FAME Renaissance began its lending operations in 1992 with $1 million in grant funds from the Walt Disney Company and the ARCO Foundation. In 1994, in the wake of the Northridge Earthquake, FAME Renaissance was selected by the US Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA) as one of eight organizations selected in Los Angeles County. The $2.2 million grant established a loan program that included administrative funding that was used to add staff and improve the overall lending efficiency of FAME Renaissance. In 1998 FAME Renaissance established a SBA micro-loan fund in conjunction with the U.S. Small Business Administration.