What's Happening

By Maru Gómez
Lending Specialist, Camino Loan Fund 
 
Introduction by Sister Marilín M. Llanes, OP
Director of Portfolio Advisory Board

The Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama (¡HICA!) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) community development and advocacy organization that serves Latino and immigrant families throughout Alabama. Founded in 1999, ¡HICA! supports more than 3,500 families each year through programs that promote economic opportunity, civic engagement, and social justice. Through its emerging Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Camino Loan Fund, ¡HICA! provides access to capital for Latino, immigrant, and low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs, helping foster inclusive economic growth. 

On July 8, 2026, Members of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB), approved a low-interest loan of $200,000 to increase the lending capacity of the Camino Loan Fund, a first-time recipient. The fund is dedicated to providing responsible small business loans to low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs throughout Birmingham, Alabama, and the surrounding region, creating pathways to business ownership and economic stability. 

As a certified CDFI, Camino’s mission-driven approach closely aligns with the Adrian Dominican Sisters Enactment on Diversity, which calls for building “the beloved community in which everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger, and hate.” By expanding access to affordable capital, Camino helps address barriers that have historically limited opportunities for many aspiring entrepreneurs. 

Maru Gómez, Lending Specialist with the Camino Loan Fund, shares a compelling story that illustrates the impact of this work. Through its lending program, Camino is creating opportunities for individuals and communities that have often been excluded from traditional financial systems, empowering entrepreneurs to launch and grow businesses that strengthen their families and communities.

This partnership reflects a shared commitment to economic justice, inclusion, and community development, demonstrating how mission-driven investments can help build a more equitable future for all.
 
Iralis Matute and Annerys Tortolero, founders of Genova Event Planner LLC, were born and raised in Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela. Like many families starting over in a new country, their journey came with challenges, uncertainty, and major adjustments. They came to the United States hoping to build a more stable future and create new opportunities for themselves and their families.
 
Iralis first traveled through Central America, spending time in Panama, where she began expressing her creativity through decorations and event setups under the name “Eleven Decoration.” Her journey eventually brought her to Louisiana in October 2023, where she began building a new life while working in construction and other jobs.
 
Annerys arrived in the United States earlier and made Alabama her home. Before settling there, she lived in Costa Rica, where she developed experience in baking, catering, and serving customers. Her background in business administration later became an important strength as the sisters began building their business together.
 
After reuniting in 2023, the sisters combined their talents and passion to launch their event-planning business. Iralis brought her creativity and love for decoration, while Annerys contributed her administrative knowledge and organizational skills. Together, they saw an opportunity to serve their community through birthdays, holidays, and meaningful family celebrations.
 
Like many new entrepreneurs, they faced significant barriers. They lacked the tools and equipment needed to deliver the level of quality they envisioned, while finding reliable suppliers and building a client base required time and persistence. To move their business forward, they applied for support through Camino Loan Fund.
 
Camino pairs responsible lending capital with bilingual business technical assistance so entrepreneurs are positioned for long-term success. Camino’s relationship-based underwriting model looks beyond traditional financial metrics by considering an entrepreneur’s character, business viability, experience, and commitment to growth. This approach is designed to reduce barriers that often exclude immigrant, minority, women, and low-income entrepreneurs from traditional financing.
 
Iralis and Annerys initially expected the process to be difficult, but they were surprised by how smooth, responsive, and supportive it was. With Camino’s support, they purchased essential tools, including printers and computers with the capacity needed for design work. They are also developing a website that will allow clients to request quotes online, improving efficiency and the customer experience.
 
Since receiving support in early 2026, Genova Event Planner LLC has already begun to grow. The sisters have successfully organized two events. More importantly, they have received positive feedback from their clients, who highlight that the sisters consistently exceed expectations with their dedication and attention to detail.
 
Beyond financial growth, the business has had a meaningful personal impact on their lives. They now feel supported and empowered, with a sense of security that allows them to respond quickly to client needs without the constant stress of limited resources. What once felt uncertain now feels achievable, and they are more confident in their ability to continue building their future. As Iralis shared, “My creativity now is flying.” 
 
Looking ahead, the sisters plan to build a consistent calendar of personal and corporate events, obtain the permits needed to offer full catering services, and eventually open a showroom and hire employees in the next three to five years.
 
Their story demonstrates how flexible capital and culturally responsive support can expand inclusive ownership opportunities. Through Genova Event Planner LLC, Iralis and Annerys are not only building a business; they are creating a pathway toward long-term ownership, household wealth, economic self-determination, and a more secure future for their families.

Caption for above feature photo: From left, Maru Gómez, the author, presents a large-sized replica of a check to clients Iralis Matute and Annerys Tortolero, founders of Genoa Event Planner, LLC. Photo courtesy of the Camino Loan Fund

By Mary Minette, Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy,
Mercy Investment Services

Voting results at this year’s Meta annual meeting are an example of a troubling governance trend among publicly traded technology companies. In 2026, investors filed 10 shareholder proposals at the company, the parent of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, on topics ranging from the human rights implications of its use of artificial intelligence to the risk to its climate goals presented by the energy used to support the company’s massive data centers.

The company’s dual-class share structure gives the shares held by founder Mark Zuckerberg 10 votes per share while the shares held by other investors have only a single vote; as a result, although Zuckerberg owns only 14 percent of the company, he holds nearly 60 percent of voting rights. Due to this share structure, a majority vote on a shareholder proposal is impossible unless Zuckerberg agrees to vote yes.

As a result of this unequal power structure, none of the proposals presented in this year’s proxy statement passed. However, if you remove the “founder” shares held by Zuckerberg from the mix, several of them received a sizeable majority of the independent share votes, as shown in the table below.

Source: Michael Passof, Proxy Impact

All three of the governance-related proposals on the proxy, which requested that the company hold an annual “say on pay” vote for its highest paid employees, report voting results by share class (as in the chart above), and most importantly, end the dual class share structure that resulted in these inequitable results, received majority votes from the independent shareholders in Meta, but Zuckerberg’s voting power was able to defeat them all.  A proposal that was co-filed by the Portfolio Advisory Board, asking the company to explain how it will meet its climate change targets given the growing energy demand from its use of artificial intelligence and planned data center development, received only 6.9 percent of the vote overall, but a much more robust 22.3 percent of the vote from independent shares. This indicates that independent shareholders are interested in learning more about the company’s commitment to its climate change goals.

The Council of Institutional Investors calls the concept of “one share, one vote” a bedrock principle of corporate governance, and one that ensures that boards of directors have a clear picture of the concerns of their independent shareholders.  Allowing founders of companies to continue to control indefinitely the vote at some of the largest public companies risks entrenched thinking among management and that boards will miss opportunities to make needed changes in strategy.

Despite the risks presented by allowing a founder to continue to control a majority of votes indefinitely, the number of companies with such “dual class” share structures has grown in recent years. The most prominent current example may be the newly public SpaceX, which gives founder Elon Musk 80 percent of the voting rights although he and other entities that he controls own only about 40 percent of shares in the company.

Investors and investor organizations such as the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility have spoken out about the risks of dual class share structures to long-term good governance and will continue to push companies to reconsider these structures to ensure that all shareholders have an equal voice in the companies they own.