NonProfit News Pod: Sacramento Hispanic Chamber Releases The Hispanic Economic Report

Jeff Holden: [00:00:00] Welcome to this nonprofit News pod. I'm speaking with Kathy Rodriguez, aguire President and CEO of an organization that's not only shaping conversation, but also driving measurable impact in our business community. The Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. They are the publishers of a report, the State of Hispanic Business report that gives a snapshot of how Hispanic owned businesses are growing, contributing, and shaping our region's economy.

Kathy, welcome. 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Thank you so much for having me, Jeff. I appreciate it. 

Jeff Holden: So let's start with the big picture. What is the State of Hispanic business report and why does the chamber produce it? 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: So we actually started this Hispanic economic report back in 2021. There are so many times that people were reaching out to us for data, whether it was about our [00:01:00] businesses, entrepreneurship, healthcare, just all these different points that they were trying to get some reference for, and what we realized is there's a lot of data out there, but there wasn't anything that was hyperlocal over our six counties.

Usually people will do Central Valley, which kind of goes up to Stockton area, so it's kinda stops right before it hits us. They'll do the Bay Area, which for some reason also cuts us out in San Diego and la. Our data is similar to what you'll see in a lot of those reports, but there was nothing specific and we realized we needed something for us, and so we went ahead and invested and it is an investment.

In the data, and that particular one was Sacramento State. We decided then once we had a foundation that we could build from that we would do this report every two years. So we released another one in 23, and now you're, what you're holding is the one for 2025. And for us at the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber, it actually drives our work.

When we see the report, we can see where we should be putting our effort. Where there's still gaps of opportunity that are to be had [00:02:00] where we're seeing progress, then we should keep going that way because we want to see that elevate even more. So it's become a really useful tool for us as an organization, but it's also a tool we're offering for everyone else, for other nonprofits, for our elected officials, our public policy makers, to be able to say, when you're making your decisions, when you're looking at where to invest, take a look at this report.

'cause you're gonna find it very interesting and it's really gonna help you in determining where those investments should be made. 

Jeff Holden: How does the report actually help a business owner or a policymaker broader Sacra, commun sacramental community? How does it help them better understand the economic power and potential of these Hispanic owned businesses?

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Well, when we take a look at it, you'll see that Hispanic owned businesses have actually increased in percentage here in the region, as well as entrepreneurship overall. So something that's important to realize in that is where other people maybe are. Still trying to decide should we move forward, you know, sign a lease, should we go on with our business?

Because let's be honest, right now, everything's a little unsettled, economy wise, [00:03:00] administration wise. But the reality is our Hispanic owned businesses are deciding, you know what, we're gonna go ahead and take that leap and we're gonna make that commitment. And so you're seeing them, you know, fill in maybe what used to in empty storefront, going from maybe a street vendor now to brick and mortar.

We're seeing people go to second locations increasing, you know, jobs. For the region, when you're looking at investments, if you're looking like, where am I gonna get my workforce from? You know, we have all these industries that are coming here and they're needing. An educated workforce that's skilled in doing that?

Well, if you look at a word to invest, you might wanna look at this demographic because from the data we can see one, it skews younger. The average age in the Hispanic community is about 28 versus non-Hispanic, which is about 42. Which by the way, for all of us that are not ready, that doesn't mean that we're not still ready to work.

But it does mean where you're looking at, like where we're gonna invest though to make sure that we're gonna have people that are skilled for years to come. Here's a place, you know, to invest in when you're, again looking at, you know, areas. Revitalization that you're looking at, whether it's our diverse [00:04:00] corridors and throughout, you know, the counties that all have them, or the downtown areas, you can see that here's business owners that are willing to make that commitment and that's gonna help you when you're starting to like, introduce other businesses from outside the area or be able to wanna come here.

'cause the reality is people wanna go whether there's, you know, vitality and there's things that are happening there, and small businesses overall, whether they're Hispanic or not, are the ones that actually give a sense of community. So you wanna build on top of that. 

Jeff Holden: You know, as you look through these reports, this is your third report.

I think the first one came out in 21, and then 23, and now today in 25. What were a few of the most surprising or maybe even encouraging findings from the report? 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Well, one, it's great to see after five years that there's progress being made. And so some of the ones that really stood out, one was home ownership.

Home ownership has actually increased in the Hispanic community since we did this in 2021. The reason that's critical is we know one that's the best source of generational wealth, and so if the community's building that that's gonna be helpful for them long [00:05:00] term and also know, we know that helps stabilize neighborhoods.

That's also showing that we have a community that's committed to the region or wanting to be here and build a foundation. We're seeing that the digital divide that we always talk about is actually getting slower, and so that means for us that more people are having access to technology and they're utilizing that in their daily basis, and they're also showing across generations how to use it, which is also really critically important in doing that.

As I shared before too, we're saying entrepreneurship is also growing, so there's a lot in here that we're like, there's real progress being made, and that's something to celebrate. And something to also look at and see what there is going right, that we should continue to do or somehow duplicate another effort.

Someone had asked me home ownership in particular, like, why did I think that was? And when I look back over those five years, I can see where there was a lot of education being done. More workshops about, you know, the importance of home ownership, how to, you know, take the pathway to home ownership.

There's a lot more incentives. Two for first time buyers with [00:06:00] opportunities there for access to capital to help them make that down payment. So you find if you make these resources available, people are gonna take advantage of them. And in the long term, it's good for the entire region. 

Jeff Holden: You know, there's nothing more encouraging or rewarding, I should say, than having progress made as a result of effort done and to see that, that outreach and education, and understanding and home ownership.

Because it's not the most efficient from a standpoint of interest rates at this point in time, but they understood it. You know that that audience understood. 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Yeah, it's completely true. So that was like one of the ones that was really a highlight, you know, for us to be able to see. 

Jeff Holden: We know that progress comes with challenges.

What does the report indicate to the chamber as to how you can help over overcome some of the, the challenges that you saw in the report? What were some of those things that you said, Mo, we need to do a little bit better job here. 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: There's always those points of access [00:07:00] is what I talk to. And so when we use that as an example of what went well, we also, she also said there was a lot that was done in language.

So when we look at some of the other opportunities that are there, we're looking at. Could that have been better if there was more done, you know, in Spanish too, given the opportunity to say both languages there. When we look at education, there's are parts where the gap is getting smaller, but there's still so much more room for improvement, especially in the industries that people are choosing.

So we know that the industries of tomorrow there's be b, are more the stem. In the STEM fields, right? Technology. We're looking at certification programs. There's different ways that people are gonna work than the way you and I work, right? Jeff? There's still, we say there's still jobs out there that we don't even know what they are, but they're coming.

And so what we're looking at is how do we better prepare? I. Are generations that are coming for those opportunities. And those start really early, developing those pathways, showing what those jobs are, giving those opportunities to visit. Oh, the industries. We can do a [00:08:00] better job of that, of making sure people understand there is more free you to be able to do than the ones that we constant that we see always, which are great professions, and becoming a doctor, becoming a police officer.

Nurse, so they're the ones that are people are familiar with. 'cause we see them on TV and set. But there's, and with each of those industries, there's so many more opportunities and we just need to be better about carrying people through those pathways and showing them those opportunities. And the end, end result is like, here's a good life that you can have that's also gonna be good for your future generations.

Mm-hmm. 

Jeff Holden: Yeah. These things don't happen in a vacuum. You have collaborators that you worked with? Yes. Who were the people that were instrumental in helping get this report out? 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Oh my gosh. So we wanna really thank OG Stog has an incredible partner, and that's a Sacramento area, county of governments, right?

So they actually, 

Jeff Holden: council of Governments, I think, right? 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Council of Governments acronyms always get to me. But 

Jeff Holden: for clarifying, 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: thank you for that. So Seog, but they've been an incredible partner for us and obviously [00:09:00] represent the six county regions. So they were really helpful in helping us gather this data and helping to read it.

And be able to put it in a way that could be understandable that people are reaching out there, greater Sacramento Economic Council. They have a far reach into what's happening is industries are coming in, what businesses are looking for. They really helped us get the data that we have really been looking for, which is this entrepreneurship and Hispanic owned businesses to be able to include the report.

And honestly, when you look at putting it into a whole readable format that makes sense. Threefold communications, we could not have done it without them because the data. Data, and it's really important to us, and we are all kicking out over it and going through it, but we want everyone to take a dive into it and we realize the graphics and the way you put it all together and tell the story is equally important.

So there was a lot of effort put into this along with my team that I have internally that has been doing an incredible job and just. Gathering this all out and figuring out how to continue talking about it. Mm-hmm. And that's why I appreciate being here today, Jeff, because part of this is not to just create something that [00:10:00] stays on someone's desk or shelf, but to continue the conversation and to let people know the narrative of the Hispanic economic.

Engine that is here is much greater than people realize. 

Jeff Holden: Did Valley Vision have a hand in this as well? 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Yes, they did. Valley Vision came in, they have their livability summit, which just happened a couple weeks ago. Mm-hmm. And so we were overlapping a bit. And Evan SCH Smith, their CO was very kind 'cause we reached out to her and said, is there anything that you have in your poll that might be a beneficial to include in the report that also lasts people to realize the cost promotion?

What was happening in the Lability summit, so that was really great to have too. So there is information valid vision has provided in there. We also hope that after our event that people went to the lability summit that was happening a couple weeks later. So further have dialogue about all the topics we had covered, 

Jeff Holden: and we had the benefit of sitting at a tailgate party for a sexy football game.

One of the SAC State students comes up and mentions, oh, this is just about done. We're working on [00:11:00] something that is in collaboration. Also with the Hispanic report. Share what that is, because I think it's, it's pretty interesting work. It's a 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: pretty interesting work. So over there at Sacramento State, they have their Hispanic serving.

I. And Lilia cones is their Hispanic serving director, first one at Sacramento State. And so her and our team and executives that are over there have been working on, I wanna get it right. They're calling it Somos, which is Spanish for us. And it is a map. It's that we're students are able to come to it and figure out where they can go, whether it's for businesses, I think for entertainment, civic amenities, all of that.

It's a way of having people realize that they belong here. In Sacramento, there's places that they can go to that may seem familiar to them or maybe unfamiliar to them, but they'll be of interest to go to it. And so they're also gonna take parts of our report and incorporate that into this mapping system that they're putting together.

So it's a pretty cool [00:12:00] thing, and I know you're gonna see a little bit more coming out from Sacramento State and the group that's putting this together. But again, it's another tool to let people know how vibrant this region is and what the opportunities are out here. 

Jeff Holden: Well, and how excited people are to participate and get involved.

I love the fact that you've got the students doing something. It's kind of a Hispanic heat map. 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Yes, 

Jeff Holden: that's a good way to put it. I'm anxious to see it myself. You know, by now I think the audience is going, uh, this is really cool. Where do I get this thing? This reports, it seems like something I should have, I should at least be aware of it.

How does one find it? And it it, what does it cost? Is it, uh, free service? Tell us a little bit about that. 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Yeah, actually, you can find the report on our website if you go to sac hcc.org/report. It'll take you to the page. You'll see a little bit more introductory information about the report. Some highlights will be there, and then if you scroll to the end, there'll be a part that will ask you for a little bit of information about you, and you'll be able to [00:13:00] download the report and, but before the month ends, we'll, we'll have it in Spanish too.

Jeff Holden: Okay, wonderful. And I'll put that into the notes of this episode, this news pod. So if anybody wants, they can just go and grab the link out of there. Make, they can grab 

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: it right there. And we want people to download it, to read it, to utilize it. Like I said, it is meant to be more than a report. It's a tool for you to use.

Jeff Holden: Well, that's the state of Hispanic business report. It's a roadmap for growth and inclusion in our region. You need to know the state of the state when it comes to doing business in a community that's at least 23% Hispanic, depending on where you are geographically, likely greater, where you live. You don't wanna miss the opportunity to engage this market, and that means you need to know more about what's happening with them as well.

So get your own report by visiting the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce website, sac hcc.org. Share it with your teams, your boards, your partners. Kathy, thank you for joining me. Thank you for doing the report for the community. What a wonderful asset it is [00:14:00] to have the organization to have the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce produces for the benefit of all of us.

Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre: Great. Well, thank you so much for giving the opportunity to talk about it and share it. And thank you to all the listeners today, and I hope we get a lot of downloads on it. 

Jeff Holden: Uh, agreed. Well, thanks for listening to this nonprofit News Pod, and be sure to subscribe to the Nonprofit Podcast Network so you'd never miss an episode.

Simply visit nonprofpod.com. Thank you.