For her many contributions to the Bay Area business community, TMC Founder and President Barbara Morrison has been named to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame.
“This is a very special award in many ways, but for me it has particular significance because one of the early inductees, Catherine Munson, was a very important mentor to me,” Morrison said. “She truly was a trailblazer in commercial real estate.”
Morrison was recognized for more than 35 years of helping Bay Area small business get the capital they need to succeed. In 1981, Morrison founded TMC Financing, now Northern California’s largest SBA 504 commercial real estate lender. In Marin County alone, TMC has provided funding to more than 125 businesses for real estate projects totaling more than $200 million to create or retain more than 1,000 jobs.
“For more than 35 years I’ve the joy and privilege of having a front row seat on so many small business success stories,” Morrison said. “The heroes of these stories are the entrepreneurs — the ones who have had the courage and the optimism and the guts to turn a dream and an idea into a business.”
In 1999, recognizing that some entrepreneurs could benefit from coaching as well as capital, Morrison founded Working Solutions as a non-profit microlender. With unique community economic development model, Working Solutions has disbursed more than $8.5 million and educated more than 12,000 Bay Area entrepreneurs.
“What has really inspired me is a recent revelation that growing small businesses not only grow the economy but these entrepreneurs are paying it forward,” Morrison said. “Remembering their struggles and their challenges, they relish their success to help those who are less fortunate build better lives.”
The Marin Women’s Hall of Fame is a signature program of YWCA San Francisco and Marin. Thirty years ago, prior to the Marin Women’s Hall of Fame, which now recognizes 140 women leaders, few records of women’s achievements had been recorded in Marin County. In its mission to empower women and eliminate racism, YWCA San Francisco and Marin stewards this annual event, ensuring a legacy for future generations that documents not only successes, but also represents a diverse sisterhood of women supporting each other, standing together and moving the needle on progress for all women.
“I want to give special thanks to my colleagues at TMC and Working Solutions because it is our success as a team that this award recognizes,” Morrison said.
Read more on Barbara’s achievements on the YWCA website. Learn about the other honorees in this Marin Independent Journal article.