campus for our elementary school. It was a bold vision, but to make it a reality, we needed significant funding.

They believed in us when others wouldn’t, providing the loan that allowed us to purchase the property and begin renovations. It was exactly the bridge we needed to take that next big step.

Traditional banks weren’t an option. Commercial lenders are used to financing businesses where they can measure success by sales figures and revenue growth. Nonprofits don’t work that way. We’re not selling widgets—we’re investing in people. At the time, we didn’t have the financial scale or diversity we have now, and securing a multi-million-dollar loan seemed out of reach.

That’s when we turned to RDF. They knew us well, understood our mission, our impact, and our potential. They believed in us when others wouldn’t, providing the loan that allowed us to purchase the property and begin renovations. It was exactly the bridge we needed to take that next big step.

Today, that former seminary is home to Guadalupe Centers Elementary School, serving 700 students. Another section of the property is being transformed into a workforce housing complex to help us recruit teachers to serve in the urban core. And we’ve grown tremendously—our annual revenue has doubled to more than $50 million since RDF took that chance on us.

We’ve come a long way, but we haven’t forgotten where we started—or the partners who helped us get here. RDF’s investment didn’t just allow us to buy a building—it’s helping us build our community’s future.

Amber Charter School was born out of a simple idea: every child deserves access to a high-quality education. In the late 1990s, a group of parents, members of the Community Association of Progressive Dominicans, saw firsthand how local public schools were struggling. They wanted better for their children and their community, so they took action—creating the first Latino-led charter school in New York State.

The plan was to find a location in Washington Heights, a historically Latino community with a deep cultural heritage, but they couldn’t find a building there. So when we opened our doors in 2000, we were renting space in East Harlem. Then, in 2004, we faced a game-changing opportunity: the owners of our building decided to sell and we were offered the chance to purchase from them. We knew owning our space would give us long-term stability but securing the more than $2 million we needed wasn’t going to be easy. As a charter school, we have to be reauthorized by the state every five years—something that made traditional lenders hesitant to offer a long-term mortgage.

That’s when Luis Miranda, one of our founders, reached out to RDF. Their mission aligned perfectly with ours: to strengthen Latino communities through opportunity and investment. Unlike traditional lenders, RDF understood our impact and saw our potential. They took the risk on us, and thanks to their support, we secured the loan that allowed us to purchase our East Harlem building.

That moment changed everything. Not only did we gain a permanent home, but we also gained credibility.

That moment changed everything. Not only did we gain a permanent home, but we also gained credibility. In 2016, we established our second school, Kingsbridge in Washington Heights.. And in 2020, we launched our third in Inwood, another historically Latino neighborhood at the northern tip of Manhattan, where families have long sought better educational opportunities. When it came time to secure a renovation loan for that campus, our long-standing partnership with RDF once again helped us access the financing because lenders could see we had a good track record.  So it’s a blessing that continues.

This year, we celebrate our 25th anniversary. We’ve watched a generation of students walk through our doors, grow, and go on to top-choice high schools, colleges, and careers. Some have even returned to Amber as staff members, a full-circle moment that reminds us why we do this work. Our dream is to keep this momentum going—expanding our schools, growing our alumni network, and continuing to serve families who need us. The need is there, and thanks to partners like RDF, we’re ready to meet it.

At Kitchen of Purpose, we use food as a pathway to opportunity, training people for culinary careers and helping entrepreneurs launch food businesses. In 2019, we found an incredible opportunity—a 5,000-square-foot space in Arlington, VA that could help us take us to the next level. With room for two industrial kitchens, classrooms, offices, and a café, it had everything we needed to expand our programs and serve more people.

But turning that raw space into a fully equipped training center required significant investment, and traditional financing wasn’t built for a nonprofit like ours—one that blends workforce development with social impact. RDF saw the potential and provided a critical piece of financing that made it possible to bring our new home to life.

Just a few months later, COVID changed everything. With catering orders gone and our café closed, revenue disappeared. Donations slowed as people braced for uncertainty. What should have been a time of expansion quickly became a fight to stay afloat. The first year left us in a deep financial hole, and the second year was spent trying to regain stability. 

By the time I became CEO in 2023, we were facing a $1 million deficit. We acted quickly, cutting expenses and creating a plan to balance the budget—but I knew there would be some tough months ahead. So, I went looking for a bridge loan.

The banks, of course, took one look at our cash flow and 990s and said ‘Nope, can’t do it.’ 

I made one more call.

RDF took the time to listen. They understood the adjustments we had made, the progress we were seeing, and instead of shutting the door, they worked with us to adjust the terms on our original loan, allowing us to pay interest only for six months. That gave us the breathing room we needed to focus on our mission.

And that mission is so important. Every year, we train 70 to 80 students in our culinary program. They master essential techniques, from making emulsions to breaking down whole poultry and seafood, preparing them for jobs in restaurants, hotels, and cafeterias. Beyond job training, our food lab helps aspiring entrepreneurs launch their own catering businesses and restaurants. And through our food assistance program, we’ve delivered 20,000 healthy meals to those who need them most.

Kitchen of Purpose is so much more than cooking. It’s about giving people tools to build a better future—one skill, one meal, and one opportunity at a time. And thanks to RDF, we have the space and the stability to keep making that happen.