RALEIGH, N.C. — The NC Rural Center has granted $3.3 million to six Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) or those with CDFI applications pending so they can expand their capacity to make loans. The grants were awarded through a $5 million program funded by the North Carolina General Assembly.
“The NC Rural Center thanks the General Assembly for investing in building the CDFI industry in North Carolina,” said Patrick Woodie, president and CEO of the Rural Center. “Increasingly, CDFIs are critical in serving our state’s small businesses, especially for people who need loans of less than $250,000. This program fills a significant funding gap for our CDFIs by putting money into growing the capacity of these organizations and helping them get more capital to more small businesses.”
CDFIs specialize in loans to people and businesses in under-resourced or low-wealth communities. Many also offer coaching and financial education. During the pandemic, the Rural Center brought together eight CDFIs in North Carolina to rapidly distribute federal recovery money. The General Assembly created this program in 2022 to encourage growth in the sector.
Projects funded:
- Business Expansion Funding Corp. – $500,000 to expand services to Eastern North Carolina
Carolina Community Impact – $450,000 to hire staff, grow and scale SBA Community Advantage program - UP Community Fund – $250,000 to expand staff and develop marketing plan
- Partner Community Capital – $725,000 to hire commercial lending assistant, revise loan policies and procedures, and purchase new technology
- National Institute of Minority Economic Development – $775,000 to hire four new staff members, upgrade and expand their data management and reporting capabilities
- Mountain BizWorks – $736,000 to expand rural lending presence and community engagement, add technical assistance capabilities and improve their technology and data systems.
The Rural Center will award the money remaining in the program through a second round of grants.
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Quotes from grant recipients
“Mountain BizWorks is extremely grateful for this timely investment from the CDFI Capacity Building Grant Program. As North Carolina continues to rebound from the pandemic and is experiencing record rates of entrepreneurship, it is more important than ever to ensure our small businesses have access to the funding and training they need to start, grow, and thrive. This support will directly expand our capacity, including more staff on the ground in rural communities and needed technology upgrades and will result in an expected $18 million in new financing for rural Western North Carolina’s small businesses over the next two years.”
– Matthew Raker, Executive Director, Mountain BizWorks
“We are thankful to receive the North Carolina CDFI Capacity Building Grant. The award will allow our firm to strengthen its work in helping entrepreneurs of color grow and succeed.”
– David Sharp, CEO, UP Community Fund
“We are thrilled and thankful for this award from NC Rural Center, and we appreciate the Rural Center’s confidence in BEFCOR. This award from the NC Rural Center will better position BEFCOR to expand our North Carolina footprint by providing tailored education and financing to small businesses in North Carolina. Specifically, it will help us grow our CDFI team and launch a business educational series across North Carolina. We understand the struggle black and brown entrepreneurs, lower income communities, rural residents, women, and all underserved individuals face to start and grow a business.”
– Kimberly Edwards, CDFI Director, BEFCOR
“BEFCOR’s history is 40 years of serving North Carolina’s small businesses – with this grant from the NC Rural Center, our future will include serving more businesses, ensuring their growth, and deepening our impact. Statewide, businesses face a complexity of real challenges including loan readiness and securing financing. We can address those challenges with the grant award.”
– Elaine Fairman, Executive Director, BEFCOR
“This grant award will accelerate CCI’s growth and further our mission of bringing economic opportunity to underserved communities in the state. More importantly, these grants will serve all North Carolinians as we build opportunities and access to capital for small businesses to grow and support our state’s continued growth.”
– Mike Croxson, CEO, Carolina Community Impact
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