Community Renewal Good Stories - Philadelphia-Camden

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Camden EZ Encourages Businesses With Loan Fund, Grants

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania/Camden, New Jersey, EZ

"I believe that the availability of the EZ Small Business Loan Fund and the EZ tax incentives led INC Magazine to rank Camden sixth among urban cities in which to do business," said Mike Diemer, executive director of the Cooperative Business Assistance Corporation (CBAC) in Camden, New Jersey.

An employment agency, a dry cleaners and 45 other new businesses have opened in the Camden, New Jersey, EZ thanks in part to EZ loan and grant programs for businesses. In 1998 the Camden Empowerment Zone Corporation (CEZC) made $2 million in business loan funds available through CBAC, a nonprofit community development fund founded in 1987 that provides loans to small Camden businesses that have difficulty accessing traditional credit markets. CBAC manages the CEZC revolving loan fund, which offers microloans ($1,000-$20,000), commercial loans ($20,000-$100,000), fixed asset loans ($100,000-$250,000), and working capital loans for inventory, supplies, and other expenses. CBAC leverages CEZC funds with capital from a consortium of local banks, the U.S. Department of Treasury, various private foundations, and the Small Business Administration's Micro Loan Program.

The CEZC $2 million loan pool has provided loans totaling $2,755,434 to finance EZbased businesses. The 47 EZ businesses that received grants and loans by July 2004 helped create 150 new jobs and retain 353 others for EZ residents.

This loan program helped make it possible for Noah Joffe, a southern New Jersey dry cleaner, to purchase and renovate a 15,244- square-foot former machine shop on 10th Street in the EZ. The Joffe project received a $117,500 loan from CBAC as part of a nearly $700,000 financing package. The new facility was expected to create six new jobs for EZ residents.

"There's a good labor pool here," the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) quoted Joffe in 2001. "We promised to bring new jobs to the Camden area and, with the help of CBAC, Commerce Bank, and the NJEDA, we're doing it."

Another business-related project, the business grant program administered by the CEZC, provides grants for EZ businesses of $1,000 for each employee living in the EZ, to a maximum of $5,000 per business. These grants complement the benefits of EZ Federal wage credits, which are worth up to $3,000 yearly for each employee who resides in the EZ. Problem Solvers Employment Agency, the first company approved for the EZ Business Grant program, is an example of the program in action. Problem Solvers qualified for two grants, making it possible for company President Clarence Gland and Vice President Kimberly Henry to hire Erika Rhett as treasurer. Problem Solvers then helped 20 other Camden residents find jobs.

For more information on the programs of the Philadelphia EZ, please contact Elinor Haiderat (215) 683-2157.