Credit solutions, credible expertise.
Seven Cs Collective fills a market gap in credit training and analysis for the nonprofit community development sector. We equip lending teams for success by providing custom training, lending operations advice and support, and direct capacity in underwriting and portfolio management.
TRUSTED BY
Our Services
Group Training
We provide tailored credit training for your lending team that is grounded in fundamental credit principles and customized to your sector and financial products. Our programs enhance underwriting and analytical expertise for all team members involved in the lending process, ensuring informed decisions that align with your organization's goals.
Investing in People
Get personalized training and coaching to strengthen your skills, backed by expertise across asset classes and decades of experience managing and mentoring credit professionals. Our guidance helps you navigate complex analysis and manage transactions with confidence.
Credit Solutions
We expand your lending capacity by providing expert outsourced underwriting as well as asset management and portfolio monitoring services. We create and update credit policies and procedures, design screening and loan approval templates tailored to your needs, and advise on systems and processes to streamline your lending operations.
Why Seven Cs
Investors need a nuanced lens that goes beyond the traditional ‘five Cs of credit’ to understand the risks and benefits of community development projects. Seven Cs Collective was founded on the principles of the five Cs of credit—plus compassion and community. We need compassion to push against the notion that the way investment decisions have always been made is the right way. Investments that challenge the traditional notion of creditworthiness often provide the richest returns in community benefits. Community is at the core of what we and our partners and their clients seek to build. Seven Cs strives to incorporate compassion and community in our philosophy and practice by embracing and giving credence to these traits in the entrepreneurs, school founders, and community leaders at the forefront of building opportunity in their communities.
What sets us apart?
Deep Expertise
The founding partners have a combined 65 years of experience and leadership in community development finance. Through our collective approach, other team members offer their expertise in the field at large.
Active Practitioners in the Field
We are immersed in lending activity through our underwriting work on behalf of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Our credit analysis, underwriting and portfolio management work keeps us fresh and in tune with current trends.
Fully Customized Training
We craft trainings specific to your team’s needs and goals. We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach has never fit this work. We want your team to be able to immediately apply learnings to your mission-critical day-to-day work.
Continuously Adapting to Changing Market Conditions
The custom nature of our work allows us to seamlessly meet your current needs and needs of the market.
Seven Cs provided tailored credit underwriting training for my team that thoroughly addressed their concerns and questions. Kathy, Sara and Eva took the time to get to know our culture and priorities and designed a comprehensive program that kept everyone awake, engaged, and enthusiastic.
As someone without a finance background, Seven Cs was a game-changer for me. Sara, Kathy, and Eva made complex financial and regulatory concepts approachable and gave me the confidence to apply them in my role as an investment analyst within the charter sector. Their support and expertise made all the difference!
Elise Balboni
President
Enterprise Community Loan Fund
Angel Purganan
Investment Analyst
Equitable Facilities Fund
Meet the Partners
Our experience spans predevelopment and term loans to complex tax credit transactions, resulting in the origination of more than $1.5 billion in financing to community projects and more than $100 million in federal grant awards supporting CDFIs.
Eva Schweitzer
Partner, Seven Cs Collective
Principal, Red Staple
Eva brings nearly 25 years of finance and community development experience to her services, developing and mentoring effective teams throughout her career. Most recently she served as Vice President of Credit at Civic Builders, where she oversaw credit policy and underwriting. Before that, Eva led originations and underwriting at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), specializing in credit analysis, loan monitoring, and community-focused investments.
Sara Sorbello
Partner, Seven Cs Collective
Principal, Sorbello Strategic Finance
Sara has over 20 years of experience in lending and credit roles at CDFIs, most recently as Vice President of Charter School Financing at LISC, where she led all aspects of its national charter school portfolio. Prior to LISC, Sara served as Vice President of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) at TruFund. She has expertise in charter school facility financing, small business lending, and NMTC financing, and has built and trained high-performing teams across these sectors.
Kathy Olsen
Partner, Seven Cs Collective
Principal, Olsen Strategy & Impact
Kathy is a community development financing executive with 20 years of experience, specializing in strategic advising, team development and training delivery, credit analysis and financial modeling, research, and fund development. She provides advisory and consulting services to CDFIs and foundations. Kathy previously served as the Vice President of Lending for the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) where she managed and developed the lending team. Before NFF, she served as the director of LISC’s charter school financing program.
Ready to get started?
