Federal cuts could impact programs supporting ABQ small businesses, city leaders say

Another set of proposed cuts, this time to federal programs supporting emerging small businesses in New Mexico, has left Albuquerque officials sounding alarms.

The Trump administration announced this month that seven programs, including the Minority Business Development Agency, or MBDA, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, should expect cuts after they submit reports to the federal Office of Management and Budget.

City and business officials say both MBDA and CDFI play critical roles in growing New Mexico’s small businesses, and that losing them will leave a hole.

“These cuts are a direct hit to the hardworking small businesses and families in Albuquerque,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. “Stripping away these resources is an attack on the future of our city.”

President Donald Trump signed the executive order “Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy” earlier this month. It calls for the elimination of seven programs.

The order targets the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, the United States Agency for Global Media, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, in addition to CDFI and MBDA.

Gabriela Marques, director of the New Mexico MBDA, said the proposed cuts could significantly impact the organization’s work. In fiscal year 2024, the organization assisted businesses in generating over $66 million in gross revenue and 2,700 jobs.

Marques’ organization is run through the city of Albuquerque but receives support and funding from the federal MBDA. Losing that support and losing access to federal grants could mean less support for emerging businesses, Marques said.

But since nothing is set in stone, Marques said the New Mexico Minority Business Development Agency plans to continue unhindered.

“There’s so much uncertainty,” she said. “Things might get blocked by a court or judges, and there might be delays. And, it’s not fair to the community that — because of panic or fear — we stop operations.”

Created during the Nixon administration, the MBDA aims “to promote the growth and global competitiveness of Minority Business Enterprises in order to unlock the country’s full economic potential.” Despite having “minority” in the name, Marques said the New Mexico organization is for everyone.

“We know that the Minority Business Development Agency and many other agencies have been falsely portrayed as discriminatory toward white people, but that is definitely not the case,” she said.

The CDFI, under the purview of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, connects federal dollars and programs to financial institutions like banks for investment in economically disadvantaged communities.

The city of Albuquerque said in a statement that it has received over $210 million in CDFI investments in New Mexico since 2018.

The money has gone to groups including the New Mexico Community Development Loan Fund, Homewise, First Financial Credit Union, the Ventana Fund, DreamSpring and Rio Grande Credit Union.

The city added that CDFI funding helped finance projects at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Gilbert Sena Charter School and the 2024 renovation of the Imperial Inn Motel.

“Small businesses are the engine of thriving communities, and the CDFI Fund and MBDA help power entrepreneurship through the flow of critical financial and social capital,” Anne Haines, president and CEO of DreamSpring, said in a statement.