The Enterprise Foundation was organized in September 2007 and recognized by IRS in September 2009 as a charitable organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and was designed to provide needed educational and referral services to underserved communities in furtherance of economic development.

The purpose of this corporation is to foster self-sufficiency through self-employment and to promote, support and encourage the advancement and development of micro enterprises and small businesses.

In the context of these general purposes, the corporation shall develop and/or support programs that inform and educate entrepreneurs, young people, immigrants and the public-at-large about resources and opportunities as well as to provide forums for the exchange of ideas, information, technical assistance, procurement and other business opportunities that enhance communities’ development and economic well-being, and shall carry on other charitable and educational activities associated with these goals as allowed by law.”

The Enterprise Foundation partners with private corporations, non-profits, and government agencies to provide quality no- to low-cost bilingual education and business training services with the intent of making underserved populations self-sufficient and create jobs, and all in the furtherance of economic development for the public benefit of the communities in which training participants reside and work.

While the Enterprise Foundation is an independent entity, it is affiliated with, and frequently supports the programs of, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley.


Enterprise Foundation
c/o Hispanic Chamber Silicon Valley
1887 Monterey Road, Ste. 215
San Jose, CA 95112

  2020 Progress Report

Silicon Valley Small Business Development Centers (SBDC’s) 

         of Santa Clara County

The Silicon Valley Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the SBDC Hispanic Satellite are hosted and managed by the locally-based Enterprise Foundation, a 501 (c) 3, a creation of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley.

The Silicon Valley SBDC’s serve all of Santa Clara County.  The SBDC team of business advisors is made up of about 40 small business  professionals who are diversified in background, culture and experience.   That diversity allows matching local small business owners with advisors who can understand and address particular business needs such as the formation, management, financing, and operations for small businesses.  Advising and workshops (now webinars) are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin and other languages.  They are provided at no charge to small business owners in Santa Clara County.

SBDC’s provide small business owners with advising, practical tools, and access to sources of funding to foster their business survival and ultimate success.  SBDC’s help small business owners prepare, review and present required documents so that they can become “bankable,” “lendable” and ready to participate in special grant and loan programs.

Strong Performance

Thanks to the support of the County of Santa Clara that provided the required match of the Small Business Administration, the SBDC’s serving this county, have been among the highest performing SBDC’s in Northern California.

2020 was an odd year in many respects.  This was the first period in more than a decade in which the economic impact performance measures among the region’s SBDCs were not compared to each other.  Yet, as a region, the SBDC’s of Northern California exceeded all economic impact indicators set before COVID, except start-ups.  The SBDC’s of Santa Clara County significantly contributed to that accomplishment.

COVID-19 arriving in force in March and the mandated restrictions to combat it turned the world of small businesses here and throughout the country upside down.  SBDC’s, following its own advice to small business owners, pivoted to better serve the needs of the community.  Beyond regular SBDC work, the Enterprise Foundation produced over twenty educational webinars and participated in dozens more. Webinars about funding opportunities for local small businesses were conducted in partnership with the economic development offices of many cities and/or the chambers of commerce and neighborhood business associations, including those of Cupertino, Los Altos, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Milpitas, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Los Gatos and Gilroy.

The Enterprise Foundation also managed during 2020:

  • Sunnyvale Cares Small Business Grant Program (SV Cares);
  • Cupertino Small Business Emergency Relief Grant Program;
  • Milpitas Microenterprise Grant Program; and
  • San Jose Small Business Rent Relief Program.

The Enterprise Foundation processed and distributed some $6 million of grants to local concerns.  The more than 2,000 small business applicants of these programs were offered opportunities to receive SBDC services that could help their small businesses in addition to funding.

In 2020, the Silicon Valley SBDC’s helped diverse, local entrepreneurs:

  • Start 16 new businesses creating 311 full and part-time jobs;
  • Retain 29,033 jobs;
  • Increase their change in sales of $34,911,370;
  • Obtain 216 SBA loans valued at $20,899,617.93;
  • Receive 63 equity infusions of $14,282,630.40;
  • (totaling 279 number of loans/equity of $35,182,248.33).

In 2020, the Silicon Valley SBDC’s:

  • Counselled 2,489 clients (including 1,823 new clients);
  • Provided an average counseling of 4.15 hours per client (with an average of 1.34 hours per session);
  • Offered 23 Training Event Sessions (which had 640 attendees); and
  • Served 2,512 clients.

Typically, the high performing SBDC’s of Santa Clara County collectively serve between 600 and 800 small businesses year.  In 2020, the SBDC’s had a significantly increased workload and a much larger economic impact than in previous years.

Respectively Submitted,

Dennis King

Executive Director, Enterprise Foundation

SBDC Silicon Valley/SBDC Hispanic Satellite

1887 Monterey Road, #215 San Jose, CA 95112

408-385-9148/c: 408-679-1555