In the Community

Small Business owners are the superheroes in our communities.

We're here for you with local teams committed to small business success and best-in-class business education. Let’s boost your business expertise, connect you with peer entrepreneurs, and grow your network of resources.

june 6

NM CreativeCon Albuquerque (held at National Hispanic Cultural Center)

All Day

Join Us

NM CreativeCon is a statewide celebration of New Mexico’s creative community, taking place from March through June 2026. Hosted by the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Creative Industries Division, CreativeCon brings together creative entrepreneurs, community partners, and support organizations from across the state to connect, learn, and share ideas.

june 10-12

OFN Small Business Finance Forum (Austin, TX)

All Day

Join Us

Opportunity Finance Network (OFN)’s annual Small Business Finance Forum (SBFF) is the premier event for mission-driven small business lenders, partners, and advocates. This event offers an excellent opportunity to learn from peers and build valuable connections, participate in OFN training, learn about products and services for CDFIs serving small businesses, hear remarks from distinguished speakers, and much more. Register now!

june 11

2026 OFN Session: Sharing Risk, Scaling Impact: Participation Lending for CDFIs (Austin, TX)

2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. CT

Join Us

As CDFIs look to increase lending capacity, manage risk, and reach more borrowers, participation lending is emerging as a powerful tool for collaboration and growth. But structuring and sustaining these partnerships requires alignment across institutions with different sizes, strategies, and constraints.

Join DreamSpring's Chief Engagement Officer Amber Kani for this deep dive session to explore how CDFIs are using participation lending to expand their reach, diversify exposure, and deploy capital more effectively. Through a moderated conversation, panelists will share how they approach partnerships, align underwriting and risk, and structure participation agreements across CDFI, bank, and intermediary relationships.

The session will then shift into facilitated breakout discussions, where participants will explore how participation lending strategies differ for small, mid-sized, and larger CDFIs. Attendees will discuss key considerations including partner selection, deal structure, incentives, and operational capacity, and identify where participation lending may create opportunities within their own organizations.

july 17

SBA Houston Are You Lender Ready - Session II: Lender Forum (Houston, TX)

9 a.m. to 12 p.m. CT

Join Us

The "Are You Lender Ready?" Series, presented by the SBA Houston District Office, is intended for those businesses that have been in business for 2+ years. This event will offer training resources that will prepare you for asking for a small business loan.

The Lender Forum will consist of panel discussions from traditional and alternative lenders followed by a lender fair to meet with SBA guaranteed lenders in an informal setting.

Our Footprint

We’re right next door. Our events are held at partner locations across 27 states and virtually — so you can choose the topic and format that best suits your small business.

Don’t see the session you’re looking for? We’re constantly adding new learning opportunities, and you can augment workshop-style classes with our digital education library, which is available 24-7. The resource library includes articles, audio files, templates, tutorials, and more!

Connect with a DreamMaker!

If you’re looking to start or grow a small business, DreamSpring is here for you each step of the way. Contact us to ask questions, learn more about how we can work together, and meet a team passionate about your success!

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