Like many Americans, small business owners have been struggling to withstand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for more than a year. Fortunately, Connect2Capital has enabled mission-driven lenders to step up and ease some of the burden, providing much-needed funding to help local businesses survive.

Connect2Capital is celebrating our partners funding $100 million in affordable, flexible loans to the small businesses and communities they serve. These loans are designed to serve communities that have had less access to larger federal relief programs and the finance industry as a whole. The systemic issues that have historically been barriers for under-invested communities continue to obstruct progress and were often exacerbated during the pandemic. 

Focusing on the Communities that Need Investment

We’ve worked with partners to more equitably distribute loans to small businesses in communities that need them most. We achieved this through matching loan requests with mission-driven lenders to provide funding:

A Story of Success—National Development Council (NDC)

None of this would have been possible without our partners. The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that lend on our Connect2Capital platform are designed to help businesses and communities most in need of these types of services and capital. 

More than 70 mission-driven lenders offer dozens of financing solutions to small businesses across the country on Connect2Capital. One of our many outstanding partners is National Development Council. NDC makes loans to small businesses and nonprofits predominantly owned by women, minorities, and low-income entrepreneurs. They’ve funded more than $11M in loans through Connect2Capital and, as a member of two more recovery initiatives about to launch, they will be doing far more in the near future.

Our Platform Helps Match Small Businesses with Mission-Driven Lenders

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even more vital for small businesses to quickly get access to high-quality loans with low-interest rates and fair repayment terms. Our partners need a quick, easy, and transparent way to manage loan applications. Our partners at National Development Council explain why Connect2Capital was such a good solution for them and how they were able to speed dollars to the communities that needed them the most.

“We want to help those businesses that have been bypassed by the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). We first started working with the C2C platform in June (2020) and now I cannot imagine life without it. We could not have done this program without it. There’s no way around it. We would have been buried, I mean, we’re a really tiny little organization.”—National Development Council 

The Impact of Small Business Funding

Connect2Capital is proud to be working with such great partners across the country, and it’s making a difference:

• We work with more than 70 partners across the country, offering dozens of products to meet the unique needs of small businesses.
• Our partner funding has helped to create or retain more than 4,500 jobs.
• The average loan size is around $35,000.

Bringing Community Equity to Small Business Lending

It’s vital to channel funds to the communities and small businesses that need them most. Part of the C2C platform lets our partners dig into community profiles and get a deeper understanding of how they can help. 

“We wanted very much, especially in this program and in this moment, to be focusing on our minority and women-owned businesses. And Connect2Capital really helped us chart our course. I think without Connect2Capital, we would not be able to tell our story as well as we can. None of our other platforms, even our SBA applications, ask the depth and the dimension of (impact) questions.”—National Development Council 

We’re Not Done Yet!

There is still so much to do, and our platform is up to the task. We know $100 million is just the start, and as the world starts to recover from the pandemic, we’re delighted to be part of that effort. If you’re an entrepreneur, try our loan matching tool. If you’re affiliated with a community lender, CDFI, local government, or other impact entity, reach out today and see how we can partner together.