John Martinez, far-right, president of the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association, speaks on a panel moderated by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings Oct. 30 at Adamson High School in Dallas. (DMN Staff Photo)
If you weren’t able to attend Thursday night’s “Come Together: Connecting Capital with Underserved Communities,” you can catch up by reading the DMN’s coverage of the event here and our Sunday editorial here.
My role Thursday night, “coordinator of the questions,” was simple — but eye-opening.
When organizers of events such as this hand out cards on which people may submit questions during the program, the response generally is modest at best.
But not Thursday night. I’d hardly begun thumbing through the first sizable stack of questions for the panelists when the next stack arrived, and then another and another and another. Close to 70 questions were submitted (that means roughly 1 out of every 7 guests wrote a question!) — yet we only were able to get to two or three of the audience queries at the very tail end of the evening.
No matter how carefully you try to choreograph these type events, there’s always something you wish you had done better. In this case, we wish there had been time to get to more — or, better yet, ALL — of the questions.
Reading back over the index cards Friday morning, I was struck by what a thirst there is for a diversity of knowledge. Here is a selection of what was asked:
In 2010, less than one percent of venture funding went to black and Hispanic founders. What can be done to encourage private funding to be inclusive? What should be done? Does government have a role and, if so, what is that role?
Why not use the public libraries to provide financial literacy classes?
Where can a small business owner go to get a loan for a business he/she wants to start in southern Dallas?
Is there a plan to allow some of the vacant boarded-up homes to be given to nonprofits to be rebuilt and made available for low-income home ownership?
What are the loan acceptance/approval rates on commercial loans for whites vs minorities?
What considerations have been made regarding the Wynnewood Shopping Center and Kiest Park area?
Why is the city of Dallas providing financial assistance to apartment development rather than home ownership?
If capital requires competitive returns, what action should borrowers take to confirm returns to lenders?
How do we overcome restrictive compliance/regulation to enable freer lending for those with limited credit or collateral?
Why must you go into debt with a credit card in order to establish credit?
If I have crowdfunding as a source for a down payment, would your bank approve my business loan, if all other factors are equal?
I have been trying for 3 years to open a small BBQ restaurant in downtown but cannot get “the master lease” help I need — despite other developers being able to get help for downtown projects. Why is this?
Do know that we are exploring a variety of ways to get all the questions from Thursday night answered. And if you were at the event, we’ll email you once we figure out our next step. For now, thanks to everyone for such a dynamic evening.