If you’re a nonprofit or small business in need of a loan, the Southern Opportunity and Resilience Fund (SOAR) is now taking applications for low-interest loans.
The SOAR Fund, launching with more than $50 million in commitments from philanthropic, private and corporate investors, hopes to lend $150 million or more to small businesses and nonprofits with fewer than 50 employees in 15 states, including Alabama.
Loans are available up to $100,000.
“We encourage all small businesses and nonprofits that have been impacted by the COVID pandemic and need a hand in rebuilding to apply now,” said Patrick Davis, vice president of program strategy and development at Community Reinvestment Fund USA, which is hosting the fund’s online platform. “This is affordable capital that can help small business owners and nonprofits hang on and rebuild, which is vitally important to all of us. Nonprofits provide crucial services and support to our communities and small businesses create jobs and provide valuable economic activity. Strong Southern small businesses and nonprofits will lead to a strong economic recovery for Southern communities.”
The SOAR Fund covers Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated an already uneven recovery from the Great Recession. Southern states had slower economic growth, lower labor force participation, and higher unemployment than the rest of the country, partially driven by the historic lack of corporate and philanthropic investment in the region,” said George Ashton, managing director at Local Initiatives Support Corporation, which manages the Fund. “The SOAR Fund will tackle these issues head-on by addressing structural barriers to economic opportunity by providing capital to Southern small businesses and nonprofits that need it now.”
For more information or to begin the application process, go to thesoarfund.org.
