Community Renewal Good Stories - Fresno

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Fresno EZ Businesses Get HELP With Financing

Fresno, California, EZ

The city of Fresno launched its new $1 million EZ business loan program with a flourish. Mayor Alan Autry and Council President Brad Castillo began the January 24, 2004, Fresno City Council meeting by presenting proclamations that officially declared this to be HELP Loan Day in the city. “Access to capital is an essential element of any economic development program,” said former Fresno Economic Development Director Fred Burkhardt, explaining the significance of the program.

A partnership between the Fresno Economic Development Department, the Valley Small Business Development Corporation, and five area banks made the Hometown Entrepreneur Loan Program (HELP) possible. The Community Reinvestment Act loan pool will assist local enterprises that have had difficulties receiving small business loans in the past.

With the active involvement of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, five banks agreed to contribute $250,000 to the loan fund: Central Valley Community Bank, Country Bank, United Security Bank, Valley Independent Bank, and Wells Fargo & Co. The Valley Small Business Development Corporation, a Fresno area nonprofit development agency, operates the loan pool. The Economic Development Department administers the Fresno EZ.

Funds will be available for investment in the Fresno EZ, Enterprise Zone, HUB Zone, or low-to-moderate income census tracts. At the city council presentation on January 24, Autry and Castillo recognized all of the participants who made the loan pool a reality and then held a news conference. Broad coverage in the press and on local television and radio stations helped to get the word out.

Within 2 months of the launch, 5 loans were approved totaling nearly $0.5 million. Few of the successful applicants, who represent a variety of businesses and financing needs, would have secured funding without the program.

“The collaboration and the confidence in the city of Fresno Empowerment Zone demonstrated by the city’s financial community is gratifying,” Burkhardt said of the loan program. “It is a significant tangible investment in the city’s future!”

For more information on the programs of the Fresno EZ, please contact Incentive Zone Manager, Kelly Trevino, at (559) 621-8426.