Hispanic Business Initiative Fund of Florida Inc. aka Prospera
Advancing Hispanic Business
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Small businesses are the engine of the U.S. economy. A significant portion of U.S. startups are owned by Hispanics, some of them economically disadvantaged immigrants in pursuit of the American Dream, who may not adequately assess the risks in starting a new business. Hispanics are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of non-Hispanic businesses, but their failure rate remains high. Aside from typical entrepreneurial challenges, Hispanic business owners may face additional barriers like language, culture, and a lack of familiarity with how business is done in the U.S., including a new financial and credit system. Prospera provides Hispanics entrepreneurial education in their native language and individual, personalized support to increase the likelihood that their businesses will succeed and last, thereby creating and sustaining more jobs and household incomes.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Business Consulting (In-House Technical Assistance)
In-house one-on-one technical assistance is provided free of charge by Prospera Small Business Consultants, who have business consulting experience, training and related education. The consultant meets with each client individually and performs a thorough analysis of the prospective or existing business. Working together with the entrepreneur, an analysis is made to determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges, as well as those of the business. This process provides the entrepreneur with a customized service package to address the short and long-term needs of their business. If the Business Consultant determines that the client needs additional "professional" assistance, Prospera may award the client with a business advancement service.
Business Advancement Services
Business Advancement Services
If the client qualifies for more advanced consulting services, Prospera may award the client a business advancement services. These are completed by a vetted network of professional providers that include attorneys, accountants, website developers, and business/marketing consultants. Prospera currently offers seven different, customized services to address short and long-term client needs:
- Accounting Assessment- QuickBooks Dedicated Consulting - Branding Kit- Marketing & Sales Plan - Business Plan (Operations or Access to Capital)- Legal Assessment
Business Seminars
Prospera offers a number of educational programs throughout the year. Workshops in Spanish focus on managing and growing existing small businesses and how to deal with the current state of the economy. The seminars provide in-depth information on traditional disciplines such as marketing, finance, business planning, importing/exporting, current business practices and trends. All seminars are open to the public, free of charge and are facilitated in Spanish by local experts. The startiup orientation seminar is intended for pre-incorporation or early stage businesses and covers topics such as legal and tax structures, budgeting, planning, permits and licenses, insurance and more.
Access to Capital
Guidance throughout the process and assistance to obtain loans, including credit improvement tips, business plan creation, preparation of applications presentations, or introductions to potential lenders. This includes both micro-loans and traditional loans.
Where we work
External reviews

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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of community events or trainings held and attendance
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of Latin American descent, Self-employed people
Related Program
Business Seminars
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Attendees of seminars in Spanish: new business startup orientation and workshops on critical entrepreneurial topics (business planning, marketing, sales, international trade, legal, finances, etc.)
Total dollar amount of loans issued
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of Latin American descent, Self-employed people
Related Program
Access to Capital
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Loans secured with our assistance for small businesses from traditional, SBA, or micro-lenders.
Total number of counseling sessions performed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
People of Latin American descent, Self-employed people
Related Program
Business Consulting (In-House Technical Assistance)
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Individual counseling/consulting for established and aspiring entrepreneurs, to identify opportunities, offer resources, and overcome business challenges.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Prospera helps start, sustain, and grow Hispanic-owned businesses to achieve greater community prosperity. Our main services are business seminars, consulting, grants, and access to capital. By empowering them with training, resources and personalized, ongoing support, we help Hispanic-owned businesses increase their chances of succeeding and lasting, employing more people, generating more tax revenues, and creating greater prosperity for the whole community.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
* See operational plan for more information
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Prospera counts on a strong Board of Directors, devoted and talented volunteers in each region, a great team of professional employees, strong community partnerships and relations, media partners, and generous funders.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In the last five years, Prospera has facilitated over $46 million in loans, trained 22,000 entrepreneurs, provided business consulting to nearly 9,000 entrepreneurs, and helped clients create or retain over 14,800 jobs. In its first 25 years of service, Prospera\\u0027s economic impact was $1.5 billion. There are still thousands of Hispanic entrepreneurs in Florida and North Carolina who need our support, and millions more across the country. The pursuing for additional funding continues, to serve more individuals and generate even greater economic impact across U.S. communities.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
Assigning staff to follow up with past clients and ensure we offer assisance
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Hispanic Business Initiative Fund of Florida Inc. aka Prospera
Board of directorsas of 05/23/2023
Ms. Luz Aviles
OUC
Term: 2022 - 2024
Mercedes Angell
Cushman & Wakefield, LLC
Delvis Diaz
Diaz Fritz Group General Contractors
Lori Duarte-Roberts
Truist
Augusto Sanabria
Prospera President & CEO
Boris Ayala
Fifth Third Bank
Alexander Sueiro
PAAST
Sherry Ambrose
FPL
Alex Dominguez
AT&T
George Bermudez
Bank of America
Sharon Arroyo
Duke Energy
Carlos Escobar
AdventHealth
Carolina Blanco
Hill Ward Henderson
Carlos Brackley
Walt Disney Parks & Resorts
Elisha Gonzalez
Fairwinds
Michael Hernandez
LSN Communications
Luis Lobo
retired
Ruben Perez
Perez of Florida
Luis Rosero
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
Kate Wilson
Wells Fargo
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data